Extremadura

I guess it’s time to fill you in on some of my more recent adventures in Spain….

Two weeks ago 24 of us from my school went on a “mini-viaje” to Extremadura, Spain. The other 48 students were split into two groups and went to either Barcelona or Madrid.  For those who don’t know, Extremadura is a province in Spain directly east of Portugal. It’s known for its nature, lack of industry, and most importantly for its ham. We spent 5 days there and the following in a summary of what we did.

Day 1: Monday, November 12^th

We took the AVE (high speed train) from Zaragoza to Madrid. Then a bus from Madrid to our 1^st stop: Trujjillo. We had lunch together in the pueblo and then had some time to explore. It’s beautiful. With views of mountains (we could see Portugal J), a cool church, and some palaces of explorer’s families. Afterwards we got back on the bus bound for Cáceres. We settled in our hotel and then split into groups to find dinner.

Day 2: Tuesday, November 13^th

We had breakfast at the hotel, then got on the bus for Mérida. It’s amazing. The first the we saw was the Aqueduct of Miracles. After the aqueduct, we went to a museum of Roman art and saw statues, paintings and mosaics that are thousands of years old. Super guay. For lunch, we split up again and after, we met up and visited the Roman theater and amphitheater together. They were really amazing. Especially the theater. On the way back to Cáceres, we stopped to see a gorgeous sunset on a lake made by a Roman dam.

 

Day 3: Wednesday, November 14^th

We visited the old part of Cáceres. It was like going back in time. Well except for the trucks and cars. We toured several of the medieval palaces. Then we bought candies from a nun. It was cool to see how she communicated with us without us ever seeing her. We had free time for lunch and siesta’ed at the hotel for a bit and then met back up to hike up a mountain to see a church. It was a long, but not difficult hike and the view was worth it.

 

Day 4: Thursday, November 15^th

We packed up our things, got back on the bus and headed for Parque Nacional de Monfragüe. At the park, we hiked up a ridge to a castle. We climbed to the top it and had a picnic lunch. (I have another post coming soon about this). It was one of my favorite parts of the trip. After lunch, we hiked back down and headed for the pueblo of Guadalupe. Guadalupe is famous for its church and monastery. The monastery also just happens to be a hotel, and where we spent the final night of our trip. It was really, really cool. We toured the monastery, met a frightening monk (no, unfortunately he didn’t teach us airbending) and explored the pueblo. We had our last dinner together in the hotel and stayed up till 3 AM not wanting to leave. 

Day 5: Friday, November 16^th

We got on the bus for the last time and headed for Madrid. We found lunch and took the AVE back to Zaragoza. The trip was amazing and I was definitely sad to see it end.

The group and the aqueduct.

Roman Theater

Lake made by Roman dam.

Zach and me

View from church in Cáceres

 

Monastery