The weekend in the Country.

Well each new excursion seems to beat the last one and this past weekend´s adventure to Sorvilan, a small town in the Alpujarras, has yet again topped any past experience while in Spain.  To begin with, La Alpujarras is a region on the southern side of the Sierra Nevadas that divides Granada from another province called Almeria.  Almost the entire region is agricultural based and consists of small towns that sadly are shrinking in numbers and rely on the tourism in the summer.  Our trip to Sorvilan was to learn about the agricultural side of Andalucia and to see a different way of living than we are used to here in the city of Granada.  The terrain is very mountainous and lies on the coast of Spain, let me just say that from the balcony in the house we stayed at we could see a mountain range in Morocco!!!  I think knowing that we could see Africa from where we stood was the most mind boggling experience of the whole trip.  Let me also preface that I had many misconceptions about our trip:  I thought it was going to be mostly lectures from the couple that took us in (on agriculture and the region), meeting local town people and studying the general area.  I was very very wrong!  (But in the best of ways).  This trip was the epitome of experiential learning.  

Sorvilan

 Friday our academic director, going along with her usual attitude of letting us discover everything entirely on our own, told us to be at the bus station at 1:30 and that we better make that bus because there was only one to Sorvilan.  So there were seven of us girls, because there was not enough room for everyone in the program to go at once, unaccompanied by professor or guide.  I think once we finally got on the bus our minds started actually realizing yet again we were left on our own and had no idea what to expect or even how we were going to get to our final destination since we didn't know who was picking us up.  I at least speak for myself, I had so many questions that day!  The bus ride which my family said would take an hour.... took four through the mountains.  Our professors had warned us that if we got motion sick then to take some Dramamine because the road to Sorvilan was rather windy.  Was that an understatement!  I don't know how many of you have ever driven up Pikes Peak or any other mountain, but it's a little nerve racking when you can look over the edge and see a straight drop.  Picture making a drive up a mountain, on a small, narrow road, in a greyhound bus!  Even after my Dramamine I think I was too nervous to sleep, even though I knew there was nothing I could do.  But somehow watching the bus driving made me feel a little more in control of the narrow road situation.  The other girls laughed at me because they said every time they opened their eyes they saw me on the edge of my seat, squinting and tightening my grip at each curve.  I couldn't help it, every turn on my side of the bus looked as if the driver was casually going to take us off the edge, I wanted to shout at him, "turn already!" each time he waited till the last minute.  Obviously now that I am home safe and sound, I admit those bus drivers know what they're doing.  Even with the little nervousness the drive was pleasant because the views were incredible.  The minute we saw the ocean everyone perked up.  Also I should add that we were the youngest people on the bus and every stop we only picked up more old people who seemed to immediately comment on the number of young people on this bus.  To add to my humorous encounter with older people, at our last stop before Sorvilan we took a break at a bar in which all the men immediately abandoned their wives to get a drink.  At the point of reloading the bus there was an older couple who were having some trouble getting up the stairs of the bus.  From our seats we heardwhat I'm sure was typical "we've been married for 50 years" Spanish arguing and I could only infer that the husband was trying to hoist his wife up the stairs while he himself was having trouble balancing himself and her with his cane.  For a good two minutes all we heard was him laughing at his wife and cussing while she yelled at him "hombre!" and that he should be quiet and "watch his language," that there were "people" on the bus, meaning us young ones, the only ones not from the town.  When they finally showed their faces she was rather annoyed, but of course the little old man stopped and began telling us about whatever had just taken place and was of course laughing about it while the woman yelled at him from the back of the bus to be quiet and sit down.  Needless to say all the men joined in his laughter while the women yelled at their spouses.  Meanwhile, the seven of us just sat their laughing and agreeing at how entertaining older people can be.

View from our Patio (Across the sea is Morocco)

Finally we arrived to Sorvilan and a sweet looking man with a dog met us at the bus station and after introductions we made our way down to his house.  Keep in mind this town is situated on the side of a mountain, so it's very steep going further into the town and of course a killer going back up!  We arrived to the most charming house, picture those Greek islands with their white houses, that was this town.  It was absolutely breath taking the structure of the house and all seven of us had the entire upstairs/balcony to ourselves and while some had to share a bed, it was so cold that those of us not sharing a bed ended up doing so for the warmth.  The view from their balcony was breathtaking as we could see the sea, and vaguely the mountains of Morocco.

Just one of the examples of the quaintness and architecture of the home.

 Friday night was free and we wandered the town, not very far to wander, but we did of course find the local bar.  It was very much a "men's" bar.  A few of the girls wanted to buy a bottle of wine to enjoy later that evening but we were not able to buy a bottle and the bar tender informed us that Sorvilan is known for making its own, distinctive wine and unfortunately not in bottles.  The three largest products of this area are wine, figs and almonds.  So being ambitious, some of the girls thought it best to follow the mans advice and did not buy a bottle of wine but a box of it!  The girls thought that buying twice as much for a "better" deal than the smaller box of wine was the economical thing to do.  So, they purchased a 15 liter box of wine!!!!  If you can picture 15 liters of any liquid I'm sure you're laughing right now.  Yep, we ended up hardly making a dent in it because each night we ended up more exhausted than anticipated.  So that box of wine followed us back to Granada and I'm sure we'll enjoy it for the next month.  After our "economic" purchase we went back to the house and enjoyed the night stars on the patio.  It was much colder than any of us anticipated and so the seven of us packed onto a twin size bed and piled blankets on and had a typical girls night under the stars!

So to say a little about our hosts, Domingo and Enrique, they are the nicest couple I have met here in Spain so far, and most people are incredibly nice, so that says a lot.  They are a couple who said they have hosted students from our program for 20 years!  Not only were they incredibly knowledgeable about practically everything, they were marvelous cooks.  After each entree I asked for the recipes.  Our first night's meal was a Portuguese soup, and then a rice and vegetable dish which was absolutely amazing, followed by an orange tart.  Everything was homemade!  Needless to say after our second night's meal I politely asked if they would adopt me.

The very top of the "mountain" in the background was our destination.

Saturday morning we were met with coffee and tostadas, homemade marmalade, home grown tea and honey (probably from some local hive).  I think we managed to surprise them by how much bread we consumed.  Once we discovered the schedule for the day we consumed even more.  Our day in short consisted of four hours of hiking, totaling around twelve miles, jumping over many rivers, panting out of breath because almost the entire hike was up a mountain and quite a lot of "how many more kilometers?"  That is what I mean when I say it was honest experiential learning, not just learning about the region but walking it.  However I enjoyed every minute of it!  The scenery was amazing, and talking with Domingo about the local agriculture and finding out that I could buy 2 kilos of figs for 5 Euros was even better.  I will admit that no matter how pretty the scenery, once you've been climbing a mountain for 3 hours you get to a point that all you notice is how hard you are breathing.  This was the part of our trip which Antonia simply referred to as "something special,"  obviously we realized why she neglected to mention anything about scaling what I consider a small mountain. Oh how I wished we had had someone following us with a camera so they could record all the "humorous" words we chose to describe our exhaustion. I think the only thing after the first three hours that kept me going was our promised picnic at the top where we would enjoy pasta salad and water!  After a little over four hours we reached the top, found a clearing and passed out on a heap of gravel.  Those last thirty minutes that we had to wait for Enrique to bring the food in his car was one of the longest half hours I've ever experienced.  After trying to distract ourselves with songs, a little Flamenco and a quick nap the arrival of the food was even sweeter!  We carried our food up to a clearing in the forest nearby and had a makeshift picnic on trash bags and pieces of cork trees. I think we were so delusional from exhaustion that I vaguely remember some monkey noises and a lot of grabbing and throwing in order to quickly distribute the food.   That was by far the most rewarding picnic (it even included wine!)  After walking to the bus stop and waiting in a local bar, which luckily served hot chocolate, we took the bus back to Sorvilan and everyone passed out until dinner time.  I however was rather invigorated from our hike and ended up taking the dog, Lola, for a walk and exploring more views of the village.  That evening, after Domingo discovered my shared love of figs, we went to a neighbors and bought some for me to take back to Granada.  When I told him how I never bought them because they are so expensive in the U.S. he made it his mission to find me some.  He even bought another local postre for me to try!  My love of food is quite obvious, but I think even more obvious in this country.  That night we went to a bodega where they make the local wine and had our own tapas and wine.  It was very informal as our table was a wine barrel in what looked like an old abandoned barn.  After dinner back at home, which we barely stayed awake for, we crashed rather early and did not feel bad about that 15 liters of wine sitting on the table untouched.

1300 meters above sea level!  The top of our hike.

Sunday morning we enjoyed another desayuno of tostada and coffee.  Despite this month's rainy trend (in an area that never gets rain) we trekked down to the beach in order to catch the bus back to Granada.  This three hour walk was something we had prepared for, I think Antonia felt she could tell us about this one beforehand because it was all downhill and she knew we wouldn't complain too much.  Let's just say that at the end of our 2 1/2 hours down to the beach my whole lower body was feeling the walk from the day before and am very sore on this beautiful Monday morning.  Our walk was not uneventful as we were attacked by bees at one point and immediately shot down the hill.  Domingo said he thought that stretch of the trip was why it only took us 2 1/2 hours instead of the full three.  Just try to imagine a bunch of girls running, some of them screaming, down a hill (yes there were arms flailing and swatting).  However it was not just girls being girls, even Domingo began to run when it seemed these were unusually aggressive bees.  One characteristic of this region is the large amount of "Invadiernos" which translates to Greenhouses is English.  The amount of sun and mild climate of this area makes utilizing these greenhouses a profitable business.  Unfortunately with any large, profit making business comes harm to the environment and actually the bees we encountered are sick and full of chemicals because when people find them in their greenhouses (which are not organic) they take the beehives up to the roads and toss their hives up there. Domingo actually said it is illegal to throw the hives so close to the road because of the danger to people and he is going to talk to his city counsel about it!

How entirely pitiful we looked once we arrived at the beach.  As soon as we found a bench we all plopped down and pulled out our sandwiches which were scarfed down in minutes. To add to our already pitiful look of hungry, tired, sore and for some, hurting limbs from their bee stings, it began to rain as soon as we began our impromptu lunch.  Nearly every local that drove by just stared at this scene of pitiful looking Americans.  But after several hours of waiting for our bus, and a quick stop at the Mediterranean, we were on our bus back home to Granada.  I can now say I have been "in" the Mediterranean, well a foot at least.  It was quite a weekend and while I love Granada, being out in the "country" reminded me of the place I talk so often of when I am in the U.S., my beloved Ranch.  The musty smell of the place and the peace of the town and people reminded me of country life back in Texas, so it was a nice reminder of my own beautiful homeland.  Also once you've spent so much time in the city you realize how nice it is to see open spaces and simple things like grass make you smile.  I hope someday to return to La Alpujarras and one day see the world travelers, Domingo and Enrique again.  Words cannot even describe what a beautiful weekend it was and today I am consistently reminded of our adventures with each step I take because of the soreness in my legs and backside! Climbing mountains tends to stay with you for a few days I guess.