Climbing mountains

There are countless mountains in the world.  There are metaphorical mountains that come in the form of emotional or physical in which one must overcome in order to reach satisfaction.  Then there are actual mountains like the Alps and the Pyrenees in which you have to want to climb.  I did the latter.   I climbed the famed Pagasarri mountain in Bilbao.

 I was told by many people in Bilbao that I had to climb it before I could say I lived in Bilbao.  Since I have Fridays off and it was supposed to be a beautiful day, I decided to climb the famed mountain.  I called my buddy Andrew at 10 and we set off by 11.  I was armed to the T with my travel gear.  My camera, a makeshift camera bag, a rain coat, and a bandana.  My teachers said it was a piece of cake and that I could climb it in about an hour.  Let me tell you, Bilbaínas are filthy liars, however, I neglected to realize this until I was halfway up the mountain.

When Andrew and I first set off we saw all of the common signs of Bilbao: old men in berets, Basque separatists graffiti, and mopeds.  At first, I felt good about all of the signs, but the one I was most excited about was the 60 to 70 year old men that were on their way down the mountain by 11 am.  If they could make the trek in around 3 to 4 hours, then I could do this, but the further we went up the mountain, the more I couldn't help but hate the old men for making me look like a pansy.  Consequently, every old man that I passed would add an "aupa", which caused me to respond "aupa" in-between my frequent gasps for breath.

Besides my humiliation, the rest of the hike was wonderful.  We met some donkeys, Andrew took some much expected spills, we took lots of photos, and we got some hidden perspective of the natural side of Spain.  Needless to say, I'm addicted.   I need and want more.  If you ever travel to Spain, make sure you do more than just see the historical part of Spain. Get lost in the majestic of its wonderful landscapes.  Stay tuned.

S

Basic Spanish:
subir la montaña : Climb the mountain

Advanced Spanish:
Chollo : A good thing, bargain, nice person

Basque:
Zembat (sem-bat) : How much

British English:
Trainers : Running shoes