I had a long weekend and I can't wait to go to bed. Friday afternoon I walked to the post office to get a package my mom sent me because we got a note in our mailbox saying we weren't home when the mailmen came so I had to go pick it up(I live in a gated condominium so if you're not home you have to go pick it up the next day at the post office). So I walked to the post office, it's about a mile and a half away, not knowing how huge the box would be! I had a little trouble coming back with a 3ftx4ftx3ft 20 lb box, but thanks for sending it mom! Then I relaxed and took a nap like usual and then I went out with my friends Friday night. Saturday after lunch me and my host family drove to Gerês where my host mom's mom lives(host grandmother).
Santa Maria do Bouro, My host grandmother lives just outside this village
Gerês is a mountain range and national park near the border of Spain in northeastern Portugal. It's really nice there the mountains are so big it reminds me of North Carolina but the mountains are bigger even. Usually they have snow throughout the winter but this has been some unusually warm and sunny past couple of weeks so it was almost 60 degrees there, a little dissapointing I didn't get to see snow but we're going to go back next month maybe and there will be snow then! A cool thing about Gerês is that there are wild horses all around I saw two while I was there. Also my host mom's brother Antonio and his family live about 20 minutes from my host grandmother's outside a city called Braga and they came and spent the afternoon in Gerês with us. We went to this former convent/church called Santuário de Nossa Senhora da Abadia and walked around in the woods by a river with a few small waterfalls.
Then we went back and all watched a movie, had dinner, and played cards. My host mom's brother and his family drove home around midnight, and then we went to bed. My host grandma is addicted to farmville and cityville it's the most hilarious thing she was playing it for at least three hours last night. Also, the house doesn't have any type of heating system not even a radiator, just one really small fireplace in the family room, her house was so cold! I was woken up at 6 or 7 in the morning to roosters, dogs, and other animal sounds, especially the roosters, it was so weird! And they didn't stop for a long time. Then we hung around the house and after lunch my host dad, my sister and I went in the car along the rio caldo towards the village of Gerês and to the national park of Gerês and drove through, and that's where I saw the two wild horses and we drove to the border of Spain and walked across and then walked back, I've been to Spain now! Then we drove back to my host grandma's house, packed up and then left. Only until I got home I realized I left my Iphone, portuguese cellphone, wallet(with money) and house keys there. So my host mom's brother drove to go get it so he can mail them to us tomorrow(They only live 20 minutes or so away and there's no post office near my host grandma's).
Rio Caldo
The Border between Spain and Portugal, with a sign for "Galicia" but spray painted over with a "z" for "Galiza" which is the Portuguese spelling
A sign about the Gerês park in Galicia(Spain) written in Galician(Galego: The dialect of Spanish spoken in Galicia, it's halfway between Spanish and Portuguese) "Xurês" instead of "Gerês"
Wild Horse
Looking from the Gerês park onto rio caldo towards the village of Gerês
Admeus, a village near the village of Gerês, overlooking rio caldo
Anyway, I had a good weekend and Gerês is really nice and I hope I get to go back soon and see snow!
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