All these places feel like home...: 2007

Almost four days ago, I hopped a plane with 15 other students destined for India. Since then, we have had an adventure of a lifetime!

In fact, the thirty hour travel time was quite enjoyable and it began with getting to know the other group members. Of the 16 students a handful are MBA (graduate) students who are in their mid-thirties and have a significant amount of work experience in the corporate arena Their stories, accomplishments, and goals for the future are inspiring! And the diversity of the group definitely does not end here-our group includes a handful of ethnicities.

In conclusion, on the plane I was discussing all kinds of topics with Mary & Harvey and afterwards felt like I was on the brink of something extraordinary..like the group of students and I were about to discover a treasure and experience the unknown. And now that I am here in Mysore, India I have found not just one treasure but a plethera of jewels.

Last Wednesday all of Andalusia celebrated some regional holiday, which meant that there was no school. So, eight other students and I decided hacer puente (to take a long weekend) and go to Islas Canarias...to an all-inclusive resort!

We arrived in Tenerife (one of the four islands) on Wednesday afternoon and scoped out the place. That night we got all dazzled up, experienced our first BUFFET-style meal, played some card games, and went to an Irish pub.

The next day we tomabamos el sol (sun-tanned) on the black beaches and played in the ocean. Being on the beach was experience in itself--- imagine a European beach (almost everyone around you has no shame with nudity). We laughed like crazy at the island beach venders and dirty old men. Then, that night five of us went to a Flamenco show near the hotel. (I haven’t been to a Flamenco show since September and forgot how much I liked flamenco dancing).

Friday morning was the most eventful day. All nine of us woke up early, stuffed ourselves with BUFFET breakfast (I like to emphasis buffet because in Spain it’s pretty much unheard of), rented two cars, and split up into two groups. My group had quite the adventure! Jerry drove the whole time, Rachel navigated, and Sarah, Laura, and I represented the backseat. Jerry was a trooper: he drove stick on extremely curvy and narrow mountain roads and put up with a bunch of girls!

Anyways, first we drove to Parque Teide (the park where the volcano was). I felt like I was Colorado again-pine trees, curvy roads, mountains, etc! In fact, at one point of the drive we were LITERALLY ABOVE clouds---it was nuts, our ears were popping! And the climate was much cooler. We even saw some snow-that is how cold it was…nonetheless, the landscape changed drastically once we were near the volcano. It looked like there was an ocean of coco-krispies around the volcano! We were also able to see where lava had flown-muy guay. Then, a little farther away from the volcano there was a patch of land that looked space-like. Like, I felt like I was in some movie setting of Mars…I know, CRAZY! After the volcano and mars-patch experience, we decided to make our way to the northwestern coast of the island. We made a few more stops along the camino, laughed like a bunch of hyenas, and definitely entertained each other with childhood stories…eventually, we ended up the city of Puerta de la Cruz. By the time we arrived in the city, we were all a little stir-crazy and decided it would be best to get out of the car. So, we went to a local restaurant and toured the city’s botanical gardens.

On our way out of the city we saw a small cave with a narrow pathway near a small port and decided to explore it. Luckily the tide was low, so we were able to get down to the cave. The walk down was the best part because we were able to walk out on the rocks, feel the mist from the waves crashing against the rocks, and see baby sharks in water-pools…

Standing out on the rocks was one of my most memorable moments in the islands because the sky was more overcast-the waves were crashing into the rocks (especially the one that I was standing on)-the breeze was strong-it seemed dangerous to be standing on the rock but I had no real fear…and in that moment I was filled with the true sense of majesty for our Creator and Lord…*sigh* a God-moment…moments when you raise your arms to the sky and feel freedom…

After our cave adventure we decided to continue along the coast; however that did not work so well. The main highway led us back inland and Jerry was once again driving on EXTREMELY narrow, curvy mountain roads. Eventually we came across another rest point and decided to get out and explore. There was a small pathway along…(loosing my English vocabulary) something smaller than a mountain but bigger than a hill that I wanted to walk it. If you went far enough up the pathway you would be in the midst of a cloud. However, to my disadvantage everyone in my group was afraid of heights

(which means that on the drive along

the mountain roads they were panicking

while I was laughing at them) …

so, I decided to walk it by myself while my friends watched and yelled horrific things in Spanish like <> But all the yelling didn’t stop me, I kept walking and just decided to pull a Sid Sutton by dishing it right back. Then, while I was walking on the path, I ran into a Swedish family. I ended up walking back down the path with them and then it was time to continue our road trip…

Soon afterwards we ended up on a road that led us back towards the coast. There were several pueblos along the road and while we were driving through one of these towns, we saw the end of a parade. We all looked at each other (remembering that the Islands were still celebrating a famous Spanish holiday called Carnival) and knew our adventure was not quite done…Jerry quickly parked the car and we RAN to the parade-I’m talking full out SPRINTing to the parade because we thought we were going to miss it!—but we didn’t.

After watching the parade and taking silly fotos, we realized it was almost time for sunset. We got back into the car, drove until we came across another town, and then parked to watch the sunset…it was so beautiful because we could see another island in the distance. By the time we made it back to the resort we were all worn out…

Saturday all nine of us hung out on the beach and relaxed. Then later in the afternoon, we went on a Catamaran to see pilot dolphins. The night ended with a long night (again) at a different Irish pub…and this time there was live music and tons of crazy-Irish people dancing…

There are so many details and stories from this trip that are worth telling when I come home…the Islas Canarias trip was an INCREDIBLY good time! Enjoy the photos family & friends and as always prayers, blessings, and

ABRAZO (embrace)