If you remember our first excursion... It was fun, but a little disappointing. Our original plan got canceled and plan B turned out to be expensive and not the funnest. BUT it made the excursion this week that much more amazing! Excursion number two was FANTASTIC! The perfect day. This was el Plano: Covadonga, Las Lagos (Picos de Europa), y Ribadesella.
COVADONGA: has so much history. It's incredible. The drive up the mountain is green beyond belief. Reminded me a little of Norther California but better! and once you reach our stop, a beautiful church appears amongst the peaks. It's in the pictures below and is called "Basilica of Santa María la Real of Covadonga" it was built between 1877 and 1901 entirely of pink limestone! The pictures don't due it justice. Down below the church is the famous holy grotto that sits in a small cave in a mountain face at Covadonga. It holds the remains of King Pelayo and a likeness of "our lady". You can enter this tiny open chapel and actually see a mass taking place like we did. It's pretty amazing and the view is as well. Down below the gotta is a huge pond where you take a euro and throw it over your head and make a wish that is just destined to come true :) we'll see! Up in the pond is also a fountain called "7 spouts fountain" where supposedly if you drink from all 7 spouts you'll get married in a year? Interesting ha very fresh water though. The best in Europe but ya get soaked! Check out the pictures below.
LAS LAGOS: every Saturday that we have an excursion planned it seems to be less than perfect weather. It will be scathing hot all week and then Saturday rolls around and surprise! rain! But thank goodness this week we enjoyed it anyways but our trip to las lagos almost didn't happen and here is why! The Picos de Europa are a super famous mountain range in Europe I have written numerous reports on them and finally dream came true I got to see them! Butttttt we had to go about a mile or more straight up this mountain in the thickest fog known to man! On a teeny narrow street only big enough for one car... Our a giant bus! Bus drivers must work towards this their whole lives cuz let me tell ya our driver had to pull some crazy maneuvers. First off you almost could not see out the windows. Most the time on the sides not at all just looked like clouds. Second we were going like straight up hill and whenever another car or bus was coming the other way it was an epic battle of how to pass each other. At one point, we had to pass a bus just as big as us and it took forever but good thing they knew just what to do but it was some risky business. Right next to us on either side was just a straight drop for miles. Not to mention the many cows scattered throughout the mountains that find their way to the road whenever they please. But the cows in europe are so much cuter than back home! See pictures for proof :) anyways it was so nuts and scary and windy our poor driver deserves some kind of reward for that. Once we reached the area where the lakes were we had to hike up to them and the fog was so bad we had to have one teacher up front one in the middle and one in back to make sure nobody got left behind. You couldn't see a whole ton which was a bummer but the fog made it really eerie and it was still gorgeous. If you've ever seen lord of the rings that is what Picos de Europa reminds me of! It's NUTS! It's so incredible I didn't think that could exist in real life or that I'd ever get to see it but I live to tell the tell it totally does and of course the fog made it that much better. Totally going to watch lord of the rings the week I get home. But it was incredible and so much fun I love to hike!
RIBADESELLA: beach time!! And actually perfect weather. We arrived in the small town, walked over to the beach and just sat and ate lunch. A little picnic with my friends on the beach so cute. We all shared our various interesting lunches packed by our host moms and enjoyed the scenery. It was far too cold to actually get in the water today but sitting in pants and a jacket it was just right. We played in the sand a little, walked all along the shore line and where they dock all their ships, def made me wish I was on a boat! Then we ended up hiking to this little old temple up on the viewpoint. It was amazing!!! Every turn of the trail was a breathtaking view of the Atlantic surrounded but the greenest greens and gorgeous flowers and cliffs. Lots of pictures! Don't know what the temple was for but it was awesome along with some cannons! And it offered an incredible view of the city.
Excursion number two was a success. I had so much fun today Spain is amazing and these places we get to see are a lot of places that are awesome but often passed by on a normal vacation so it's been really fun. I've learned so much about Spanish culture and history. It's incredible here! so beautiful, like nothing you've seen before! I wish I could just record it all in my mind so I would never forget every little detail! There are incredible things in the US as well but how historic all of this is is just amazing to me and the artwork is incredible I take pictures of everything to try and draw later its great I love it. That's all for now time to get ready to go see my first movie all in Spanish should be lots of fun :) sorry there are so many pictures believe it or not I narrowed it down a ton!
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