This past Saturday, CEA took us on an excursion to Las Alpujarras, which is about an hour south of Granada. That has been the best day in Spain so far and I would love to tell you all about it. First, we had to take an hour bus drive to get to the trail to hike up to the place we’d be spending the day. The hike in itself was fantastic because we finally got to see the mountains in our photos, which are pretty much in the background of every photo we’ve taken of the city, in person and up close. I could spend days in those mountains and still not have had my fill. The trails and tiny waterfalls alone are enough to use up my 4G memory card. Once we reached our destination, which was a type of adventure course (that I’m 100% sure surrounded the manager’s house) called Aventura Rural, we divided up into groups to start a rotation on all of the stations.
My group, which had about 10 different dirty names throughout the day, got to do the “bungee-slingshot”. They didn’t tell us what it was actually called so... I named it myself. Yeah, super original. I know. Basically, they hooked us up to 2 sets of bungee cords that were attached to two different trees. Then they attached us to the hitch of a jeep and drove forward until they literally could not go any farther without ramming the stone wall/ramp that lead up to the house. I know this because at one point we asked the driver to pull forward a little further and he hit the wall! All of the guys got to take their turn and I volunteered to be the first girl. I won’t lie, I was scared. Who wouldn’t feel scared when they are about to be flung out into the air over a mountainside? But it was worth the fear, because it was a blast! However, as usual, I had to have a “kaitlin-ism” and get myself hurt. I have no clue how, why, or where I was able to cut a gash into my shin and cause profuse amounts of blood to gush down my leg, all over both shoes, and into my socks. Lovely mental picture, isn’t it? I didn’t even realize I had done it until everyone started saying, “Whoa, you’re bleeding!” In case you’re wondering what I am referring to when I say “kaitlin-ism” I’ll go ahead and define it as the possibility and, more accurately, probability that I will hurt myself in an entirely hazard-free setting, normally in an unexplainable or unlikely way. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that bungee-slingshotting probably isn’t exactly hazard-free. But how on earth does someone cut their shin open while suspended in mid-air? See, “kaitlin-ism”. Luckily, it didn’t hurt, the cut wasn’t too big, and the cute guide helped doctor me up!
Next we repelled down the mountainside. Here’s the part where I could mislead you and make you think that I actually did some serious repelling, or I could elaborate and mention the fact that we only went down roughly 15 feet... Maybe. Not the best activity, but hey, at least I can say that I did it.
After that we hooked up to a zip line that connected over the canopy of the trees, well kind of over. A few were sticking up and it was pretty impossible to miss them but it’s cool. It was fun. During this activity the guys got their “boy scout” on and spotted an almond tree full of almonds which they proceeded to chow down on. The amusing part was watching them beat them open with rocks. What men will do for food! haha
The next aventura was free falling. Over flat, hard ground. We climbed about 8, maybe 9, meters and let the guide attach us to a rope and we fell (by fall I mean we were supposed to spread eagle it over the edge), swung up behind the other side of the platform and back until we slowed down enough to be lowered to the ground. I went last. I don’t know what it is about jumping towards the ground, even when I know I’m not going to touch it, but it is about one of the hardest things for me to do. I’ve skydived with no problem, but that was different. I was so far up in the air that I couldn’t even see the ground. With free falling, the ground is staring you right in the face! Nonetheless, I sucked it up and did it. I wasn’t about to be the only person who didn’t do it! Plus, it did look fun. From the ground, that this. My big mess up was the fact that I was absolutely incapable of trying to lay flat on air. I bent at the waste and then tumbled over the edge. That’s me, graceful as ever! It might not have been good form, but it did the job. Everyone got a good laugh out of it too, so I’m not complaining.
Archery was the last thing on our list of aventuras. We got to shoot three arrows three times, and a practice round. I’m not ashamed to admit that I sucked it up at first. I’ve never shot a bow before! Give me a bb-gun and I’d probably hit the can before anyone else, but, I mean, I can’t start out great at everything ; P. Joking. Well, I did hit the bulls-eye before it was all said and done. Still, I’m not planning on turning pro anytime soon.
After we finished our rotations, we headed back through the village that was at the bottom of the mountain and walked to the park for lunch, then headed back to Granada. Overall, it was a fantastic day! I got to experience a lot of things that I probably would have never done if I was home so that alone makes it worth it. Not to mention that I get to add to my somewhat short list of crazy accomplishments. Well, that’s all I have for today. I’ve already uploaded the photos from the day on Facebook. Talk to you soon,
Cuidate,
Kait
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