Mariah visits Don Benito!

This past weekend, Mariah came and visited me in Don Benito. It was so much fun, but the bad thing was it rained on and off all weekend. Friday had some of the best weather, so we took advantage and did the pilgrimage to la Ermita de las Cruces (the Chapel of the Patron saint of Don Benito). The weather was perfect for the trip there. It was sunny, not too hot. Just wonderful for a bike ride. So we took our time, took some pictures, enjoyed the day. Its 8 kilometers from the edge of Don Benito to the ermita so when we got there we were ready for a break. Unfortunately, when we got there the chapel was closed! And it was supposed to be open. We got there after siesta and everything. Later we found out that the caretaker had passed away so the chapel was in a transition time. So, I felt bad that after our "pilgrimage" we didnt really get to "finish" it since we couldnt see the Patrona. But oh well. So we rested in the area for like 10 minutes and all of the sudden dark clouds started rolling in, so we jumped back on the bikes and headed back to Don Benito. It started sprinkling on us, but it wasnt too bad. It was pretty amazing how quickly we made it back when we thought we might get drenched. Luckily we did not get drenched, so even though our legs were killing us the last kilometer we made it back nice and dry (well pretty dry).

Here are some pictures from our pilgrimage/ bike ride:

All along the path their are crosses to "lead the way". This is the only part where there are 3 crosses.

We stopped at a little bridge/creek area. There was this cute little stepping stone path across the creek.

Here I am looking pretty stupid. My expression came out way more ridiculous than I thought in my mind. But I wanted proof of my bike excursion, so here it is. :)

The land all around this path is sooo flat. Not like NC at all. But so beautiful in its own right. The bike I used is the one laying down. It had no kick stand so it was always on the ground. Haha.
Another image of the pretty creek!

That night we went and watched Iron Man 2 which ended up to be a big mistake. We both kept falling asleep!

On Saturday we went to this restaurant called Quinto Cecilio around midday because it has beautiful views of Medellin, its castle, and its roman bridge. It wasnt raining then, so we sat on the patio, but you could feel the rain was coming.

That afternoon we tried to take a walk around Don Benito but we ended up having to walk under umbrellas most of the time.

The rest of that day we pretty much just talked.... and Sunday too. It was awesome to be able to talk about everything that has happened this whole year. Mariah and I have such similar lives-- we both majored in Spanish, both have done this same program in Spain this year, we were roommates in Raleigh last year, we both want to be Spanish teachers, AND we both want to live in Raleigh next year. So it was good to be able to talk about everything-- our plans for next year, spanish, teaching, etc, etc. Talking it all out has made me even more excited about coming home and getting started with things.

I was definitely sad to see her go on Monday morning. But its so close to the end now, that it wont be long till I can hang out with all my friends all the time back in NC.

I miss you all! Only 23 days!

besitos!