My year in Spain teaching English has come to an end. I finished teaching last Thursday. I have had to say good-bye to good friends, colleagues, and students. Today, I am packed and ready to go tomorrow, but not home. Tomorrow, Bijan and I are heading to Morocco for ? days. I hope to work on WWOOF farms there and in Spain over the next 4 months in preparation for Peace Corps.

I applied to the Peace Corps recently, and the final thing I have to do is a medical and dental examination…however, I don’t know when that will get completed since I will be “out of the office” for a little while. They have offered me an offer for Latin/South America in Agriculture starting in May ’10. I was really hoping for Central Asia (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, etc) but beggars can’t be choosers.

My year in Spain teaching English has come to an end. I finished teaching last Thursday. I have had to say good-bye to good friends, colleagues, and students. Today, I am packed and ready to go tomorrow, but not home. Tomorrow, Bijan and I are heading to Morocco for ? days. I hope to work on WWOOF farms there and in Spain over the next 4 months in preparation for Peace Corps.

I applied to the Peace Corps recently, and the final thing I have to do is a medical and dental examination…however, I don’t know when that will get completed since I will be “out of the office” for a little while. They have offered me an offer for Latin/South America in Agriculture starting in May ’10. I was really hoping for Central Asia (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, etc) but beggars can’t be choosers.

Day 7- Reinosa

a) We slept in the hills above Bilbao, which was a unique and terrifying experience. The next morning we were eager to hit the road and get out of Pais Vasco (even though it hosted the most memorable experiences of our trip). After several scheduling hassles we finally made our way out of Bilbao on Train towards Santander, Cantabria.

b) We planned on exiting sooner than Santander and hitchhiking from there to out destination in the south, Reinosa. However, a very cool train conductor let us ride the train an hour longer than we anticipated so that we could get closer to our destination.

c) We arrived in Torrelavega, directly north of our destination. We walked to the edge of town and Calvin told me to stick the thumb out. I declined. We were still within city limits and I don’t like to bother people who are just going to their house, etc. However, I reluctantly stuck out the ole pulgar to satisfy the Cal-man. Sure enough, 10 sec. later a Land Rover was waiting for us on the side of the rode.

d) Hitchhike #12, Antonio and his wife pulled over (we got the feeling that is was more his wife’s idea) She volunteered Antonio to take us on his trip to the south (which she was not accompanying him, he seemed thrilled). Antonio is a 50-something highschool teacher near Madrid (he looks like a mix between Jerry Garcia and my highschool government teacher, Charlie Daniel Triggs). He was SUPER informative. The ride went so fast. We explained the culture of the region and the habits of the pastors in the hills around us. We got so chatty that he drove us past out destination, which was fine because on the route backtracking he stopped to show us a 12th century church known for the sexually crude gargoyles. Shortly after he dropped us in Reinosa where we awaited the arrival of our Couchsurfing host.

e) Rob, a retired British naval officer was out CS host for the Cantabrian duration. He lives in a beautiful hamlet cottage in a small town on the outskirts of Reinosa. At his house, we were able to do laundry while he whipped up some fantastic risotto.

Day 8- Reinosa

a) A great portion of the day was spent walking around the Embalse de Ebro (a reservoir) with Rob and his English Setters, Coral & Mara.

b) After the long walk, we were treated to more great company and food. We ended up watching a Pink Panther movie in the evening.

Click here for more pictures of Cantabria…

Day 9- Asturies bound (Arenas de Cabrales)

a) The forecast for Asturies was rainy and snow in the higher altitudes. We tried to find couchsurfing locations in Santander but never received a response. We decided that we wanted to see Asturies and the Picos de Europa no matter what the conditions were. A train and a bus later we were in Panes.

b) Hitchhike #13, a young mountain biker from Huesca, Aragon in an orange VW. He took us to our next destination, Las Arenas de Cabrales.

c) In Las Arenas we found a cider-house and tried the famous cider and cabrales cheese of Asturias. We didn’t know where we were going to stay so we thought about starting down the hiking trail, but we soon found that it gets steep and rocky, no place to pitch a tent. We turned back and searched the countryside around Las Arenas with a building that was under construction always in the back our mind, a last minute refuge. In the outskirts we found a cool country church next to a stream. A man was walking his dog and we asked him if there is anyone inside. He informed us that we just missed the priest. He gave us directions to his house and the description and make of his car. We quickly found the house and rang the bell. Pedro opened the door and I bumbled through our situation and our good intentions, but he bluntly (but kindly) asked “What do you desire?” “Can we sleep in the churchyard?” He told us definitely, so we snapped a shot with him and hit the road. We pitched our tent and made some food and called it a day.

Day 10- Ruta de Cares > Ribadesella

a) Walk the Ruta de Cares trail.

b) Hitchhike #14, Fabio and his wife were going to drive 10min to a cabin they were staying at for the weekend, however, they were super generous and drove us for like 45min to their hometown Rian?o, which was actually not on our route, however, our crossroads were where we needed to turn was in the mountains, where it was snowing, and had little traffic for hitchhiking. So they took us to the bus station at Rian?o. Since it was the holidays there weren’t any buses going in our direction. Fabio and his wife felt kind of bad for taking us out of our way. But they were so generous, we didn’t want them to feel bad or offer to take us more out of their way. They wished us luck and we parted ways.

c) So we started walking back the way we come from, hoping that we would get picked up. We arrived at a small village of one row of houses. There, we stopped in a restaurant for a meal (we were trying to do everything cheaply, however, being a Sunday and a holiday all of the grocery stores were closed-we were at the bay of the restaurant businesses). We each got a menu del día for €9, a little expensive, however, considering we got a bottle of wine, club soda, potato-boar soup, wild boar chops, dessert, and coffee, we were contented. We stayed inside to avoid the cold and digest the great meal, however, the road was calling. We waited on the road side for about an hour when a car finally slowed to take us.

d) Hitchhike #15, well wouldn’t you know it if it wasn’t Fabio and his wife journeying back to the cabin after restocking supplies in their town. We laughed at the situation and hopped inside. They could only take us to the crossroad in the mountain where it was still snowing. They wished us luck and left us there wagging our thumbs in the cold.

e) Hitchhike #16, fortunately a couple stopped to get us. The man works in wildlife conservation, specifically for the preservation of the Urogallo. In fact, when they dropped us off at Oseja de Sajambre he gave Calvin a stuffed animal version of the Urogallo. Buena gente.

f) In Oseja we waiting on the edge of town. The owner of the house we stood in front of, a little old lady, would peak out the door every now and again to see what we were up to…we were desperately hoping that she would invite us in and put us next to the fire…but it never happened.

g) Hitchhike #17, a middle-aged graphic designer from Gijon named Felix. As we were going down the road we stopped in a small town to get a special cheese that was his favorite and did a quick bottle of cider. He drove us all the way to Ribadesella on the coast. In town he took us to a restaurant that he hadn’t visited since his childhood, there we ate a huge variety of tapas complete with a tour of cheeses. Afterwards, he dropped us off on the outskirts of town where we found a dark place to camp close to a sports complex.

h) This time we weren’t in the woods, but within city limits, so we were extra cautious about people sneaking up on us in the night. We pitched the tent next to a wall with the river 5 ft on the other side. After out experiences outside city limits of Bilbao, we were super cautious about being in city limits, but there wasn’t anything to do but sleep and hope. Mid-way through the night, there was a slap on the corner of the tent closest to my head. We both woke up and looked at each other. Cal usually thrashes in his sleep so I asked if it was him. However, when is trashes it is hard to wake him up, so him being awoken by the noise was a good sign that it wasn’t him. He poked his head out of the door and looked around. He saw nothing, neither did we hear anything the rest of the night.

Day 11 & 12- Ribadesella > Gijon

a) The next morning we woke up at sunrise because we were worried a pedestrian might call us in if they saw us (although there wouldn’t be any repercussions anyway…we just wanted to avoid the hassle). Cal exited the tent and asked “Boone, did you know there is a dead cat on the tent?”… Our theory is a young pack of teenagers found it and thought they would give it as a present to the poor hungry travelers. After packing we tried several exit points in town trying to hitch to Gijon. Unfortunately, Ribadesella is on the coast, making it more valuable property, which increases the number of BMWs, Mercedes, and other pijo autos…so nobody wanted to give a couple of weary beardies a lift. In the end we took the bus. In Gijon, we settled for getting a hostel for our two nights there. We spent most of our time hanging out and trying to spend the bare minimum possible.

Click here for pictures of Asturias…

Day 13- Departure

a) I had been looking forward to this day since half-way through the trip. Standing on the side of the road half the day, sleeping in the tent, and dodging the guardia is hard work, so I was ready to be home. We arrived at the airport about 2 hours before our departure and passed the time playing Uno and drinking cafe con leche. The time for departure came and went. Our flight was delayed for “technical reasons”. More time passes and the announcement is made that the flight is canceled, so we immediately bolt to the ticket counter to see what they are offering. They put us on the next flight to Madrid with a connection with Sevilla (in fact, our theory is that they had space on other flights, so they canceled ours and sent us through connections on other flights to save $$$) Later in the evening we arrive in Sevilla, however, we arrive after the trains are circulating to our town Lebrija and the airline wouldn’t buy us a taxi for the inconvenience (penny pinching capitalist swine :o) ) In Sevilla, we tried to call a friend or two but they didn’t answer because it was late. At this point we are tired and as grouchy as can be. I told Cal I was going to go to parque María Luisa and would find some bushes to sleep in. Cal wasn’t fond of the idea, but I was tired and determined. I did a lap in the park to scout and found a circle of bushes that looked high and thick enough to hide to men. I had Cal come inspect it while I lay in the center. He was surprised by the coverage it provided. We went back to get our gear where we left it. It was then that we felt the first few raindrops, which shot down our bush plan. It was already a few hours into day 14 of our trip, 2:00 am, and patience was already thin back in the airport in Gijon…We took shelter under a covered patio. Calvin wasn’t too comfortable with sleeping in the park, but I was to tired and miserable to give a damn. I got out my sleeping pad and bag and went to sleep while Calvin sat on the bench. I woke up a few times and he was gone, but I saw him in the distance patrolling the perimeter. The next time I woke up he was sleeping on his mat next to me, shivering because he wouldn’t get out his sleeping bag. (I asked him later why he didn’t get it out, “I didn’t want to be in an enclosed space if anyone came up on us.”) We woke up at dawn and started the 1 hr walk to the place in town where my teachers meet. We waited there until the first batch came to carpool. I can only imagine what we smelled like (especially, since the night before we slept in a corner that smelled like urine).

Click here to see pictures of the Boone-Cal duo kicking ass and taking names…

Day 7- Reinosa

a) We slept in the hills above Bilbao, which was a unique and terrifying experience. The next morning we were eager to hit the road and get out of Pais Vasco (even though it hosted the most memorable experiences of our trip). After several scheduling hassles we finally made our way out of Bilbao on Train towards Santander, Cantabria.

b) We planned on exiting sooner than Santander and hitchhiking from there to out destination in the south, Reinosa. However, a very cool train conductor let us ride the train an hour longer than we anticipated so that we could get closer to our destination.

c) We arrived in Torrelavega, directly north of our destination. We walked to the edge of town and Calvin told me to stick the thumb out. I declined. We were still within city limits and I don’t like to bother people who are just going to their house, etc. However, I reluctantly stuck out the ole pulgar to satisfy the Cal-man. Sure enough, 10 sec. later a Land Rover was waiting for us on the side of the rode.

d) Hitchhike #12, Antonio and his wife pulled over (we got the feeling that is was more his wife’s idea) She volunteered Antonio to take us on his trip to the south (which she was not accompanying him, he seemed thrilled). Antonio is a 50-something highschool teacher near Madrid (he looks like a mix between Jerry Garcia and my highschool government teacher, Charlie Daniel Triggs). He was SUPER informative. The ride went so fast. We explained the culture of the region and the habits of the pastors in the hills around us. We got so chatty that he drove us past out destination, which was fine because on the route backtracking he stopped to show us a 12th century church known for the sexually crude gargoyles. Shortly after he dropped us in Reinosa where we awaited the arrival of our Couchsurfing host.

e) Rob, a retired British naval officer was out CS host for the Cantabrian duration. He lives in a beautiful hamlet cottage in a small town on the outskirts of Reinosa. At his house, we were able to do laundry while he whipped up some fantastic risotto.

Day 8- Reinosa

a) A great portion of the day was spent walking around the Embalse de Ebro (a reservoir) with Rob and his English Setters, Coral & Mara.

b) After the long walk, we were treated to more great company and food. We ended up watching a Pink Panther movie in the evening.

Click here for more pictures of Cantabria…

Day 9- Asturies bound (Arenas de Cabrales)

a) The forecast for Asturies was rainy and snow in the higher altitudes. We tried to find couchsurfing locations in Santander but never received a response. We decided that we wanted to see Asturies and the Picos de Europa no matter what the conditions were. A train and a bus later we were in Panes.

b) Hitchhike #13, a young mountain biker from Huesca, Aragon in an orange VW. He took us to our next destination, Las Arenas de Cabrales.

c) In Las Arenas we found a cider-house and tried the famous cider and cabrales cheese of Asturias. We didn’t know where we were going to stay so we thought about starting down the hiking trail, but we soon found that it gets steep and rocky, no place to pitch a tent. We turned back and searched the countryside around Las Arenas with a building that was under construction always in the back our mind, a last minute refuge. In the outskirts we found a cool country church next to a stream. A man was walking his dog and we asked him if there is anyone inside. He informed us that we just missed the priest. He gave us directions to his house and the description and make of his car. We quickly found the house and rang the bell. Pedro opened the door and I bumbled through our situation and our good intentions, but he bluntly (but kindly) asked “What do you desire?” “Can we sleep in the churchyard?” He told us definitely, so we snapped a shot with him and hit the road. We pitched our tent and made some food and called it a day.

Day 10- Ruta de Cares > Ribadesella

a) Walk the Ruta de Cares trail.

b) Hitchhike #14, Fabio and his wife were going to drive 10min to a cabin they were staying at for the weekend, however, they were super generous and drove us for like 45min to their hometown Rian?o, which was actually not on our route, however, our crossroads were where we needed to turn was in the mountains, where it was snowing, and had little traffic for hitchhiking. So they took us to the bus station at Rian?o. Since it was the holidays there weren’t any buses going in our direction. Fabio and his wife felt kind of bad for taking us out of our way. But they were so generous, we didn’t want them to feel bad or offer to take us more out of their way. They wished us luck and we parted ways.

c) So we started walking back the way we come from, hoping that we would get picked up. We arrived at a small village of one row of houses. There, we stopped in a restaurant for a meal (we were trying to do everything cheaply, however, being a Sunday and a holiday all of the grocery stores were closed-we were at the bay of the restaurant businesses). We each got a menu del día for €9, a little expensive, however, considering we got a bottle of wine, club soda, potato-boar soup, wild boar chops, dessert, and coffee, we were contented. We stayed inside to avoid the cold and digest the great meal, however, the road was calling. We waited on the road side for about an hour when a car finally slowed to take us.

d) Hitchhike #15, well wouldn’t you know it if it wasn’t Fabio and his wife journeying back to the cabin after restocking supplies in their town. We laughed at the situation and hopped inside. They could only take us to the crossroad in the mountain where it was still snowing. They wished us luck and left us there wagging our thumbs in the cold.

e) Hitchhike #16, fortunately a couple stopped to get us. The man works in wildlife conservation, specifically for the preservation of the Urogallo. In fact, when they dropped us off at Oseja de Sajambre he gave Calvin a stuffed animal version of the Urogallo. Buena gente.

f) In Oseja we waiting on the edge of town. The owner of the house we stood in front of, a little old lady, would peak out the door every now and again to see what we were up to…we were desperately hoping that she would invite us in and put us next to the fire…but it never happened.

g) Hitchhike #17, a middle-aged graphic designer from Gijon named Felix. As we were going down the road we stopped in a small town to get a special cheese that was his favorite and did a quick bottle of cider. He drove us all the way to Ribadesella on the coast. In town he took us to a restaurant that he hadn’t visited since his childhood, there we ate a huge variety of tapas complete with a tour of cheeses. Afterwards, he dropped us off on the outskirts of town where we found a dark place to camp close to a sports complex.

h) This time we weren’t in the woods, but within city limits, so we were extra cautious about people sneaking up on us in the night. We pitched the tent next to a wall with the river 5 ft on the other side. After out experiences outside city limits of Bilbao, we were super cautious about being in city limits, but there wasn’t anything to do but sleep and hope. Mid-way through the night, there was a slap on the corner of the tent closest to my head. We both woke up and looked at each other. Cal usually thrashes in his sleep so I asked if it was him. However, when is trashes it is hard to wake him up, so him being awoken by the noise was a good sign that it wasn’t him. He poked his head out of the door and looked around. He saw nothing, neither did we hear anything the rest of the night.

Day 11 & 12- Ribadesella > Gijon

a) The next morning we woke up at sunrise because we were worried a pedestrian might call us in if they saw us (although there wouldn’t be any repercussions anyway…we just wanted to avoid the hassle). Cal exited the tent and asked “Boone, did you know there is a dead cat on the tent?”… Our theory is a young pack of teenagers found it and thought they would give it as a present to the poor hungry travelers. After packing we tried several exit points in town trying to hitch to Gijon. Unfortunately, Ribadesella is on the coast, making it more valuable property, which increases the number of BMWs, Mercedes, and other pijo autos…so nobody wanted to give a couple of weary beardies a lift. In the end we took the bus. In Gijon, we settled for getting a hostel for our two nights there. We spent most of our time hanging out and trying to spend the bare minimum possible.

Click here for pictures of Asturias…

Day 13- Departure

a) I had been looking forward to this day since half-way through the trip. Standing on the side of the road half the day, sleeping in the tent, and dodging the guardia is hard work, so I was ready to be home. We arrived at the airport about 2 hours before our departure and passed the time playing Uno and drinking cafe con leche. The time for departure came and went. Our flight was delayed for “technical reasons”. More time passes and the announcement is made that the flight is canceled, so we immediately bolt to the ticket counter to see what they are offering. They put us on the next flight to Madrid with a connection with Sevilla (in fact, our theory is that they had space on other flights, so they canceled ours and sent us through connections on other flights to save $$$) Later in the evening we arrive in Sevilla, however, we arrive after the trains are circulating to our town Lebrija and the airline wouldn’t buy us a taxi for the inconvenience (penny pinching capitalist swine :o) ) In Sevilla, we tried to call a friend or two but they didn’t answer because it was late. At this point we are tired and as grouchy as can be. I told Cal I was going to go to parque María Luisa and would find some bushes to sleep in. Cal wasn’t fond of the idea, but I was tired and determined. I did a lap in the park to scout and found a circle of bushes that looked high and thick enough to hide to men. I had Cal come inspect it while I lay in the center. He was surprised by the coverage it provided. We went back to get our gear where we left it. It was then that we felt the first few raindrops, which shot down our bush plan. It was already a few hours into day 14 of our trip, 2:00 am, and patience was already thin back in the airport in Gijon…We took shelter under a covered patio. Calvin wasn’t too comfortable with sleeping in the park, but I was to tired and miserable to give a damn. I got out my sleeping pad and bag and went to sleep while Calvin sat on the bench. I woke up a few times and he was gone, but I saw him in the distance patrolling the perimeter. The next time I woke up he was sleeping on his mat next to me, shivering because he wouldn’t get out his sleeping bag. (I asked him later why he didn’t get it out, “I didn’t want to be in an enclosed space if anyone came up on us.”) We woke up at dawn and started the 1 hr walk to the place in town where my teachers meet. We waited there until the first batch came to carpool. I can only imagine what we smelled like (especially, since the night before we slept in a corner that smelled like urine).

Click here to see pictures of the Boone-Cal duo kicking ass and taking names…

For those of you who don’t know, my work week is pretty nice-12hrs over Monday-Thursday. So we had last week off for semana santa (holy week) and I took off two days at the beginning of the week plus the weekends, so my roommate Calvin and I set off for the North country for 12 DAYS. Alot can happen in 12 days on the road, and it did. For the sake of length and time (both mine and yours) I will try to leave out the adjectives and adverbs except for the more colorful stories.

Day 1 & 2- Bilbao, País Vasco, or Euskadi Hierra in the native tongue. It is known for being the separatist part of Spain and the ETA terrorist group, which will be needed info for a story further down.

a) We met to our couchsurfing host a girl from Portugal and a guy from France and went out for drinks.

b) Frank Gehry’s Gugghenheim = cooler on the outside than within (but it all depends on the exhibits that you bump into)

c) Museum of Fine Arts = more traditional lineup, more our style.

Day 3- Plentzia -> Mundaka

a) see the coast

b) Hitchhike #1 outside of Plentzia. We don’t remember anything about him.

c) Hitchhike #2, we don’t remember much about him either. He was a working stiff who was born in Málaga.

d) Hitchhike #3, a seemingly grumpy uninterested fellow. However, he took us a little bit out of his way so that we would have a good place to stand.

When hitchhiking it might be easy to profile people and assume they will or won’t stop based on the make of the car. For instance, a Mercedes, BMW, or Audi we almost never even wasted the thumb exertion. However, had we been too prejudice we would have missed a really cool family.

e) Hitchhike #4, affluent family of 4 in an SUV. They exited their car to help us with our bags, all smiles and even attempting some English. They had two young boys inside and we greeted the lads when we entered. They were on there way to Bakio but we were going to Bermeo, but they dropped us at the crossroads. They were very kind and told us that not all Basques are terrorists, the Basques are actually very warm to foreigners, but less so to other Spaniards. When they dropped us off, the padre, who looked like Peter Gallagher, saw a VW van coming and waved them over. He gave Calvin a lovingly spanish slap on the cheek and drove off.

f) Hitchhike #5, white VW van with a hippy couple from Navarra, the community that has Pamplona and the running of the bulls. They took us to Bermo

g) walk to Mundaka, notable surf spot, and camp next to cemetery on a hill.

Day 4- Mundaka -> Hondaribbia

a) We started walking south towards Gernika, or Guernica, the namesake of the famous (and best) Picasso painting.

b) Hitchhike #6, a trail hiker on his way to Durango, he took us to the center of Gernika and went on his way.

c) We started walking towards the next city with thumbs out. We walked far out into the country side with no luck with the passing cars. It started to rain and we were stranded at a roundabout in the middle of nowhere. We decided to make sandwiches and wait for the rain to clear. As we sat there a road biker was coming around the corner of a downhill highway. He hit a rut in the road and swerved to the curb. The impact with the curb sent him flying over his handlebars and his bike tumbling on top of him. We ran to him as fast as we could after the wreck. He tried to stand up but couldn’t stay on his feet for long. When we got closer we saw his nose was bleeding pretty bad. I got my first aid kit (which are worthless when you don’t know what to do with any of the contents) and offered a bandana for his bleeding. He didn’t need either. The best thing we could offer him was a cell phone for him to call an ambulance. Shortly after the police arrived and started handling the situation with the ambulance shortly after. They left and we remained in the middle of nowhere.

d) Hitchhike #7, Itxiar, took us down the road close to Lekeitio. She was a middle aged woman with a messy car who works in tourism.

e) Hitchhike #8, an Italian & Basque couple, took us to Ondarroa.

f) Hitchhike #9, a teenage rally car driver in a small suv that seemed like it would very easy tip over at the speeds he drove at around the curves. We were on our way to Mutriku and he left us at a crossroads.

g) Hitchhike #10, another VW van driver, took us to Mutriku.

h) In Mutriku we got some more pintxos, the Basque version of a tapa, and on the way out asked the waitress how to get to the road on the outskirts. An off-duty waitress overheard and told us she would just take us to the next town without us asking or hinting.

i) Hitchhike #11, the waitress, took us to Deba, one town further than where she lives.

j) We took a train and a bus to our courchsurfing destination for the day, Hondaribbia, on the French border. Cal found us a very unique couchsurfing experience on a boat in the harbour. Borja, our host and capítan, is studying sailboat design in England and was home for the holidays and very glad to show to guiris a good ole salty time. We were joined by a third couchsurfer from California for the boating experience. We had some dinner, some wine and hit the hay.

Day 5- Hondarribia -> San Sebastían

a) wake up

b) shower

c) SAIL to San Sebastían while hitting a few small fishing villages on the way

d) swim in the harbour of SS, jump from the crows nest into the cold waters

e) explore the town

Day 6- San Sebastían -> Bilbao

a) Mostly a day of backtracking to get to our next destination

b) We arrived in Bilbao in the evening and looked for an internet cafe to send out couchsurfing requests for later dates. Afterwards, we found a local, Bilbaino is demonym for someone from Bilbao, and asked if they thought there would be any problems camping in the hills (Bilbao is in a valley), they said there shouldn’t be any hassle.

Rachel Castlen-Estrada once said “tents are a beacon to the weird,” the following and a later story testify to that quote being an understatement.

c) We marched up the hill to a park area we had seen a few days earlier. In was relatively remote and level. There were a few paths and roads not to far away, but I did a test and walked to the road to see if the tent was visable. Nope, check. Calvin wanted to go a little further up where there was a small patch of trees, but I was tired and the tent was pitched so we stayed. We made some sandwiches on the picnic tables and went to bed. We were almost at the point of falling asleep when Cal heard some whispering and sat up. I expected it was probably just some youngins’ going to the countryside to drink in secret like so many do here. Then a flashlight fell upon our tent, still I thought, “maybe some farmers who don’t want us on the land.” Here is where I remind you that País Vasco is known for the terrorist group, ETA. Next we hear, “Cuidados, puede ser un trampa,” translated as “take caution, it could be a trap.” This is where Calvin and I look at eachother and make the infamous Scooby Doo noise, and think “What the hell?!” Next we hear “GUARDIA CIVIL! Salga con tus manos arriba!!” translated as “GUARDIA CIVIL! (a form of national military police, once very feared for brutality under the Franco regime) Come out with your hands up!!” Followed by the sound of rifles and shotguns loading. We almost soiled our sleeping bags right there. I quickly tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t have the slighest hint of sarcasm or dissrespect, but “tranquilos!” came out, “chill out!” I come out of the tent in my wool cap, soccer jersey, and boxers. We were surrounded by a troop of 10 or so, some were hiding behind trees. They immediately asked where we were from, clearly not being Spanish. “Somos estadounidenses.” The main officer immediately got a lot more cool, “Oh, well you guys didn’t have a clue. Son, this is a guarded military zone. Get your identification and slowly gather up your gear. There isn’t any problem, we are just going to write down your data.” Even though the situation was calmed down, my heart was still a blitzkrieg. Calvin still hasn’t even exited the tent because I guess he values putting his pants on more than his life. The officer told us we could just take our tent up the the same wooded section 200m away that Calvin wanted to camp at and we would be out of the perimeter. They really need to put up some signs or fences or something. We carry the tent and our bags in tact up the hill and continue talking about the fiasco until we fall asleep.

Two more parts to come…

For those of you who don’t know, my work week is pretty nice-12hrs over Monday-Thursday. So we had last week off for semana santa (holy week) and I took off two days at the beginning of the week plus the weekends, so my roommate Calvin and I set off for the North country for 12 DAYS. Alot can happen in 12 days on the road, and it did. For the sake of length and time (both mine and yours) I will try to leave out the adjectives and adverbs except for the more colorful stories.

Day 1 & 2- Bilbao, País Vasco, or Euskadi Hierra in the native tongue. It is known for being the separatist part of Spain and the ETA terrorist group, which will be needed info for a story further down.

a) We met to our couchsurfing host a girl from Portugal and a guy from France and went out for drinks.

b) Frank Gehry’s Gugghenheim = cooler on the outside than within (but it all depends on the exhibits that you bump into)

c) Museum of Fine Arts = more traditional lineup, more our style.

Day 3- Plentzia -> Mundaka

a) see the coast

b) Hitchhike #1 outside of Plentzia. We don’t remember anything about him.

c) Hitchhike #2, we don’t remember much about him either. He was a working stiff who was born in Málaga.

d) Hitchhike #3, a seemingly grumpy uninterested fellow. However, he took us a little bit out of his way so that we would have a good place to stand.

When hitchhiking it might be easy to profile people and assume they will or won’t stop based on the make of the car. For instance, a Mercedes, BMW, or Audi we almost never even wasted the thumb exertion. However, had we been too prejudice we would have missed a really cool family.

e) Hitchhike #4, affluent family of 4 in an SUV. They exited their car to help us with our bags, all smiles and even attempting some English. They had two young boys inside and we greeted the lads when we entered. They were on there way to Bakio but we were going to Bermeo, but they dropped us at the crossroads. They were very kind and told us that not all Basques are terrorists, the Basques are actually very warm to foreigners, but less so to other Spaniards. When they dropped us off, the padre, who looked like Peter Gallagher, saw a VW van coming and waved them over. He gave Calvin a lovingly spanish slap on the cheek and drove off.

f) Hitchhike #5, white VW van with a hippy couple from Navarra, the community that has Pamplona and the running of the bulls. They took us to Bermo

g) walk to Mundaka, notable surf spot, and camp next to cemetery on a hill.

Day 4- Mundaka -> Hondaribbia

a) We started walking south towards Gernika, or Guernica, the namesake of the famous (and best) Picasso painting.

b) Hitchhike #6, a trail hiker on his way to Durango, he took us to the center of Gernika and went on his way.

c) We started walking towards the next city with thumbs out. We walked far out into the country side with no luck with the passing cars. It started to rain and we were stranded at a roundabout in the middle of nowhere. We decided to make sandwiches and wait for the rain to clear. As we sat there a road biker was coming around the corner of a downhill highway. He hit a rut in the road and swerved to the curb. The impact with the curb sent him flying over his handlebars and his bike tumbling on top of him. We ran to him as fast as we could after the wreck. He tried to stand up but couldn’t stay on his feet for long. When we got closer we saw his nose was bleeding pretty bad. I got my first aid kit (which are worthless when you don’t know what to do with any of the contents) and offered a bandana for his bleeding. He didn’t need either. The best thing we could offer him was a cell phone for him to call an ambulance. Shortly after the police arrived and started handling the situation with the ambulance shortly after. They left and we remained in the middle of nowhere.

d) Hitchhike #7, Itxiar, took us down the road close to Lekeitio. She was a middle aged woman with a messy car who works in tourism.

e) Hitchhike #8, an Italian & Basque couple, took us to Ondarroa.

f) Hitchhike #9, a teenage rally car driver in a small suv that seemed like it would very easy tip over at the speeds he drove at around the curves. We were on our way to Mutriku and he left us at a crossroads.

g) Hitchhike #10, another VW van driver, took us to Mutriku.

h) In Mutriku we got some more pintxos, the Basque version of a tapa, and on the way out asked the waitress how to get to the road on the outskirts. An off-duty waitress overheard and told us she would just take us to the next town without us asking or hinting.

i) Hitchhike #11, the waitress, took us to Deba, one town further than where she lives.

j) We took a train and a bus to our courchsurfing destination for the day, Hondaribbia, on the French border. Cal found us a very unique couchsurfing experience on a boat in the harbour. Borja, our host and capítan, is studying sailboat design in England and was home for the holidays and very glad to show to guiris a good ole salty time. We were joined by a third couchsurfer from California for the boating experience. We had some dinner, some wine and hit the hay.

Day 5- Hondarribia -> San Sebastían

a) wake up

b) shower

c) SAIL to San Sebastían while hitting a few small fishing villages on the way

d) swim in the harbour of SS, jump from the crows nest into the cold waters

e) explore the town

Day 6- San Sebastían -> Bilbao

a) Mostly a day of backtracking to get to our next destination

b) We arrived in Bilbao in the evening and looked for an internet cafe to send out couchsurfing requests for later dates. Afterwards, we found a local, Bilbaino is demonym for someone from Bilbao, and asked if they thought there would be any problems camping in the hills (Bilbao is in a valley), they said there shouldn’t be any hassle.

Rachel Castlen-Estrada once said “tents are a beacon to the weird,” the following and a later story testify to that quote being an understatement.

c) We marched up the hill to a park area we had seen a few days earlier. In was relatively remote and level. There were a few paths and roads not to far away, but I did a test and walked to the road to see if the tent was visable. Nope, check. Calvin wanted to go a little further up where there was a small patch of trees, but I was tired and the tent was pitched so we stayed. We made some sandwiches on the picnic tables and went to bed. We were almost at the point of falling asleep when Cal heard some whispering and sat up. I expected it was probably just some youngins’ going to the countryside to drink in secret like so many do here. Then a flashlight fell upon our tent, still I thought, “maybe some farmers who don’t want us on the land.” Here is where I remind you that País Vasco is known for the terrorist group, ETA. Next we hear, “Cuidados, puede ser un trampa,” translated as “take caution, it could be a trap.” This is where Calvin and I look at eachother and make the infamous Scooby Doo noise, and think “What the hell?!” Next we hear “GUARDIA CIVIL! Salga con tus manos arriba!!” translated as “GUARDIA CIVIL! (a form of national military police, once very feared for brutality under the Franco regime) Come out with your hands up!!” Followed by the sound of rifles and shotguns loading. We almost soiled our sleeping bags right there. I quickly tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t have the slighest hint of sarcasm or dissrespect, but “tranquilos!” came out, “chill out!” I come out of the tent in my wool cap, soccer jersey, and boxers. We were surrounded by a troop of 10 or so, some were hiding behind trees. They immediately asked where we were from, clearly not being Spanish. “Somos estadounidenses.” The main officer immediately got a lot more cool, “Oh, well you guys didn’t have a clue. Son, this is a guarded military zone. Get your identification and slowly gather up your gear. There isn’t any problem, we are just going to write down your data.” Even though the situation was calmed down, my heart was still a blitzkrieg. Calvin still hasn’t even exited the tent because I guess he values putting his pants on more than his life. The officer told us we could just take our tent up the the same wooded section 200m away that Calvin wanted to camp at and we would be out of the perimeter. They really need to put up some signs or fences or something. We carry the tent and our bags in tact up the hill and continue talking about the fiasco until we fall asleep.

Two more parts to come…

If you would like to see some of my fav students you can go to their bilingual blog and watch the video reports on Sleepy Hollow. We finished reading a VERY-abridged version a short while ago.

They are super-neat. (If it sounds like they are saying Boone, it is because the antagonists name is Brom Bones and they have a really hard time with it.

1 El Fontanal Bilingual Blog

If you would like to see some of my fav students you can go to their bilingual blog and watch the video reports on Sleepy Hollow. We finished reading a VERY-abridged version a short while ago.

They are super-neat. (If it sounds like they are saying Boone, it is because the antagonists name is Brom Bones and they have a really hard time with it.

1 El Fontanal Bilingual Blog

priceless

The works of Gaudí

La Sagrada Familia

Eternally under construction. I didn’t go in. It costs €9 to enter.

Park Güell

Home of the worlds longest bench, which is covered in mosaic in traditional Gaudí fashion. Fortunately, Park Güell is free and very cool.

Casa Batlló

Casa Batlló was the most expensive of the Gaudí sites but at the same time the most intriguing so I paid the €13, reluctantly. The face of the building is supposed to be an interpretation of St. George v the Dragon. Which is hard are impossible to know without being told. Although, the roof is scaley.

MORE Barça fotos here

priceless

The works of Gaudí

La Sagrada Familia

Eternally under construction. I didn’t go in. It costs €9 to enter.

Park Güell

Home of the worlds longest bench, which is covered in mosaic in traditional Gaudí fashion. Fortunately, Park Güell is free and very cool.

Casa Batlló

Casa Batlló was the most expensive of the Gaudí sites but at the same time the most intriguing so I paid the €13, reluctantly. The face of the building is supposed to be an interpretation of St. George v the Dragon. Which is hard are impossible to know without being told. Although, the roof is scaley.

MORE Barça fotos here

I had a Monday off and I never work Fridays so I took of for Barcelona and made a stop in Montserrat to see some scenery. There is a monastery in the jagged mountains, many of which are named for something they look similar to. Here are a few of my interpretations.

The grimacing sock monkey.

The magi, the elephant, and the grimacing sock monkey sneaking into another frame.

The lonely walrus.

CLICK HERE for pictures of Montserrat.

I had a Monday off and I never work Fridays so I took of for Barcelona and made a stop in Montserrat to see some scenery. There is a monastery in the jagged mountains, many of which are named for something they look similar to. Here are a few of my interpretations.

The grimacing sock monkey.

The magi, the elephant, and the grimacing sock monkey sneaking into another frame.

The lonely walrus.

CLICK HERE for pictures of Montserrat.