SUPER GUAY, NATURALMENTE

By Nicole Tiger

Brandeis University

Hi folks! Nicky again. So basically, the weekend of the 7^th CIEE Madrid embarked on an amazing journey entitled “La Gomera”. One of the most beautiful islands I’ve seen, it is located within a Spanish archipelago off the coast of Africa. While the beach and food were amazing, I’m here to talk about the “senderismo” or hiking in the gorgeous Garajonay National Park.

            On Saturday, after a great first day at the beach, our guide Jose Maria took us to the Garajonay National Park to spice up our trip with a little nature and romance. The park gets its name from a famous local tale that follows a similar plot line to Romeo and Juliet. Gara and Jonay become lovers despite that their families are members of opposing tribes. In order to keep their affair secret, they only come together to…you know…under the cloud cover of a forest in between their two homes. Because of a strange geographical phenomenon that experts have difficulty explaining to this day, the forest is extremely damp because clouds become trapped just above the trees. It’s so moist that mushy green foliage covers every surface in the forest—it’s truly beautiful. Anywho, when the parents find out about the couple’s rendezvous’, shit hits the fan. Somehow the couple ends up surrounded by the enemy and they decide to commit suicide so that they don’t have to live apart. As was demonstrated live by Jose Maria and Erica, the two lovers placed a stick between their chests and thrust so that they were both impaled. Symbolically though, they would be connected forever.

            As I previously mentioned, the forest is completely stunning. Green shrubbery completely encases everything and is soft to the touch. The beauty that surrounded us almost entirely distracted me from the fact that we were moving at a pretty fast pace uphill. Jose Maria took a hands-on approach to the hike and told us to experience everything with our senses of touch and smell in addition to sight. We picked a few plants to smell and some people even walked part of the hike barefoot. The natural setting combined with the lovely sense of freshness made for a very wonderful hike—interrupted only by a brief dramatic encounter with some bicyclists breaking the law. The senderismo, the beach, the food, and my personal favorite, the bonding made the CIEE trip to La Gomera a complete success!!!