Climbing a Mountain is Hard

Two new blogs within a week! That's a first :) Here's the story of my mountain trip!

The weekend after Stephie left, Paula and Luna (our advisors over here) took us to a pueblo near the Picos Mountains. Because of the way the budget works out, they planned this trip for us with no extra charge! Both Paula and Luna’s boyfriends came as well, along with Luna’s boyfriend’s seven-year-old son, Ethan, who was the cutest little boy.

Before leaving Oviedo, we went to the supermarket to spend 150 euro on dinner for that night, breakfast for the next morning, and lots of snacks and drinks to use up the rest of the money. We drove in three different cars to the pueblo, where we had two side-by-side houses rented for the night. Right when we pulled into the pueblo, we were off on our hike up the mountain. Here is background information on this hike: first and foremost, we had been told ever since talk about his trip began that it was a “gradual, easy hike”. Second, it is a five-hour hike. Third, everyone had one water bottle (plus I had an almost-empty Gatorade as well). Finally, it was very, very warm outside.

We began our hike at around 11:30 in the morning, and it was very gradual and easy, like we had been told. Not long into the hike, we came across a type of water well, where Paula and Luna refilled their water bottles, but none of us girls thought to do so as well because we thought half a water bottle would be plenty. So we continued climbing the mountain, getting sweatier and sweatier as the mountain got steeper and steeper. After one hour, we were all so tired. None of us had expected the steepness or the extreme heat. It was then that were also told that the next water refill well would be found during the decline. Great. So we started pacing ourselves very carefully with what little water we each had left, and continued up this gigantic mountain. With about 40 minutes to go until we reached the top, we all gave in to our growling stomachs and took a short break to eat a piece of fruit or part of a sandwich, then prepared ourselves for one final push to the top! I was out of water, and so exhausted; there were many times where turning around sounded way too good, BUT I was going to get to the top! FINALLY, we reached our stopping point very near the top, where we were all able to sit down, eat our packed lunches, take pictures, and relax in the sun. The views from the top made everything so worth it. I had seen pictures in magazines and books like this, but never anything even remotely close to this in person. It was breathtaking. We were surrounded by mountains on all sides of us, and with the blue sky and bright sun, I was in awe. We climbed one more little hill up to the tippy top after lunch, took pictures, and then began the decline.

Heading down was obviously much easier, but our thirstiness was very much taking over at this point. We were searching high and low for this well to refill our water. Eventually, the ground became wet and muddy…a great sign! Soon we were hopping from rock to rock, surface to surface of the water, trying to keep ourselves from getting our whole foot stuck in mud. The water had to be close! Again, after way too long, we found the water. I drank two whole bottles full before even taking a breath; I can easily say it was the best water I’ve ever drank. After drinking two more water bottles, and filling two for my backpack, we were ready to be done with our hike. We descended the mountain for a little over an hour and eventually made it to the ground again, so relieved to be done, but proud to have finished. We got back to the house at around 6pm, hungry, thirsty, and ready for naps! That night we made fajitas for everyone, with chips and salsa, and a HUGE fruit salad for dessert. :) I was one happy camper after this meal!

The next morning I was the last of us girls to wake up (shocker), and came downstairs to a yummy breakfast – eggs, cereal, muffins, and fruit. We all ate, packed up our bags, cleaned up the place, and drove back home! It was a quick trip, but it sure was a great bonding experience for all of us girls and I love the fact that I can now tell people that I have climbed a mountain in Spain!