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| Cork tree |
As much as I miss my little blue hatchback Mazda, which is biding it’s time in Canada in the driveway, I didn’t think I would be able to get around as much as I have without a car here. Luckily for me, travelling in Extremadura has not been at all what I expected it to be. I read before coming here that it would be difficult to get around, as the railway systems are not that extensive and the buses are limited, not to mention the number of main highways are also limited. Not to mention that Spanish drivers are like offensive hockey players – a little intimidating …
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| Sarah y Miguel infront of a well |
But considering that I have only been here almost 2 months now, I have seen a whole lot more than I thought I would, it just comes down to taking opportunities and getting up a little earlier on a day off to go somewhere new, somewhere not easy to get to by bus or train. Sure, I would have loved to have stayed bundled up in my “nordico” (duvet) and not get up at 7:30AM on my day off, but then I would likely have not been able to get to Monfrague until spring next year.
IES San Jose has been buzzing this week. This whole week 18 German students, and 2 accompanying teachers, have been hosted by students and their families at the highschool, and are working on a trilingual project together for the European Union, on the topic of the transition from school to the working world. My only day available to help was on Friday when I helped correct their compositions and even helped make audioclips to put on the website when it’s finished (My voice will be famous, haha). It was a very interesting atmosphere in the classroom that day because the common language between the German students and Spanish students was English, a foreign language for both groups! The two Spanish and English teachers from Germany were Ana and Patrick – both married to Spanish-speakers (a Colombian and a Galician) and feel more comfortable speaking Spanish than English. On Friday Ana, Patrick and I were invited to dinner at Inma’s house (an English professor at IES San Jose). Maria-Jose (another English teacher) and her boyfriend drove the three of us and we enjoyed a meal completely prepared by Inma’s marido Manuel… and often visited by their cat, the Queen of the House herself Luna. It was such a fun night, I really hope to go for dinner with Maria Jose and Inma again sometime soon!
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| Acorns - A national symbol |
Saturday morning I got up early, again, to be picked up by Miguel and drive with Ana, Patrick and Sarah (another language assistant) to Monfrague National Park. We spent almost 6 hours in the park, hiking the 16km route from the pueblo to the “ruinas del Castillo arabe” on the mountaintop! Once at the top, we saw at least 20 vultures (who are a protected species in the park) circling around, watching something in the underbrush.. but what a sight to see, they are HUGE birds and actually quite majestic the way they fly! After we had our fill of vultures and the views, we descended back down the mountain and took a different route back along the lake to the pueblo. The landscape is very different from BC but just beautiful and apparently the vegetation in that park of Caceres Province is more similar to that of the Mediterranean regions than those along the Atlantic – who knew? Unfortunately during our hike we didn’t see the lynx (another protected species here) but we took some incredible photos.
PS – Acorns do not actually taste that great. And those red, spikey berries are edible! Mm..
The legend of the "Salto del Gitano".
A long time ago, a gypsy (gitano) well-known for pulling off robberies and never getting caught, was being pursued by the Guardia Civil. The chase ended up in Monfrague where apparently he was close to the edge of the cliff when he jumped from one mountain to the next and escaped capture. From that point on, these mountains have become famous for their looks but the legend behind them as well... maybe the gitano was secretly trained as a long-jumper?
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| The 'happy hikers' (Myself, Ana, Patrick, Miguel, Sarah) |
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| Happy to be among the trees again |
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| El Salto del Gitano (The Jump of the Gypsy) |
As much as I miss my little blue hatchback Mazda, which is biding it’s time in Canada in the driveway, I didn’t think I would be able to get around as much as I have without a car here. Luckily for me, travelling in Extremadura has not been at all what I expected it to be. I read before coming here that it would be difficult to get around, as the railway systems are not that extensive and the buses are limited, not to mention the number of main highways are also limited. Not to mention that Spanish drivers are like offensive hockey players – a little intimidating …
IES San Jose has been buzzing this week. This whole week 18 German students, and 2 accompanying teachers, have been hosted by students and their families at the highschool, and are working on a trilingual project together for the European Union, on the topic of the transition from school to the working world. My only day available to help was on Friday when I helped correct their compositions and even helped make audioclips to put on the website when it’s finished (My voice will be famous, haha). It was a very interesting atmosphere in the classroom that day because the common language between the German students and Spanish students was English, a foreign language for both groups! The two Spanish and English teachers from Germany were Ana and Patrick – both married to Spanish-speakers (a Colombian and a Galician) and feel more comfortable speaking Spanish than English. On Friday Ana, Patrick and I were invited to dinner at Inma’s house (an English professor at IES San Jose). Maria-Jose (another English teacher) and her boyfriend drove the three of us and we enjoyed a meal completely prepared by Inma’s marido Manuel… and often visited by their cat, the Queen of the House herself Luna. It was such a fun night, I really hope to go for dinner with Maria Jose and Inma again sometime soon! 
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