This weekend excursion to the city of Cuenca was amazing. We departed from Madrid via bus early Friday morning and arrived aproximately 2 1/2 hours later. We began by visiting a local park and went on a hike among the rock formations. It was incredible and I was reminded of my time in the Boy Scouts. Much fun was had by everyone as we climbed all over the rocks.
After that, we checked into the hotel (which used to be a monastery) and ate lunch. The food was great (ham of course) and the restaurant was very fancy; I had one glass of red wine and one of white wine (preferred the white.)
Afterwards, we took a tour of Cuenca and visited both the Cuenca Cathedral and the Museum of Abstract Art. The cathedral was absolutely beautiful and because the sun was setting it made the stained glass shine brilliantly. The art museum was also fun, although many of the other students very vocal about their distaste. My favorite room was the "white room" which had four windows which captured the nearby cliffs as if they were paintings.
The next morning we awoke to extreme cold. As noted by one of the girls on the trip, it was the first time year that we could see our breath. There was concern amongst us that the cold would put a damper on the days' activities: horseback riding and cliff-jumping. By the time we arrived at the adventure base to pick up our horses/wet-suits the sun had risen higher as well as our spirits. I squeezed into a wet-suit and we took a short drive to the river.
The water was, predictably, freezing cold, and although the wet-suit protected me somewhat, water was still able to seep in especially near my hands. Our two guides started us off by having us hop off small rocks and slide down short rapids to get a handle on it. After each jump we floated downstream to the next one where we climbed out at jumped again. Soon, though, we were leaping off rocks ranging between 25-40ft in height. Honestly, it was terrifying, and I had to psych myself up for a couple of seconds before each of the jumps. I would not say that it was dangerous though. I don't like heights and I don't like being cold, but the river canyon was absolutely gorgeous. Had it been a stifling summer day, I think that I would have enjoyed it better, but by the end I was shaking uncontrollably and happy to get back to dry clothes.
By and large and all in all, I had a wonderful time in Cuenca. The city is beautiful, the landscape is breathtaking, the river-sports are insane, and I would love to return one day.
Estás ganador!
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