The park we went to is called La Sierra de Grazalema, and it starts in the town of Grazalema. This is another white Andalusian hill town and it is cool because it is so simply tucked away in the mountains. It still amazes me that people actually live there! We met two spanish guides in Grazalema and they gave us a run through of what our route or "camino" would be. Right off the bat they told us we would have three "climbs," so I knew it wouldn't be a piece of cake. Sitting at my desk now two days later, I can still feel some definite soreness in what my dad would call my "gluteus maximus!" But that is just a lovely reminder of the great physical activity, fresh air, perfect weather and beautiful scenery that I got to experience during the course of the day. While walking up and around the mountains we saw so many things like an abandoned house and a lot of animals. This particular park has a lot of farming, so we saw toros, pigs, goats, chickens, horses, donkeys, and when they weren't around, we found plenty of mounds of poo or "caca", so their presence was always felt!
Green trees, blue sky
It was so clear, so you could see for kilometers!
Here are some of the ruins of houses we found.
My friends and I ate our picnic lunch in the "yard" of this house
In my food class we learned a lot about how the Andalusians raise
their pigs for their famous jamón. While hiking, I saw it first hand!
There are two pigs grazing in this picture, and the trees are acorn trees
The pigs only eat acorns or "bellotas" because they are a food that
contains good fat, so apparently that is what makes them the best!
Here I am happy as a clam!
We finished our visit in another Andalusian hill town Benaocaz
This was the center of the town where we grabbed snacks before leaving
After hiking, I had planned to skype with my mom and Betsy. Sounds easy enough right? Well apparently not for those crazy sisters! There were problems with no sound or no video (all on their end...), and after trying two computers at two different houses, they finally drove back to my house and had my dad to make sure everything was working. The whole thing was totally ridiculous and I couldn't stop laughing. I also got a special treat out of the deal, talking to my grandma Lulu. When my mom and Betsy got to Lulu's, the sound worked with no video so Lulu and I chatted while they went back to my house. Then once they had skype all set up, we had some planning to do! This Thursday I am taking my first high speed Spanish train to Madrid, where I will meet Missy and Betsy in a fancy hotel to spend the weekend in the spanish capital. But I am most excited for them to come to Sevilla on Sunday. It will be nice to have family see where I am living, because I just don't think any of my stories or pictures can totally encompass my experience here. So I hope Spain is ready for Missy and Betsy. Those two are bound to be a bundle of fun, and I am so excited. I get to see my mom in 48 hours! Wooo!
A quick fun fact to leave you with: Today in my Public Health class my professor used dentistry in some sort of example. She ended up telling us that the spanish equivalent to the tooth fairy is called "Ratoncito Pérez." Not sure if I would prefer a mouse coming to my pillow or a fairy, but it is a cute story nonetheless. Books have been published with Ratoncito Pérez since 1902, first published for king Alfonso XIII. Funny how the same concept exists in both the United States and Spain, but the stories are completely different. I wonder where the story of the tooth fairy came from???
Well, time to get back to homework. My mom has made it very clear that I will be spending every minute with her once she gets here, and I never expected anything different. But that means getting ahead on my tarea, so off I go :)
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