Lots to catch up on...

First, Camino de Santiago.

May 9-15 about twenty other kids in my program and I hiked 104 kilometers from Ourense to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain.  We took a 14 hour bus ride up to Ourense- you can imagine the excitement.  We spent the first night there in a hostel type place in a cemetery.  Yes, slightly creepy.  The bunk beds were comfortable and despite the coughs and other noises that come from having 30 people all sleeping in the same giant room, it was a good night.  The next morning we got an early start on our route, Via de la Plata.  There are many different routes of the pilgrimage, from everywhere in western europe, all leading to the cathedral in Santiago.  The oldest and most famous route starts in Paris.  Our route started in Sevilla, but we just did the second half. 

The legend is that St. James body, which was beheaded in Rome and sent into the sea, washed ashore off the coast of northwestern Spain, and was drug inland to the spot where the cathedral stands today.  In the ancient times, when news of this spread, the pilgrimage to Santiago became one of the most famous in the world, along with Jerusalem and Rome.  It is said that if you complete the pilgrimage for religious reasons, your are directly admitted into heaven, no purgatory necessary.  We aren't sure if we qualify of not, since we are also getting 3 credit hours for school...

Anyway, the countryside in northern Spain is gorg.  It is green and hilly, vineyards everywhere.  We had a few rain scares- it would start sprinkling and we would whip out our poncho/trash bags,  but then nothing major would happen.  It rained all night one night, causing some swampage in the lower lands in between the hills.  We got a little muddy, there was no choice.  I had to throw away some socks- there was no hope for them.  Galicia, the northern region, is famous for their bread, soup and seafood.  The food along the way was delicious.  We would wake up and eat some fruit or something for breakfast, then start hiking.  About halfway through the day we would stop in a meadow and have a picnic, complete with bread, ham, cheese, wine and fruit.  Then back to the hike, until we reached the overnight stop.  Galicians love pilgrams and would constantly stop and wave at us, invite us inside for water or food, anything.  The places we slept are specially made and run for pilgrams.  People do the camino all throughout the year, but it is most popular (and less cold) in the summer.  Armando, our guide and fearless leader, said that during the peak times you have to hurry to get to the lodges before they fill up--- it becomes more like a race.  We were all thankful that we all had a bunk bed and were able to walk at our own pace and enjoy the countryside.  We walked a total of 4 days: about 20 km, 35 km, 30 km, 20 km.  Not bad.  We got to Santiago in the afternoon on the fourth day, and were all ready for a break.   We spent the next day walking around the city, going to mass in the cathedral (which has an amazing incense urn hanging from the ceiling that they swing across the entire church....see pictures) and having an amazing lunch in one of the downtown restaurants.  Then back to the bus for an overnight drive home.  It was funny driving back through the same hills we had just walked.  They didn't look quite the same out a bus window.  We got back to Alicante the next morning at about 6 am and were ready to collapse.  It was an awesome experience and I definitely never would have gotten to see that countryside in any other way.