Nuestra Excursion

Yesterday we went on our first excursion to three places near Alicante. We got on the bus around 9:15am (which felt very early after going to bed at like 3am and having my first real shot-tequila-the night before, but more on that later) and our USAC leaders, Luis and Sylvan, gave us some information on the history of these places.

The bus made its way up the winding road into the mountains towards our first stop at the village of Guadalest, which is actually within the rocks of a mountain. The only entrance to the village is a tunnel carved out of the rock, and as soon as you walk through the tunnel a beautiful landscape is before your eyes. It was incredible!

The village is inside these rocks

Me and my"best friend"

Our next stop was Las Fuentes de Algar, which is a natural waterfall and probably the most beautiful place that I have ever experienced. The coolest part about it was not just how beautiful it was, but that we all swam IN the river and stuck our heads under the waterfalls. I've never really enjoyed nature so much as I did at the Fuentes. One of the cultural aspects of Spain is that rules, if they exist, are not very strict and so this was true even at the Fuentes. There were hardly any workers or lifeguards, there were no signs telling you what you couldn't do other than "swim at your own risk." It really made the whole experience breathtaking. Also, the fact that the water was absolutely FREEZING (mind you, this was a hot day) contributed to the breathtaking aspect. 

Click here to read some info about Las Fuentes de Algar

After the fuentes, we had lunch in a restaurant overlooking the landscape. It was beautiful and we literally had a seven-course meal (this whole excursion was included in original payments for the trip)--bread, grilled vegetables, croquetas, salad, tortilla espanola, paella, and delicious helado turron (which is a specialty for this area). 

The last place we went was much more simple- the beach of Benidorm. This was a very touristy area, but it was fun too see and of course the beach is always enjoyable. :)

This was on the bathroom door of a restaurant in Benidorm haha.

Oh, about the tequila shot thing I said earlier, I had my first shot. It tasted horrible and I did not at all enjoy it. But I'm glad I tried it. When I got home and into bed, apparently I said some funny things to Emily... something along the lines of: "We're best friends. We go to bed together, we wake up together. And I don't get annoyed with you. Isn't that great?"

The excursion was definitely the highlight of the weekend for me. Went to San Juan beach yesterday with a bunch of people with the group and that was fun. The sea, the scenery, everything around here is beautiful. Plus I'm getting tan, which is a definitely a goal of the month. I will post again tonight or tomorrow about a very interesting fiesta/desfile happening in my neighborhood of San Blas.

Hasta Luego,

SarahBee