Visit to Bath and Bristol… and a Coal Mine!

A special report by Nicolás Lozano and Nicolás Rainuzzo:

On Wednesday, 12 Dec. we left the Centre at 9.30 to go to Bath. After an hour on bus surrounded by a beautiful white landscape, we reached the old Roman city. Most of us visited the world famous Roman Baths. They date back to the first century AD and were built by skilled Roman engineers when they realized that the local people bathed in the waters for their therapeutic purposes. We were aided in our tour by audioguides provided by the museum, which made it easier for us to understand the history of the place. The average temperature of the waters is 46º C! When the Romans left the city, the sick continued to use the baths believing in the healing power of the waters. In the eighteenth century, Bath became a very fashionable town, popular for wedding celebrations.

When we got to Bristol we toured the city, but the weather was so cold that many of us were “forced” to seek refuge in cafes and had steamy hot chocolate.

After a long day of sightseeing we returned to the Sports Centre. The Centre offers such an array of sporting activities that a special mention is to be made. We were very excited to return, change into our gym clothes and organize table tennis and squash tournaments in spite of the long day!  Some of us, however, chose to visit the gym instead and continue with the workout routine preparing for our next match…

Thursday December 13th

Mónica Bruck writes:

After breakfast the volley boys met at the gym for a training session. The rugby team went to  a rugby field close to the Centre to continue their practice. The teams are getting ready for the next match. They enjoyed their lunch and then got on the bus that would take them to their next adventure: an underground visit to the Big Pit: National Coal Museum. “Big Pit” is a real coal mine and one of Britain’s leading mining museums.

Lucas Gold, Nicolás Lozano and Nicolás Rainuzzo report:

The mine is an hour away from Cardiff and is located in a very desolate area.  As soon as we got off the bus we were geared up for the occasion. We were given helmets, caps lamps, belts, batteries and ‘self rescuer’ each. Once underground, we were guided around the coal faces, engine houses and stables in the company of a former coal miner, whose experience and stories enriched the visit . We were taken down a 90 meter shaft by an elevator, just as the miners would do, back in the old days…  As we moved deeper into the mine, our guide tried to make us sympathize with the miners of centuries gones. He made us turn off the lights to make us experience waht they must have felt when the candles went out! He told us about the six year olds who were forced to work in atrocious conditions and frequently died due to the unsafe working environment, or run over by the mine carts. After a 50 minute walk, we were taken back to the surface and invited to visit the gift shop. We returned to Cardiff, where the bus dropped us off to tour the city centre and admire the beautiful Christmas arrangements that decorated its buildings…

To read about the girls’ tour in Spain, please see the Spanish version of this entry. The photos are arriving with some delay, the first 2 in the gallery above corresponding to the girls’ visit to Zaragoza, prior to their arrival in Barcelona… More to come shortly!!!