Mountain High

Yesterday we took of to the sierra.
Paul found this great path for us to take that was 18km total and we went with it. We got to the pueblo Cercedilla which is at the base of the mountains and started walking up a path that was actually part of the Camino de Santiago from Madrid. We followed that path to various other paths and started our journey. It was so nice to breathe fresh air as opposed to the city air with all those smokers. Well, we took a wrong turn and started heading up and up and up. IMG_4934.jpg">
It was tiring but it was beatiful.IMG_4939.jpg">
But our hike got cut short when a we saw what we thought were bulls on the path! We heard cow bells while we were walking but figured that the animals would be in a controlled farm somewhere off the path, we were wrong. So we climbed up out of the path into the blackberry bushes and ferns to wait see if the bulls would move out of the way. We were very scared and one of the bulls kept looking at us and eating up our fear. Finally we realized that this guy was going nowhere and we started our descent way out of his way and went to the information that was at the bottom of the path. We asked the helpful woman about our scary bull experience and she told us that they were cows! The farmer farmed them for their meat and that they usually do not harm anyone and that you can go around them. Either way they had horns and Paul and I were not in the mood to risk it. Especially since here in Spain you get around the clock news about the latest bullfighter injuries.

After we had made our way back home at around 6 we saw an email from Annie Cella! Her friend´s flight was delayed for 24 hours and Annie was wondering Madrid on her own! We got in contact with her and met for a light dinner. She was happy to be with people who spoke her language. She learned quickely that Spaniards do not speak english and that her four years of Latin in highschool were not helping either, especially with the menus. We had a really nice visit with Annie, who was doing a good job of staying awake. We have plans to visit with her again on Monday.

Today is Sunday and we are going to do as the Spaniards do which is not leave the home.