Que Guay

Another weekend has come and gone in Granada, and with it, any possibility of sleep for me. This weekend started out on Thursday night with the 21st birthday of one of the students on our program. To celebrate, almost 20 people from the program went to the botellon. To understand the botellon, you must first be aware that 1) it is expensive to go out to bars all the time, and 2) There are tens of thousands of students in Granada. So basically the botellon is a large park in which it is legal to drink outside of restaurants and bars. And since a bottle of wine can be found at the Mercadona for .78 euro cents, this is definitely the way to socialize and save money. I did not stay out for that long but it was an interesting experience nonetheless -- there are police monitoring it to make sure it's safe around the area and I am pretty sure I spotted some 11-12 year olds hanging around the vicinity. If this hadn't been Spain, I would have felt like asking "do your parents know you're here?" but as they say, no pasa nada.

After class on Friday, I took a nice long nap before meeting a few girls from our class for churros and chocolate which is about one of the most delicious creations known to mankind. Then we just wandered around until around 12, taking in the city sights and sounds before the weather starts to get cooler (rain in the forecast!). I love that I can be walking home at 12:30, feel absolutely safe, and have to dodge 80 year old couples still strolling around, long after any of their US counterparts would be asleep back in the states.

Saturday dawned rather too early, as I had to get to the bus station to hike in the Alpujarras, which is a region of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The ride was about 2 hours and I have never been on such a windy, curvy road in my life. I feel lucky that I managed to avoid any carsickness on the trip up and back. We (me and four other girls from my program) arrived in Pampaneira, a tiny whitewashed town perched in the mountains and above a river with the highest point in continental Spain, the Mulhacen, towering above. It could have been out of a fairy tale: narrow streets, all the houses bursting with flowers over the balconies, a tiny plaza and church serving as the town watering hole. Most of the towns in the mountains are within several kilometers of each other so we decided to leave Pampaneira behind and climb up to Capileira via Bubion. The man at the information desk told us the trail was well marked and gave us a map. However, after we had been walking for about 30 minutes, we felt like we were lost -- the trail had narrowed and we were scrambling over loose rocks above the canyon. We were also finding many abandoned houses made of stone, remnants of the silver and agriculture boom days. But we really did not want to turn back. So (Dad you'd be proud), we bushwhacked up the hill to the town of Bubion, finally reaching a parking lot where the trailhead to Capileira began. This time, we definitely were on the right trail and in the end, climbed about 2000 feet and hiked a good 6-7 miles. Needless to say, we were happy to arrive in Capileira. Once in town, we walked through deserted streets until we ended up at a small restaurant where the owner, an older man named Pepe, gave us free tapas and made delicious omelets. We also made friends with a local dog and two older men who were concerned we were not prepared for the weather as we waited for the bus. True, it had rained a bit, but it wasn't too terribly cold. All of this and the sheer beauty of the place definitely makes Capileira a place I would like to return or even retire to!

After a hot shower at home and dinner, I headed out once again to a music festival that was about a 30 minute walk from my house. It was very impressive, completely free, and well organized. On one side were vendors selling hamburgers, bocadillos and kebabs, as well as clothing and jewelry, and on the other side were all sorts of carnival rides. In a nearby field was a huge stage where artists were performing literally all night long. Unfortunately, while we were there, an older pair of men were playing English rock/ country (including "Bule Bule,") so I can't say it was completely a cultural experience. But it was a lot of fun and unfortunately I once again lost track of time and got home in the early morning.

Today the Vuelta a Espana came through Granada. Although this bike race isn't exactly as famous as the Tour de France, it definitely has quite a following and it was a lot of fun to take pictures of all the cyclists and try to figure out what the announcer was saying about all of them. Plus who could pass up free hats and lanyards? All in all, I would say a busy and great weekend. Now, time for a siesta.