#9 -- Hiking and Biking with Yolanda

A teacher at my school is the epitome of adventure and openess.  She has gone on a month-long bike trip in the Himalayas; she camped in Finland during the 22-hour summer days; she does African dance and biking multiple times a week; to top it off, shes is a mentor for the classes that are struggling academically.  She lent me a bike to use during my time here, and always invites me on excursions.

I went hiking twice and biking once.  We always went through the 'Extremenan forest', a glorified name for mostly grassy flatlands, interspersed with gnarled and stunted acorn trees.  At the beginning, it is unimpressive.  But, after a while, one finds beauty in the repitition.  The clouds rise up looming like castles, forcing you to consider the kilometers of open land until you realize that your only other living companions are the pigs.

The first trip, we went hiking near a town called La Roca de La Sierra.  I found out that you can pick esparragus or potatoes wherever you find them, and that you can basically pass through any land, disregarding fences, signs, and barbed wire.  We explored an 800-year-old monastery; the roof and walls had crumbled from time and neglect, but a strange aura still hovered around the building.

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On our bike trip we forded mini-lakes and climbed around irrigation canals.  This terrain lay flatter, so we zoomed past birds, porcupines, orchards, and old men trudging home from town.  Yolanda is another example of Spanish warmth and hospitality, a constant reminder to alway say yes to new places and experiences