Hana y Puente Viesgo

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Rolled out of bed this morning just in time for breakfast. After a cup of tea to wake me up, I went off for a shower before class. The shower is very cool! It has a seat and jets to soot the water at your back... It also has a radio and a light to see the mirror, also inside the shower!

After playing about with the shower for a we while, it was time for today's class. First we played a game where we (figuratively) had to hide something in the room, and the other person had to ask questions about where it was. I went first, and my object was hidden in the gap under and behind the tv. Fernando told me I had a twisted mind after this... Then it was Christine's turn. Her object wasn't hidden, but was a piggy bank on the bookcase. This caused a lot of confusion when I asked if it was near the pig - yes - and proceeded to describe all possible locations around and in the pig, to which the answer wad no... Once we realised it was the pig, we felt a little daft! At this point, Fernando retracted his statement about my mind!



Anyway, next we had to use all that we had learned/revised up till then - we had to describe a person, where they lived, their.house etc. I picked Hana, since I live with her, so basically deceive my own house... It felt a little odd writing about how the dayroom has a cooker, a fridge, many cupboards and eight sofas! Then it was onto food. One thing I found very interesting here was 'percebes' - a seafood delicacy in Spain. Fernando struggled to explain what it was, but after a bit of research, I discovered it was goose barnacles! I hadn't realised they were edible... Something for Ronan to try next time he feels like cooking something up! Describing all the different foods made us very hungry, so finished just in time for lunch.

After lunch, I had an unintentional siesta... Once I spotted the clock and noticed I'd been asleep for about an hour, I thought it was time to go for a walk and explore the area a little. Merche suggested a short walk around the hill behind the house, which I did. The surrounding hills are amazing! Very steep though - I'm glad we weren't staying at the top... This was when I spotted a quarry on the opposite slope, looking a bit destructive. I then took Merche's other suggestion, of cycling into the local town. I had to do this a little under the radar - it's illegal to cycle on roads without a helmet. I was given directions to the Via Verde, which is the cycle track/footpath beside the river, but there are a few small sections on the road. Along la Via Verde was this lovely wooden bridge crossing the river, which looked so inviting! I dipped my hand in to discover it was actually fairly warm (for a river, that is). If it was Skye, it would have been packed with people - Glen Hinnisdal does not get that warm! However, I did not go in but crossed the bridge and looked downstream, which looked a bit more powerful... Still very peaceful though, and I sat contemplating for a minute or two before getting bored. I carried on to Ponte Viesgo where I bumped into Christine and Richard wandering around. They commented on how everything was shut - it felt like a Sunday, when everyone takes their weekly constitutional. This image was helped along by the sign that said 'geriatric home this way'... Also the numerous wheelchairs and one or two zimmers on the Via Verde! I decided it was time to head back so cycled back along the Via. I noticed an old engine and realised that the track is a converted railway line - it even had a platform for Puerte Viesgo with the signs still up! It felt very similar to the path into Lancaster, along past Halton's disused platform.

Just before I went back across the river - this track was on the opposite side to where we're staying - I heard a terrible cracking and a whole collection of branches fell off a tree in front of me! Anyway, I walked up the hill back to the house and was accosted by the twins who wouldn't let go! At one point I was sat on the sofa trying to write up my day and Raquel was playing with my hair. She kept repeating 'tu bonito' and 'tu guapa' which took me a wee while to work out - she was telling me how pretty I am. Little girls are so sweet!

Dinner was delicious - Spanish omelette. I helped to cook, and can now make a proper Spanish omelette! I'm looking forward to going home and making it again...

I'm sure I have forgotten something, but it is half past midnight and I'm shattered yet again... I'm going to go and sleep because tomorrow we are going on a trip to Los Picos de Europa, a national park near here, and I'll need my energy!

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