¡Mañana!

By | June 1, 2011 | Comments 0 Comment

1 June 2011… Is it really June? When did it become June? When did August end? I am still having a hard time believing that my calendar is correct in stating 1 June. It doesn’t seem possible. Now what makes 1 June so odd to me that I cannot believe that is is here? No, it is not the fact that it is the first day of June, or that it is a Thursday. It is that tomorrow is 2 June: mañana, if you will, is the day my USAC Madrid program starts.

Summer vacation ends tomorrow when I take the train into Atocha Station and walk the block and a half to the Orientation Hotel, officially starting my last study abroad and making the count at 31 days until returning to the US. But those feelings shall wait until a later blog. Allora (that will also be hard- I have phrases in German and Italian that come to mind easier than English… sorry roommates, you will be lost), first, I have some catching up to do.

So last Saturday, 28 May, I was able to cross off another item from the Bucket List: Rock Climbing. Now I don’t mean rock climbing in a gym or a recreational center, but here is a mountain face, some rope, don’t look down, and go. Jeff, who loves rock climbing and any activity that gets people outside, took me to a park with wonderful hiking and rock climbing, La Pedriza near Manzanares el Real. After hiking for about 30 minutes (which involved some minor scaling of rocks/boulders), we reached the mountain and began climbing up. This was scrambling over rocks and ledges, following a path that was somewhat marked if you knew what to look for and the way it should be going. Needless to say, I was having a blast, even if it was hard work. 20 minutes later and we were at the location where the actual rock climbing could start.

This is when Jeff taught me how to use the harness (and put it on), what the equipment was for, what knots to use, what phrases to say, and what to do to not injure myself or anyone else for that matter. When he was satisfied that I knew what to do, he went up, secured the ropes, came back down, and told me to go. The first time going up I was not the most comfortable. I was sure I was going to lose my footing, slide, and go off the face of the mountain, many hundreds of meters down into the valley and to my death. The fact that I was harnessed in did not matter. In actuality, I was as safe as I could be: Jeff had the other part of the rope and should I have fallen, he would have stopped me using the belay (basically a brake on the rope). About half way up, he told me to stop so he could take my photo. I was not happy about stopping as it meant I had to turn around, face him, and the drop beneath me. Not the most comforting view. When I got to the top, I turned around again, and the view, along with the feeling of awe of what I had just done, was amazing. I felt like I was on top of the world. That is, until I looked down and realized I still had to get off the face of the mountain. Yikes!

After Jeff, from the ground, instructed me how to get back down (lean back, standing up, and walk backwards as he slowly let the rope out), I made it to Terra Firma (yes, I was on land, but to me, now, terra Firma means solid ground where one slip will not seriously injure you). We did that particular run a few more times, until Jeff had to go up and take off the equipment ( the bolts etc). After he had done that, he secured himself up on a ledge, then had me climb up, join him, and then worked his magic while I was panicking about slipping and falling to my death (we were both fine and secured to the mountain 3 fold) so that we could repel down the mountain. One of the scariest and coolest things I have done. Would I do it again? You bet. We then did a few more runs in various other places on the mountain, before hiking down to get dinner and then go home. In all, it was a fantastic afternoon.

The logical event to follow would be a day of rest, right? Ease the shoulders, the arms, the legs… After all, they had a good workout the day before, ¿Sì? Well, they did have a work out, but the day of rest… yeah, not so much. On Sunday, Jeff invited me to join him on a hiking trip. Not a day hike or a “lets drive to location A, hike out a few hours, return to A, spend the night in a hostel, hike the next day some more, and then return”. No, it was a here is a 22+ kilo (cerca 50 lbs) hiking bookbag, a walking stick (for which I am grateful!), and prepare to spend 2,5 days out in the mountain range of Los Gredos, starting in Bohoyo. I am glad I run a lot because otherwise this trip would have been nearly impossible. We slept in one man tents which we brought with us in our bags, brought enough food for 3 days, pots and cups, and camping stoves with fuel.

I thought I had done a lot of walking… I was wrong. On Sunday, we only hiked for about 30 minutes, long enough to be in the park and find a good spot to camp. We found one, near a fresh, clean spring, and made camp. We pitched the tents, and then made dinner. I now know how to pitch a tent, find good water, and secure all items in case of storms. We hiked for about 6 hours on the next day, starting early in the morning. We reached our destination at the foot of the mountain pass after hiking through rain, fog, hail, fording rivers, climbing boulders, sun, shade, forests, and the whole time uphill. It was amazing. The rain was a bit of a damper (no pun intended), but manageable. We just put the rain jackets on, covered the bags in their rain gear, and we were on our way again. After settling in our camp, we had some lunch, before going up higher in the mountains, where we found the old province wall from before the civil war, some ruins from old huts used for when the path we took was the main path up the mountains for hikers, and a snow shelf. We couldn’t go to the Pass of Five Lakes due to hail and fog, so we headed back down the mountain to camp, had dinner, and went to bed. On Tuesday, we made it up to the pass, past, across numerous rocks on the side of a mountain with a sheer drop (again, shaved a few years off the life), made it through snow fields (where one slip and bye bye down a mountain into a valley below), to the ridge between La Galana and Almanzor in Sierra de Gredos. It was amazing. The views took my breath away and I could not believe what I was seeing.

After resting a bit up at the top (and letting my nerves relax), we headed back down, which seemed easier than going up. Maybe it was because I knew I could do the trip, having done it once before. When we reached camp, we had lunch, and then set off on a 6 hour hike back down the mountain and valley. Now, being the nerd I am, I have to say, I couldn’t but help feel like I was someone in Lord of the Rings hiking through Middle Earth. It was that unreal. Even more so because it was something I had wanted to do, but never thought I would. Much less in Spain, an hour and a half away from Madrid.

And that brings me to Mañana: Orientation. It is exciting that I will start Spanish again, but it is also sad, as it is the last part of my study abroad. I am looking forward to meeting the other students in my group, and moving into my apartment Friday. Ah, my own room again! That is truly a blessing. And to cook! That is something I missed in Italy: having a kitchen. I know this next month will fly by: school always does, even more so abroad. I know I will find the balance between work and travel and exploring, even if this time it will be harder, as I really do not want to be in school, but would rather just travel. Alas! Such is not in the cards at the moment. I guess I can handle school in Spain. 🙂 jaja

So, the next phase starts. Wish all of us luck, and long live Spain!