Pyrenees Adventure

Puigmal Mtn, 2910m

Two weekends ago, I made split second decision to visit the Pyrenees with a friend. As an avid hiker, I was going through hiking withdrawals and was missing the crisp mountain air. The Pyrenees aren’t a range with peaks that soar nearly as high as the Rockies, so I decided that trying to summit the 7^th highest peak in the range, Puigmal, would be an easy, straight forward hike. There were not many trail reports on the Internet about how to approach Puigmal, but this mountain intrigued me. Not only was it only a 2.5-hour train ride from Barcelona, it was right on the border of Spain and France. Apparently at the top, looking to the north was France, and to the south, Spain. But my friend Evan and I never made it to the summit.

At 6:30am earlier that day, I was up and ready to catch the train. I normally don’t wake up until 9am at the earliest here in Barcelona, so it made for a rough morning. Normally for big hikes in CO, I would be on the mountain by 6:30am. Two different trains got us to Vall de Nuria where we would pick up the trailhead to Puigmal. Vall de Nuria is a tiny, secluded ski resort at about 1900 meters (6500ft). Only accessible by train, this ski resort consisted of one large resort building and 5 chair lifts, but was surprisingly crowded for an offseason, late October weekend.

Just seeing the Pyrenees by train was incredible. They are very green and luscious mountains, yet steep and rocky in other parts. The weather that day was cloudy and misty, adding to the fantasy/majestical sense. The Vall de Nuria area we were hiking in was carved out by a glacier some thousands of years ago, thus there were hardly any trees on our hike. The scenery was more like wild grass and rocks, and if everything were covered in snow, would definitely have had that European skiing feeling. Route finding for Puigmal was pretty simple, it was just interesting how we followed a route in the dead grass for the majority of the hike. I’m so accustomed to stating a hike in the woods and popping out above the tree line at a certain point. Here, there was no tree line. The hike itself was steep and not too long- about 4,200 ft of total vertical for the whole day including up and back. Yet at about 750 feet from the top, we ran into some French, claiming they had turned around because there was too much snow at a certain point, and that crampons (metal boot spike attachments) were needed. My friend and I didn’t bring any real hiking gear with us to Barcelona, and were wearing nike sneakers, but decided to try our luck for as long as possible before the snow became too much of a hazard. It was at about 750 feet from the top that we decided to head back, as the trail was getting extremely steep and slick. Plus, clouds were moving in and some snow was falling.

While failing to summit any mountain is disappointing, I surely got my fill of mountain air and hiking. I should now be able to make it to January without going through more withdrawals!

Morocco

I took a full week of school off to go with a group of students to Morocco in early October. The trip began in Fes, an old city in central Morocco that dates back to the 9th century. The Fes Medina was constructed around 808 A.C. and inside its walls holds the world’s oldest university. Within the Medina walls, all of the structures remain as they did almost 2,000 years ago, and likewise the ways of life. Without a local guide, no regular tourist could navigate inside the medina walls without getting lost. Every twist and turn looks similar, and there is no pattern to the narrow streets. Vendors along the sides of the cramped buildings were selling all types of food, drink, cloth, carpet, tiles, pottery, spices, and more. Becoming distracted by all of the movement and activity within the Medina helped take my mind off of the awful smells. Men with mules would yell loudly to catch the attention of bystanders in the way as they were going to drop off supplies. Cats ran wild in and outside of the Medina’s walls.

Morocco is 93% Muslim and while it accepts the worship of other religions, Islam had a strong presence in our daily experiences. For one, women were hardly seen outside. Whether from our bus windows or walking around the cities, it was rare to see many women outside and in social areas. There were some, but the majority of those that I did see were not fully covered and perhaps didn’t strictly follow the Islamic faith. Also, audible prayers blared in every city, and could even be heard in the distance in the desert, at 4 a.m each morning. It was even suggested to the girls that were apart of my excursion group that they cover their shoulders and wear long pants while in the cities.

For the majority of Moroccans, if you didn’t have a car or a motorized bike, a mule was used for transportation. On the side of the road, farmers would ride their mules across their barren farms and other Moroccans would slowly transport large bins of food on trailers attached to their motorbikes. Being on the charter bus for 12 hours in total allowed me to see a good chunk of the landscape of Morocco. There are actually some pretty impressive mountains in central Morocco, some of which are even snowcapped year round.

It took us 6-8 hours to get from Fes to the Sahara desert in Merzouga, but man was it worth it! Getting off the bus, we were all put in 4×4 off road vehicles and raced throughout the rugged desert landscape towards our campsite. The drivers clearly all knew each other and were racing against one another. It was just like a scene out of Mad Max. We reached the campsite by 9pm and the sun had already set. We were told we would be staying in tents, and luckily the set up exceeded my expectations. While there was no privacy within the tents, we all had our own little spaces and everyone got about a cot sized mattress on the ground with a pillow. Outside of the sleeping tents there was a large tent almost the size of a small circus tent. To better paint the picture, to our west about a mile we could see the lights of the small town. Our campsite was situated between two sand dunes, and about 2 miles to our east was the border of Morocco and Algeria. We could all walk around bare foot because the sand was so fine and there were no rocks.

The highlight of the trip was without a doubt the camelback riding the next morning in the desert. Everyone got their own camel and in groups of 3-5, we were led by the locals to some of the largest sand dunes near by. Getting to see the desert in the daylight was incredible and looked like any setting you’d see straight out of a movie. Getting lost in the desert seemed so easy, especially as the landscape changes ever so slightly over time with the wind.

Among the most shocking parts of the trip had to have been the locals who catered to us throughout the 2 days in the desert. Not only would they help cook and serve the food, but they would play music after dinner, joined us in a Morocco vs. US soccer game in the sand, and even let us ride on their motorbikes. For them, or at least what its seemed like to me, having Americans or foreigners visiting is enjoyable for them and something that changes the scene compared to their otherwise daily lives. They were very friendly people and at no point in time did anyone fear that their belongs were going to be stolen. In fact there was a rule that none of the workers/caterers could enter our campsite. So instead, they would just hang out on the dunes next to our campsite and offer to take people on bike rides or just sit and talk. On guy named Mohammed that we talked to was 22 years old, had no ambition to really leave the desert, but knew 9 different languages and kicked our butts in soccer.

Moroccan food was nothing to write home about. The majority of dishes consisted of bread, potatoes, carrots, and chicken. Couscous, maybe the country’s most well known dish, was delicious. With no pig products, breakfast was mainly eggs, yogurt, and bread.

After another travel day, we returned to Meknes, a more modern neighboring city of Fes. It was in the outskirts of Meknes that we got to see Roman ruins from the empire’s influence all the way in Morocco centuries ago. The rest of the day was spent exploring the Medina of Meknes, which is similar to that of Fes.

Being in Morocco for just 5 days really made me realize how not-foreign Barcelona seems in comparison the states. I was pretty happy just to return to my bed in Barcelona and have some of the comforts back that I always take for granted, like clean water (everyone had to buy bottled water because the tap water is unsafe)! The majority of Moroccans seems to lead simple but difficult lives. While the country did come across as poor, it also was so rich in old, old history and one of earths most incredible natural features: the Sahara Desert. Now I can check Africa off my list!

“Study” Abroad: First week of classes

The day of orientation at UPF, the school I’m attending in Barcelona, I learned that some of my classes also were to begin that day. While sitting in the auditorium for orientation, the director of the ESCI Business school reminded us about the importance of attending the first day of class, which most of us were missing by listening to him at orientation! Besides an unorganized and hectic first day, everything since has gone smoothly.

Classes here are mostly like those back home. A mix of study abroad students from all over the world, and even a few local students in my Spanish class, are common. There is no central campus; instead some individual buildings scattered around the Ciutadella Park area. While some of my classes are in English, the professors’ first languages are all Catalan. Trying to understand their English at times is even difficult and requires focus.

Like my classes back at DU, Friday classes aren’t much of a thing here at UPF. With no classes before 1pm (for me, at least) and no Friday classes, there is plenty of time to explore Barcelona in the morning and late at night. From going on a jog to the beach, to finding a local bar to watch the FC Barcelona fútbol games, or even going to a club with friends; there never seems to be conflict with classes and experiencing all Barcelona has to offer. One of the classes I’m currently taking, called the Global Marketing of FC Barcelona, requires us to explore different places in the city to watch the games as a homework assignment.

Within the next few weeks, I will be traveling to some different places in Spain. But first, I leave for Morocco in week for fun excursions with classmates, all planned by a study abroad support group. A lot of students leave the city every weekend to visit a new place in Europe, but I personally haven’t minded staying in Barcelona the last few weekends to get to know the city inside and out.

Touring Barcelona

50,000: the number of steps we walked over the course of the first two days in the city. Who knew being a tourist was such a workout! The hop on hop off double decker tour bus got us to and from the majority of the tourist attractions in Barcelona, yet at the end of each day, I couldn’t wait to let my feet rest.

While wandering all around Barcelona, I saw some of the most incredible works of architecture, art, and culture. In just two days, I saw the works of Gaudí (La Sagrada Familia, Parque Guell, La Casa de Gaudí), El Arc de Triumf, and La Catedral de Barcelona. Gaudí’s works were among the most impressive; the use of ceramic colored tiles, odd geometric patterns, and patterned brick. The most impressive of all, La Sagrada Familia, was both artistically and architecturally impressive. Countless religious statues and symbols are placed on the 4 faces of the church with huge slanted pillars and mosaics in the windows. The church is still under construction in order reface several facades and install 4 huge pillars on top.

 

Beautiful plazas were also some of my favorite places to visit. Plaza Cataluña and Plaza España were the most gorgeous. Other plazas tucked into the Gothic Quarter area, like Plaza Reíal, were filled with restaurants, bars, and plenty of open space to sit and people watch.

Other places we visited included Montjuic and the Olympic Stadium area. The Olympic stadium, which is built into a hill rising over the city, had an underground basketball court, a full size soccer stadium with a track, and several other facilities. In the distance was the 1992 Olympic Statue, representing the Olympic torch. Montjuic is an old castle and fort at the top of the same hill and translates to “Jew Mountain.” It serves as a monument now, and a symbol of both the Napoleon’s invasion and the Spanish Civil War.

The text doesn’t do these attractions much of a justice, but in the photo section you can see the majority of these pieces of art.

First Impressions

Despite sleeping for a total of 3 hours over the course of a 16 hour travel day, I avoided almost all jet lag. My mom, on the other hand, began to crash and burn the first day from a lack of food, sleep, and travel. The first day in Barcelona, including part of the travel day, was composed of getting situated in the temporary apartment, exploring La Rambla, and meeting the studies support group called ISA (International Students Association) in Barcelona.

First impressions of the city: well, a mix of a lot of other cities I’ve been to before. Imagine the feel of L.A. or Miami beaches/palm trees, Denver mountains in the distance, DC, with the height restriction on most buildings, the concrete jungle of New York. La Rambla, a busy tourist street in the city, was 16^th street mall in Denver on steroids. While Barcelona does show resemblance of some of these cities (or rather, other cities show resemblance of Barcelona), it is a unique city. Buildings, grouped into small square pieces, fit together at every crossroad and small side road to create the masterpiece that is Barcelona. Small ally ways and streets snake through the gothic quarter while designs are modern, even, and streets form perfect squares in L’Eixample. Every apartment (and I mean every one) has a balcony. Architectural brilliance is found in the most unassuming places. Cathedrals with gothic-influenced architecture are squeezed between two normal looking buildings. Restaurants and shops sit below the apartments, and streets are flooded with tourists and locals alike. The diversity here is something I have never seen before.

Among other day-one observation: almost all Spaniards and visiting Europeans smoke, and smoke a lot. Also, a faint smell of sewage could be smelled from some street corners, but that’s the result of a mainly concrete city, 2000 year old sewage systems, and no green places for the dogs to go to the bathroom! Likewise, no store front was vacant or out of business; every other store front was a restaurant waiting to serve confused tourists. The majority of restaurant seating was outside on corners, plazas, or sidewalks. Living quarters, as expected, were smaller than usual. Beyond all of the little observations and overwhelming sense of exploration, I was excited to be able to call Barcelona my home for the next few months.

Prior to Departure

This is the official blog site for Matthew Fall’s Barcelona 2016 Study Abroad trip. I will be updating the site with photos and posts on a regular basis, so check back every few days to see what’s new!