Wed 9/15
Today midday was a trip to the village of Tondela with Micaela and it included a trip to the grocery. My purchase included some sheep cheese, somewhere between goat and cow in strength. Also, there is a Paõ Rustico (local bread) which along with a Salsichão Fuet (salami) it has made my lunch. On the return I met her husband João who I will work with this afternoon for a while.
Dani Matoshinos sent me a video about a park near Oporto (in Coimbra). Hopefully you can see this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e3Tty3gXls If timing is right, Iºll join him, his family, and some friends at this activity.
Posted September 19, 2011
Finally, I met Dani, his wife and Lucas as well as their friends Pepe and wife and we did the ropes course in Coimbra' Botanical Garden. First a word about lodging. I arrived in Coimbra on an early bus from Tondela. On Dani´s advise I rented a room in a Residencial call ´Botanico´. Little did I know that it was thus named because of the nearby Gotanical Garden. Walking up the hill to meet them I walked around the University of Coimbra. Around the area is a tall aquaduct built with large Roman Arches. (BTW, in the last 30-minutes I´ve heard the church bells ring 5:00AM and 5:30AM in the pleasant way they can do in a rural European village. ) Anyway, eventually they called and let me know they were on their way and I met them at the main entrance to the Botanical garden.
We walked down to the beginning of the ropes course and paid the entrance fee. 20€ which initially seemed a bit high but I am always up for an adventure. We then dressed up in our climbing gear and started what turned to be a 2-1/2 hour trek through the air between trees strapped on to the air by a thin cable and a rope attached to a pulley on one end and a body harness on another. You probably couldn´t buy a course like this in the US for $100 for an hour... it was nothing but Amazing. Four of us received final directions and climbed onto the edge of a small hill, connected our pulley to the cable and one at a time began our journey of thrills with no spills.
We zipped from one tree to another descending a hill, crossing a valley, then zipping back across. Obstacles along the way were trees. You fly from one tree stand to another tree stand, work around the tree, 50-feet in the air across a valley then cross to another tree stepping on ropes, or boards or bicycles, or skate boards built as obstacles between one ride and the next. It was all very exhilarating but also exhausting. Today we are all sore... legs, arms, back, hands, you name it... it hurts but the experience was great. Images are posted below and in the Places tab.
Leaving Coimbra
The activity for today, aside from getting back from Coimbra was rest, rest, rest. I missed a bus again this morning by 5-minutes and had to wait 3-hours for the next one. I had stopped at a train station to research times to Spain for tomorrow and that delayed me enough. Still, I sat at a sidewalk cafe, read a book which I did finish, had some coffee, then casually strolled over to the train station to board and return home. (Home would be where my latest change of clothes are.)
Walking out of the station in Tondela, I ran into Carlos the Taxista. He brought me home and will pick me up at 6:20 AM to take me to Santa Comba for my train ride to Salamanca. I´ve already contacted two CouchSurfing friends in Leon and they have offered help and directions to get there, visit some wine caves, visit two historic Barrios, and the cathedral. (Now I hear a tractor in an adjoing field with a roto-tiller preparing a field for something. All rocks from the field have been removed hundreds of years ago and they were used for building rock walls between each field.)
In Zarautz Iwill meet with Miren and talk about sightseeing in the Northwestern region of Spain. I have also contacted Diego about a tour around Bilbao. Still I debate: buses; trains; or rental cars. A lot of time is spent/wasted waiting for public transportation but more often than not, I end up meeting people, integrating and immersing into the culture. In reality, though I can often lack some patience, these delays are nice for the rest they provide.
Some of the great places to see don´t have a regular bus station and if I want to get there a see them, and more importantly, get back, I should have a car. In the end, I did rent one car for the trip to Potes and Los Picos de Europa.
September 22, 2011
Last night spent a few hours with some couchsurfers while in Bilbao. They were from points including Poland, Scotland, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, France, Peru, Brazil and various places in Spain. Today I´m back in Donnostia (San Sebastian). I´m heading to collect my clothes bag then meet another CS mate.
