The end of a school year

This is my last week of work as an assistant English teacher. After almost 7 months of getting to know my students it is hard to say good-bye. I am not sure what sort of impression I left on them, but I hope that I have made English class a little bit more exciting and that they have learned a few things from me. This morning I gave class for the last time to one of my classes. They wouldn't let me enter in the classroom for a minute and then when they did they surprised me with the poster that I have posted. It made my my day as I really wasn't expecting to receive anything from them. It was the closest to me being in tears in a long time. THANK YOU CLASS OF PRIMERO DE BACH. - C Ha sido un placer ser parte de sus vidas y darles clases. Nos vemos pronto!!!

Day One: Off we go

Our first picture together.

Time: 11 am
Location: City center of Caceres, Spain
Destination: Salamanca, Spain
Distance: 270 kilometers on the Ruta de Plata trail
People: (left to right) Leif Miller, Victor Vargas and Edu
Days off: 5
Spirits: High
Spandex: a lot

Hello all!!! Welcome to my 5 post series on biking in Extremadura. The following posts are attempt by me to explain the great joy and pleasure that I got out of this biking trip. The trip was my top Spain moment of 2008, although I still have one month before coming home, so that could still change. It was the first trip that I have ever taken on a bike, but will not be my last. Good times!! Adiós my friends and see you soon.






























This is our first sleeping accommodation's, the floor of the old elementary school.


















The shell symbol.


















Extremadura must have the largest population of Cigueñas (storks) in the world, I don´t know if that is true, but these bad boy are building nests and flying about everywhere. I have been trying to take a good photo of a stork for a long time and I finally took a good one on this trip.

Day Two: 90 kilometers, mud, streams, wet feet, spent legs and the best day of the trip

Day two was suppose to be an easy day, is was not. After a quick breakfast of toast and coffee we were on our way to face a day of opening cow field fences, crossing small streams, running from giant bulls, riding though mud and getting our feet wet. Everyday seemed to be the same for me. I felt fine on the bike until I hit about the 30 mile mark and at that point my legs started to feel the burn that is exercise.
After about an hour of riding we passed the majority of the other pilgrims (the walkers) that left the
hostel 3 to 4 hours before we did. One advantage of riding a bike is the amount of ground that you can cover in one day. We finally arrived to Hervas (our destination town) around 6 at night or so.

















Doh!!! After thinking that this giant beast was going to take a charge at my red riding suit it decided to turn the other way. Thank god!!

















<----Thank you Victor for being so outgoing. Thanks to him we made all sort of new friends in Hervas. There is always time for a beer after a long day of bike riding.























Did we take a wrong turn?? No, just part of the biking experience.























A perfect place to have a mid-afternoon snack. Victor takes a minute to rehydrate and check out one the most famous of Roman Ruins on the Ruta de Plata. Notice the snow on the mountains and the blue blue sky.

















Victor and myself get our feet wet crosing one of the many streams we encountered.





















The countryside in Extremadura, Spain.



















Best sandwich ever!!! Hunger really is the best salsa to add to any food. I am happy to be sitting and enjoying a much needed rest.



















Grimaldo, the first town we slept in. So small that if you blinked while driving through it, you would miss it.























An action shot.

Day Three: Adios Victor, hello pig nose

After little sleep and a hostel breakfast of weak coffee and bunch of muffins, it was adios Hervas and hello bike. Ohh... how my butt hurt the first ten minutes. It took us 5 miles of back tracking to get back on the Camino de Plata. After that, it was a several hours of a up hill climb. Expecting to find my legs a complete mess after day two, I was pleasantly surprised to find my legs strong. Around 2 in the afternoon we made it to a small village and found its only bar. There a lady cooked us up a huge portion of pasta that was just what the doctor order. A few more hours of bike riding we made it our destination town Fuenterroble. After a sad good-bye to Victor, Edu and myself had the best dinner of our bike trip.
Once again it was the only place to eat in the village, making the only option the best option. After entering this modest bar we were shown to our table in a small side room. The room was full of French and German retires drinking wine and chatting merrily, many of them from the same hostel that we were sleeping at. Edu was the only Spanish person besides the waitress, me being a close second. The waitress, also the principle cook at the restaurant, tired but happy, sat down with us and read us off a list of food options that you would except to hear in a 5 star restaurant. I picked the pig nose dish. In Spain they say the eat every part of the pig and I believe it. The pig nose was surprising tasty and luckily for me it was chopped into chunks and not presented as a whole nose as it is typical presented. (the waitress/chef explained that she once had to take back 10 dishes of pig nose because tourist can't handle the fact that they are eating a nose, but if she chops it up they think it is delicious. )
The nose had a texture of well.... a nose, fat and soft. hehe
After we polished off our pint of red house wine and had some flan for desert it was off for a quick walk around the quiet stone buildings to listen to the frogs and be bewildered by the stars. Good-night day 3!!



















Number 8, our sleeping arrangements. Unfortunately, or fortunately, all the beds that I slept in during my bike trip are softer and better than my bed in Caceres, which seems to be made of metal springs and designed for ultimate back pain.
























The little bar we ate lunch at.

















Always time for foosball. Victor and Edu put on their game faces after several hours of being on the bike. Foosball is very popular in Spain and you often find foosball tables in bars throughout all of Spain.



















Me in action.



















"Hunger is the best salsa." <--- a literal translation of a cool Spanish quote. )) This pasta tasted delicious after a day of riding.

Day Four: The last leg

If there is one travel trip I can pass on, it is bring ear plugs. I slept great, but Edu did not thanks to a group of elderly snoring Germans and loud early talking Spaniards. Both bars of Fuenterroble (where we slept) where closed until 10am so we each ate a granola bar and got on our way. Me without coffee is a bad idea and the next town turned out to be 12.5 miles away. After an hour and half of riding in the crisp morning air we found a tiny pueblo. We entered the first bar we found only to find a man in his 80's behind the counter and another man in his 70's at the bar drinking some sort of shot of liqour (yes it was 11 in the morning). Of course there was no coffee, so we headed to the next bar and bought an overpriced but much needed cup of joe. (Picture above-> first glimpses of Salamanca.)


















It was a cool and crisp morning. Snow powered mountains in the background linger behind us as we make our way north on this dirt path through the country.



















Tired, but at least not smelling like sweat, we take a quick rest on some steps in the city before we spend the afternoon eating and drinking



















Yum!!! This big salad was just what the doctor ordered.
























Leif pouring some cider from this fancy dispenser. Yahoo for portable cider dispensers!!!
























Edu, full and happy, enjoys his dessert wine.

Day Five: Salamanca and bus ride home

Edu and I woke up early as is typical when you are sleeping in a room with 16 other people. There always seems to be someone who has to wake up hours before everybody else and wakes you up with them. After a quick Youth Hostel breakfast of coffee and toast we spent the day walking around Salamanca. Edu spent two years living in Salamanca and was a wealth of information and was like having my personal tour guide. Despite multiple cups of coffee throughout the day I never felt like I woke up. I spent most of my time reflecting on my time spent on the bike and how magical of a trip it had been.






Me in the Plaza Mayor of Salamanca. Notice the golden glow of the sandstone buildings in the background, a unique feature of this city.




















A cool museum. I like the glass.





















Have a Nice Day. I will, thank you.
























Facade of the famous University of Salamanca. Can you spot the frog? It is very difficult to find, but if you can you will have good luck and get married within a year.
























The Cathedral of Salamanca



















The bike is packed away and bus will soon be there to pick me up. A Spanish adventure comes to a end.