Chapter 20: Cáceres, Trujillo, Mérida, y Guadalupe

Okay, get ready. Here comes a long one again.

This weekend was for sure a busy one. It was our first group excursion. But first, some stuff about last week.

I met with Johanna on Thursday!! She's spectacular! We had so much to talk about. She's from Columbia, but she's lived here in Alcalá for the past 3 years, working on her masters, and now doctorate in some kind of government business. I didn't quite catch it. She is, indeed, "guapa" and taken, to Carlos's dismay. He asked of her relationship status, and was sad to hear she has a successful boyfriend in Madrid, with a car and job. It crushed him. I laughed. But anyways, Johanna and I drank guanábana juice with soy milk at Cafe Teteria. Totally hippy and fun. They serve gummies with your drink. And you sit on cool pillows or wooden stools. Totally chic! We laughed and chatted about many things: family, jobs, friends, the economy, the large, general strike that happens this Wednesday, Spanish boys, Alcalá must-sees and must-dos, etc. I think we really hit it off. I hope to meet with her twice this week.

That night, Mack, Kyle, Jozzy, and Katie Olufs, and I celebrated with Rebecca Groesbeck (a recent Butler graduate that lives here to teach English for her masters program) for her cumpleaños (birthday). It was a smash. She had ice cream and spanish M&Ms and boxed Sangria (which I will avoid from here on out). I visited with her friends, Eric, Kaira, Austin, and Megan (her roommates who also teach but aren't from Butler) too. It was so nice to just chill and chat.

But of course, you can only chill and chat so much. The 5 of us left Rebecca's at 12 to meet more of our own Butler group at Media Pinta. Since we basically conquered and dominated the place, Mack and I left for Cafe Continental. There were more natives than Americans there, thank goodness. We sat, drank passion fruit cocktails, smoked only a little bit of melon hookah, tried our first Cuban cigar (difficult and yucky), and practiced our Spanish with some cute Spanish boys. I also improved my salsa dance skillz, thanks to our new friend, Raúl, a hippy Chemistry teacher that oddly reminded me of my Uncle Dave. It was a great, long night. But I had to get back early. The next day was going to be a long one.

And now on to this weekend:

We started out on Friday, woke up at 7:30 and booked it to the bus at 9 with 3 bocadillos, 2 pears, 1 peach, 1 muffin, cookies, and gummy bears, ready for the day. All 17 of us, plus Professor Willem and Esteban (her husband), and our native Spanish teachers, Ana and Carlos. We drove for 4 hours and arrived in Cáceres at 13:30, where we dropped off our stuff at Hotel Husa Alcántara. From there, mostly out of breath, trekked over to the centro (which turned out to be a parking lot, funny enough). We were told we had 2.5 hours of free time for some shopping and nibbling.

The medieval market was our destination of choice. It was adorable. There were so many cool tiendas (shops), I couldn't help myself from buying a few doodaas. I bought a cute, purple, wooden watch, peacock feather earrings, a red, wax, beaded bracelet, and a sweet treat: coco y cacahuete (coconut and peanut) cookie, kind of like a snickerdoodle, actually. We walked along, gazing at the jewelry and food. At the end, there was something of a beer garden where this man was cooking a ton of meat. He had whole ham legs soaking, and what seemed like a very long, tentacled arm of an octopus frying. He was friendly enough to show his work off. Gross but kind of cool. Naturally, I didn't eat anywhere near there.

After gathering our gadgets, we headed back to the centro where we met our tour guide. She took us on a walking tour of Casco Antiguo (the old neighborhood) of Cáceres. During this 2 hour tour, we observed "walled enclosures: civil and religious architecture from the XV--XVIII centuries, all with Roman influence. Cathedral, arabic house, and casa de las veletas (vanes). It was hard to understand and/or pay attention, so I don't have much to remember/tell, but look up the pix on facebook. They're stunning, I swear.

Afterwards, we did some more shopping. These girls really like to shop here. I don't get anything ever. I like to save my money. But I don't mind playing mommy and holding their stuff and commenting on their new buys. We finally made it back over to the hotel at 20:30 where we ate a splendid dinner of pasta, salmon, fried potato chips, bread (obvi), and pineapple at the hotel.

To work off the calories, we walked through Casco Antiguo at night, when it was all lit up. It was great fun. Carlos and Ana are very entertaining. We had a little game of baa-and-bark, which Carlos taught. It was random but amusing, nonetheless. Don't ask. That night, I slept the best yet. Mack and I were roomies and it was great fun. I didn't wanna sleep cuz we were talking so much. But we nodded off around 12.

Lucky us, we had a terrible wake up call at 7:30. We had a quick breakfast of fruit, milk, toast and dulce de membrillo (quince jam=my fave, which I brought home to share with Mom), and Danone (Dannon) yogurt: Cuajada (curd). Willem told me not to eat it: "you won't even like it, don't bother". To her dismay, I loved it! It was like solidified whole milk! OHHH how yummy! I hope I find it again. I quick made a bocadillo (reminder: sandwich) and stole it for lunch later that day. Bwhahah, I'm sly.

We boarded the bus once again, rode for only an hour, and arrived in Trujillo. It was early and cold, which made it even harder to listen to the tour guide awaiting us there. She was a bit dry. It warmed up when she had us climb a mountain, up to visit the cutest nun I've ever seen in my life, and then up to the top of the city, where we could look down from atop a castle/fort in Casco Histórico and Alcazaba. What a view! It was so clear. Sadly, I was kinda in a grumpy mood. I didn't know what it was. I wish I could have enjoyed it more. I was just a little hot-and-bothered with some certain people/things. No biggie. It passed.

Mackenzie and I hiked down and chilled in the beautiful, sunny plaza, to wait for the bus. We obviously weren't in Trujillo for long. I would have liked to see more of it. From Trujillo, we rode to Mérida. I believe it was only 2 hours, but I slept, so it felt like 30 seconds. Our hotel was amazing! Hotel Las Lomas. You can check it out online. I loved it. Unfortunately, it was on the outskirts of the city, but we didn't mind. It had a pool too, but we didn't have time. It took us about 5 minutes of bantering to determine that fact. Ughh, tensions were high. Long story. Thankfully we got out of there and bussed to the city center. Mérida was my favorite!

We had tiempo para comer (time to eat) first. We stopped at Augusta Tapas, the cutest cafe outside where Mack, Maggy, and I munched on tuna salad with bright green olives, a french fry platter with 4 different sauces, bread, and tinto de verano (for only 5,50 Euros). It made the rest of the day a lot more tolerable. I could tell people were getting sick of each other and the lack of space/time to themselves. The  3 of us quickly did some shopping; I actually bought something! A black wool cap for the winter months. Hopeful thinking. I can't wait for cold weather. It'll go perfectly with my new magenta peacoat back home.

At 16:00, we a Mérida tour of the Roman ruins: teatro (theater), anfiteatro (amphitheater), acueducto (aquaducts), etc. I absolutely adored the coliseum and and theater. I can't wait until Rome! That way, I get to see TWO famous coliseums in a matter of 3 months! Ruins rock. Hahah, get it?! Our feet were hurtin' after that day. It was such a long one, after all. We caught the bus back to cenar (to dine/eat dinner) at the hotel. We had tuna salad (again, to my delight), soup with eggs, chicken, bacon, and rice in chicken broth (interesting texture), two whole slabs of pork loin (cerdo) (both of which I didn't touch), and a type of potato/bacon casserole. Fresh watermelon for dessert! Wine to finish! I slept like a baby!

After a huge, painful debate, Willem and the other "authority figures" decided to wake us up an hour early, 7:15! I had no problem, since I usually jump out of bed, but others were not so gleeful. We crawled downstairs for breakfast: toast with honey (and butter, finally!), plain yogurt, quince jelly again (more like a pate this time), fried eggs (so cold, but still good), and mango/peach juice. I stole Special K for a snack. I should really stop this thievery. I'll get a bad rep.

Out in the cold, we jogged to the bus. We loaded up and drove 2 hours to Guadalupe. The ride was hairy, scary. The mountainous, winding roads did NOT do wonders for my uneasy stomach and bladder. At times, I thought we'd fall off into the beautiful abyss that is the Spanish desert valley. I practically kissed the ground when we arrived in the Plaza Mayor of Guadalupe, right in front of the monasterio (monastery). Before I did anything, I quick ran to the nearest aseos (toilets), bought a coffee out of guilt, and recuperated on the steps of the church.

Once all together again, we went inside to wait for the supposedly strict monjes (monks). They run a very tight schedule for tours. I guess they're a big deal, or something. :)

The church was beautiful. We were lucky to see the first 5 minutes of misa (mass). Confusing, but worth it. Sadly, we couldn't take any pix inside the monastery. Of course, the one place I REALLY wanted to. I had to resort to "mental pix". I wish you all could have seen the ornate decorations of this place. Unlike anything I've ever seen. I think it was moorish, but it reminded me of Gaudí-ish, too. All the crucifixes were a bit much, by the end, though. I was getting creeped out. Spanish artists are intense with the gore, you know? ¿Sabes?

We toured through several different rooms. These rooms were so decorated, I had sensory overload! Every inch of the wall was painted! There was gold, mirrrors, paintings, naked women/babies, crystal chandeliers, boxes of bones, crosses and crowns, jewels, stained-glass windows, ceramic sculptures, ornate wooden doors, tiled archways, and so much more! Dizzying! In one hot room, we were allowed to line up in front of a monk (yes, a real live one!), and kiss the virgen (virgin Mary). I did it, even though most were grossed out. I thought, otherwise, I'd regret it. She was purrty. Relax though, no tongue was involved. Heheh, I jest.

Once out in the real world again, after regaining my eyesight and balance, Billy Wunder (tis really his name), Mack, and I splurged for a real meal: Menú del Día for only 9 Euros at Restaurante Altamira. It was the sweetest place, just off the beaten path. We beat the lunch rush, thankfully. We all got paella with mariscos (shellfish), my first yet! I ate the clams, but had no idea how to eat the shrimp, they were so tiny and I wasn't too fond of accidentally munching on their heads. But overall, it was sooo yummy. We all got pollo asado con patatas fritas (grilled chicken with french fries) too. French fries are a big deal here. They're all fried in olive oil, thankfully, so they're a little healthier, or so I keep telling myself. Olive oil makes everything taste better. We got bread and wine (pan y vino) with our meal too. The vino here was much better than the night before. And lastly, we got an included postre (dessert). I had my first arroz con leche (rice pudding), Billy had helado (ice cream), and Mack had flan con nata (flan with cream). All so good. All so happy.

After rubbing our successful meal in the others' faces, we boarded the bus yet again for the long 4.5 bus ride back home to Alcalá. I spoke of Donald Sutherland movies with Willem and Esteban for some of the way. But you know, there is only so much you can say on that topic. So I slept the rest of the way. Which means I have all of my homework left to do now! How joyous!

Well, this has lasted long enough, don't you think?

P.s. I got 100% on my first ever quiz overseas! Good start, eh?
P.p.s. I'm thinking more and more of home these days. It's not that I'm homesick. I just want you all over here with me so I can experience this with you! Why, here's an idea: come visit me! <3

This is Clara, signing off. Over and out. Paz and love.