The English department.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Adiós IES El Pinar
Well, today was a day of goodbyes. I have spent two wonderful years working at IES El Pinar and it is hard to believe it has come to an end. The staff went out to lunch for an end of year celebration. We enjoyed a typical three hour lunch of delicious food. We danced, we laughed and we sang. I'm going to miss working with these people!
The English department.
The English department.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Los Picos de Europa
We were very fortunate to be able to spend some time in Los Picos de Europa. Our friend, Kelsey, from my program, joined us. On Thursday, we picked up the car at the airport and headed out. It was a bit of a rough start. Ben had had a refresher class on how to drive stick but it took him a few kilometers to feel at ease. After a four hour beautiful drive we made it to the village we would be staying in. We had a bit of trouble finding our house because the village has no street names or house numbers. After pulling up a picture of the house on my phone and showing it to a couple of different locals, we finally found the place.
We stayed in a little village called Ribota in a 150 year old house. After talking with our neighbors, we learned that only 11 people live in the village year round! A few more people show up during the summer but not much. It was quite amazing to walk around and see all these abandoned stone houses.
From our patio we had a great view of a hulking mountain peak. We enjoyed many meals out there. Our first full day we headed to Cain to walk along the Garganta de Cares. (The Cares Gorge) It was breath taking! The heights of the gorge were a little scary at times but well worth the views. We enjoyed some yummy tapas and sidra, apple cider, at the end of our walk.
Our next full day, we headed to Fuente Dé to ride a gondola to the top of a tall peak and then walk back down. Our walk back down took us through some beautiful valleys and pasture land for sheep, cows and horses. The last half was a little more than we had bargained for; it was a steep downhill narrow path through the forest. We enjoyed a well deserved ice cream bar at the end. That night while we were cooking dinner a thunder and lightning storm came through out little valley so we built a fire in our wood burning stove.
Our final full day we slept in and partook in Ben and mine's tradition of Pancake Sunday. After breakfast we took off for the coast. Along the way we stopped at Las Cuevas de Buxu. We were able to go inside and explore the caves and see 18,000 year old carvings and paintings on the cave walls. It was so cool! Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures inside. Afterwards we headed to Llanes where Ben and Kelsey enjoyed some seafood and I enjoyed some chistorra. After lunch we drove to the coast to check out a nice beach. Another thunder storm came through in the evening so we snuggled up on the couch and watched Friends.
This trip was the perfect way to end out time in Spain.
There were big bull cutouts along the freeway north.
We stopped along the way to get our first pictures of the mountains.
There were some pretty crazy tunnels cut right out of the mountain along the way.
Our house: Casa Diaz
View from our patio:
Ribota barrio bajo - This is the mostly abandoned part of the village.
There is a church exactly like this in every village we drove through. This particular church was in our village.
The old church and cemetery in Ribota.
The old school house.
Exploring our village:
On the way to Garganta de Cares:
At the beginning of our walk through the gorge:
Crouching under an overhang waiting out a rainstorm.
Thunder storms!
Riaño: We drove through this town a couple of times to get to different places. The water and mountains was beautiful!
An old shepard's hut on the way to Fuente Dé.
Fuente Dé, where we rode the gondola to the top and walked back down.
Looking down on Fuente Dé from the mountain peak.
There were two mountain deer running around above the trail. They started a mini rock slide that almost hit a couple of people!
And now we descend into the forest.
6 hours later, we made it!
Las cuevas de Buxu
Llanes, where Ben and Kelsey enjoyed some shell fish.
On the way to the beach. I don't know where all the water went but it left some boats high and dry.
The beach near Niembro, Spain.
An old Roman bridge in Cangas de Onís.
Walking through the abandoned part of the village.
These little huts are all throughout northern Spain. They were built hundreds of years ago to keep rats and other small animals out of the grain. At the top of each post is a big, flat, smooth rock so the animals couldn't get a grip to get up into the food stored inside.
An old lavadero, a wash house that uses water from a nearby stream.
Riaño: On our way back to Madrid.
We stayed in a little village called Ribota in a 150 year old house. After talking with our neighbors, we learned that only 11 people live in the village year round! A few more people show up during the summer but not much. It was quite amazing to walk around and see all these abandoned stone houses.
From our patio we had a great view of a hulking mountain peak. We enjoyed many meals out there. Our first full day we headed to Cain to walk along the Garganta de Cares. (The Cares Gorge) It was breath taking! The heights of the gorge were a little scary at times but well worth the views. We enjoyed some yummy tapas and sidra, apple cider, at the end of our walk.
Our next full day, we headed to Fuente Dé to ride a gondola to the top of a tall peak and then walk back down. Our walk back down took us through some beautiful valleys and pasture land for sheep, cows and horses. The last half was a little more than we had bargained for; it was a steep downhill narrow path through the forest. We enjoyed a well deserved ice cream bar at the end. That night while we were cooking dinner a thunder and lightning storm came through out little valley so we built a fire in our wood burning stove.
Our final full day we slept in and partook in Ben and mine's tradition of Pancake Sunday. After breakfast we took off for the coast. Along the way we stopped at Las Cuevas de Buxu. We were able to go inside and explore the caves and see 18,000 year old carvings and paintings on the cave walls. It was so cool! Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures inside. Afterwards we headed to Llanes where Ben and Kelsey enjoyed some seafood and I enjoyed some chistorra. After lunch we drove to the coast to check out a nice beach. Another thunder storm came through in the evening so we snuggled up on the couch and watched Friends.
This trip was the perfect way to end out time in Spain.
There were big bull cutouts along the freeway north.
We stopped along the way to get our first pictures of the mountains.
There were some pretty crazy tunnels cut right out of the mountain along the way.
Our house: Casa Diaz
View from our patio:
Ribota barrio bajo - This is the mostly abandoned part of the village.
There is a church exactly like this in every village we drove through. This particular church was in our village.
The old church and cemetery in Ribota.
The old school house.
Exploring our village:
On the way to Garganta de Cares:
At the beginning of our walk through the gorge:
Crouching under an overhang waiting out a rainstorm.
Thunder storms!
Riaño: We drove through this town a couple of times to get to different places. The water and mountains was beautiful!
An old shepard's hut on the way to Fuente Dé.
Fuente Dé, where we rode the gondola to the top and walked back down.
Looking down on Fuente Dé from the mountain peak.
There were two mountain deer running around above the trail. They started a mini rock slide that almost hit a couple of people!
And now we descend into the forest.
6 hours later, we made it!
Las cuevas de Buxu
Llanes, where Ben and Kelsey enjoyed some shell fish.
On the way to the beach. I don't know where all the water went but it left some boats high and dry.
The beach near Niembro, Spain.
An old Roman bridge in Cangas de Onís.
Walking through the abandoned part of the village.
These little huts are all throughout northern Spain. They were built hundreds of years ago to keep rats and other small animals out of the grain. At the top of each post is a big, flat, smooth rock so the animals couldn't get a grip to get up into the food stored inside.
An old lavadero, a wash house that uses water from a nearby stream.
Riaño: On our way back to Madrid.
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