¡España!: Something I Will Never Forget

When I told my friends I wanted to hike the Aplujarras, which is part of the Sierra Nevadas, I did not realize what I was getting myself into. Now, Mississippi, for the most part, is very flat and you don't get a view like the ones I did this past weekend in the mountains. Lets just start with Thursday night. We ate sandwiches for dinner and then started to get ready for our night out. Heather and I decided we should try and stay out later than usual so we can experience Spain's night life to the fullest while in Granada since we usually just go home earlier than some other people in our group. We met everyone at our friend Anthony's house and eventually left for El Camborio around 11:15. Going to this discoteca is pretty far so we hopped in a taxi, which was very smart since it probably would have taken us 35 minutes to walk it. We get to el camborio and ladies got in free and there were free drinks till 1:30. A bunch of people in my ISA group were there so we all just hung out together. They played lots of popular music from the United States, but then they played lots of Spanish music. My friends and I are attempting to get a Spaniard to write down all their favorite songs so we can show everyone back home what they listen to. Heather and I ended up leaving at about 3:45. We got kabobs on the way home, but Spanish kabobs are a lot different than the ones you find in the US. They take a tortilla and grill chicken then add lettuce, peppers, and sauces and wrap it like a burrito, it was really good!

As for Friday, classes went by smoothly and we did not do too much. When I got home Heather was still there and said that Eli had gone to the doctor about her bad cough (probably due to her smoking like chimney). We decided that since we needed to be at the bus station around 3:30 to get our tickets that we would just make sandwiches and bring them with us, which worked out perfectly since Eli was sick and could not make lunch for us. We made it to the bus station and boarded the bus at 4:30 for our two hour trip up to Bubion where we were staying for the night. I immediately had to plug my nose when I got on the bus, it was extra stinking since some Spaniards are not too in to putting deodorant on. Right as the bus took off, I was out like a light, I was pretty tired from the night before. I finally woke up at our first bus stop, which we did not know exactly which bus stop we were suppose to get off at so we kept having to ask the Spaniards which town was which. After about 2 and half hours we finally made it to Bubion! We got off and were amazed at how small the town was. Bubion has a population of 600 and is an altitude of 1,300 meters which is roughly about 4,225 ft above sea level. We asked locals where our hostel was and got there with no troubles. It was a really cute hostel, they had chairs downstairs with a tv and couch and some games for people to play. It reminded me a lot of a bed and breakfast. The two boys took the first floor room and the girls split up into 2's for three rooms upstairs. It was a pretty tiny room, but we were only spending one night and would be roaming around the town most of the time anyways. It was perfect for us! We decided to roam and found a lot of cute little shops to go into. Once the sun started to set we got pretty chilly so we headed back to the hostel to get our jackets or sweaters and then to get something to eat, which we could only choose from about 3 different restaurants. We sat outside and it was a great meal! We were all just having a nice relaxing night together and enjoying being with each other. I ordered a really good pesto pasta for dinner and Liz and I split a chocolate mousse for dessert, it was so good. After dinner we headed back to the hostel just to hang out together. It got about midnight and my eye lids started to become very heavy so I called it a night for myself.

The day had finally come to go hiking! I was so ready and figured it wouldn't be bad at all! Little did I know what I was about to get myself into... but before we started the hike the owner of the hostel made us breakfast which consisted of water, juice, or coffee to drink and a piece of toasted bread with jelly. He also gave us the real kind of cherries, not the kind you find in a shirley temple drink. They were delicious. At about 10:00 we checked out of the hostel and headed for the trail the guy had recommended us. I started out so energetic till the entire trail consisted of 45 or more degree inclines for the first hour. I then realized how out of shape I was and it did not help that I have short legs and take small steps. I really did not think I would be able to do it, but I kept telling myself I had to push through and do it. After about an hour we made it to a dirt road and then on the side of one of the mountains where we could climb up and have a little adventure. Heather and I decided not to go too far because we weren't sure how to get down. We sat on a rock after going a little bit up and just sat in the peace and quiet to enjoy the view. It was amazing and such a nice break. I had gotten through the worst part of the hike and was pretty proud of myself. We continued on with our hike and stopped to enjoy the other amazing views. We finally got to our first town, Capilerilla. We walked through and found the rest of the trail that headed to Pitres. Five of us girls had to stop in Pitres in order to catch our bus back to Granada. The two boys and one other girl had decided they would spend the night in a hut type thing on the side of the trails and continue on Sunday with their hiking. We ran into different kinds of plants with cherries and black berries growing on them and some different streams that were pretty cool. We finally made it to Pitres and it just so happened the whole town was at the center for a festival that day! There were different concerts going on and lots of authentic spanish food being cooked. We found some benches and ate our lunch, which mine consisted of muffins and chocolate chip cookies. The five girls that were going back to Granada that day decided we would walk a little more on the trails and then turn around after about 40 minutes to head back to Pitres to get on the bus. We went through some different streams and then came upon a really great view, which is shown on the last picture below with my friends on the edge of a rock over looking the mountains. We made it back to Pitres safely and went to a restaurant to grab something to drink. I cannot describe how good a Coke tasted and to be able to sit down after our long day of hiking. We made it on the bus with no problems and finally got back to Granada. As we were getting off the bus one of the girls pointed out that I got a lot of sun on my chest and then her mouth dropped. I started questioning her crazy reaction looking at me and then she told me what she saw. Since I had my backpack on and needed the straps across my chest and my hips to help take the load off my shoulders and back, the sun had made a nice tan line across my chest. Not really sure how I am going to get it to go away but it is pretty noticeable ha. I guess it can be a funny story that came out of my hiking trip but I definitely did learn a lesson. After we got back, Heather and I took a very low key night and of course Eli made us pizza! ha, when I get back to the United States I probably won't eat pizza for a good month since I have had it about 10 or more times since I have been here. This morning when I woke up, I felt like an old lady and could barely move, but hopefully yesterday helped build some muscle! I cannot tell my readers how much of a great experience that was going to the mountains. I am actually kind of glad my Portugal trip was cancelled so I could experience this. It is something I will never forget!

As for this week, I will continue with my classes. I cannot believe I only have two more weeks of classes left! Crazy! This trip has flown by, I am pretty excited to go to Nerja this weekend! We are going to explore the caves and hang out on the beach, maybe I will get my crazy tan line to go away! Will keep everyone posted on my last two weeks of adventures here in Granada!