"A perfect weekend to say goodbye to Spain" is what Guillermina said to me today (in English) as we cleaned up after lunch. I wish there was a way to explain truly how wonderful this weekend was--and I'm going to try, obviously--but I just don't think any words or pictures could really do it justice.
Yesterday started off with our group canoe trip down the Sella river; and if anything has reminded me of Utah, it would be this. The scenery was very similar to what you might see going down the Provo river, but it was really calm . . . and really shallow. Dave and I were partners and for the first half we attacked anyone in our group that we passed (mainly Chase and Bronwynne) and that was a lot of fun. But Dave also turned against me and put the front of our canoe underneath a waterfall so I was pretty much just sitting in the river.
But whatever. Luckily we were smart and played it calm during the second half after lunch (because we knew that everyone would want to get revenge) and had his camera out so that no one would attack us. Instead, we connected to Chase and Bronwynne's canoe and just chatted as we slowly floated down the river.
After the river trip, the bus dropped Megen and me off at Ribadesella so that we could head over to Guillermina's beach house. I have to admit, I was kind of nervous about spending the weekend there--I think just because I didn't know what to expect--but as soon as we stepped off the bus I was so happy that we decided to go.
After we got to the house and settled in, we went with Guillermina up to one of her brothers' houses (she has 11 siblings!) to get some fruits, vegetables, and flowers. And when I say that, I mean that we took long clippers and cut oranges off a tree and hydrangeas off a bush. (I'm really bummed that I didn't have my camera for this, because it turned out to be really cool but oh well.)
After that, we helped prepare dinner and then took a little nap while it was cooking. There were four little kids at the house too, and one girl reminded me so much of Kathryn . . . it was weirding me out and made me really miss her. We ate dinner out on the patio with a few of her siblings and then went straight to bed (well . . . we laid on our beds with the lights on for probably and hour or so and then finally realized that we should just go to bed).
And although yesterday was fun, today was absolutely perfect. We woke up, ate breakfast on the patio overlooking the ocean and then went on a little walk.
Afterward, we changed into our swimsuits and went down to the beach for four hours. The best part about this beach was that there weren't a ton of people, and so all we could hear were the waves as we laid there. And the water was the clearest water I've ever seen. It felt fresh too . . . I have no idea how to explain it but I was amazed. Around 3 we had drinks up on the boardwalk and then took showers before lunch.
Lunch was out in the backyard and we had tortilla de berenjena (eggplant), toritas de maize (like cornbread scones), tortellini, bread, cauliflower, and paella. So delicious. I asked them how to make paella and they told me it was a cook's secret. They then told me a little bit how to make it, but I think their secret is safe because I only understood the ingredients and what you cook it in.
The house we stayed in is really cool--built in the Bauhaus period and it has tons of art.
After lunch, we sat out in the garden and took a siesta and read. Around 7, Meg and I went and got some ice cream and then went back and loaded up the car. On our way home, we stopped by this old house up in the mountains that Guillermina's family owns--very old and very cool and in a very pretty setting (of course). Mom, it was something you would just love to fix up and turn into a B&B or something.
It's so weird to think that in a week I'll be on my way home. I really don't want to leave Spain, but I guess that's a good sign. All I can say is that I've made a list of things left to do and it's going to be a very busy, very fun week.
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