One of the most exciting activities we participated in was a cooking class of traditional Spanish dishes. The three courses of food we made consisted of an egg and potato dish (Tortilla de Tatatas), a sweet salami and cracker dish (Tartar de Salchichon de Malaga), and finally, rabbit and chicken paella. While all the foods were delicious, my favorite to make was the paella. After having the choice to eat paella for lunch or dinner almost everyday on the trip, it was so interesting to see how it was actually made. The class instructor let us do everything to prepare this meal, such as chopping the meats and vegetables, boiling the water, and finally, adding everything into the pan to cook. I loved this engaging and hands on experience, and I can not wait to try to make these recipes at home for my friends and family!

While most of the Maymester in Spain was planned out with fun and educational activities, we did get a free day during our time in Granada, Spain. Some of the group rented a boat, while others took a guided safari around the the Sierra Nevada mountains. Some friends and I were torn between both of these options, but we decided since we were so close to this mountain range, we would find a trail to hike.

After deciding to hike in the Sierra Nevada mountains, we researched and found the most fun trail in the Sierra Nevadas, which was the Los Cahorros trail. We took a 30 minute uber ride from Granada to Monachil, Spain that dropped us off at the start of the trail. The 3.5 mile hike included four suspension bridges, waterfalls, narrow paths, crawl spaces, and even water holes for swimming! The four suspension bridges on this trail were the most entertaining, with the longest of them being 63 meters long. Gaining almost 800 feet in elevation during the hike allowed us to see beautiful views of the mountains and the city below. One of the most beautiful parts of the trail included a patch of dandelions that were huge, some being as big as a tennis ball. After we finished our hike, we took an uber back into Granada for some lunch, as we had definitely worked up an appetite during the hike!