How would you like to take to your wheels and traverse the mountains of Andalusia by bike?

A group of our Scholars, led by Himraj Soin and Tom Snow, did just that, touring the hills and valleys of Gualchos, a small village near the coast of Spain. Their trip was a crash course – not literally, of course – in mountain biking. Our Scholars were challenged, to say the least.

Situated on the coast between the Mediterranean on the one side and the snow-capped Sierra Nevada on the other, they rode from the mountain village of Gualchos down to the Mediterranean coast at La Rábita, traversing diverse ecological zones — mountain, forest, and coastal terrain — which illustrated how elevation and human activity shape local biodiversity. They then followed the Windmill Loop, an off-road trail winding through olive groves, whitewashed villages, and rural farmlands. Their final long-distance ride took them through the Andalusian valleys, descending gradually toward Vélez de Benaudalla, crossing agricultural plains and historic villages framed by the Sierra Nevada.

Along the way, they hiked through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, catching a glimpse of the sunrise and learning about sustainable land management as well as the region’s shifting ecosystems due to climate change. They observed how light, temperature, and terrain influence local biodiversity, while reflecting on human-nature interdependence. 

They also were treated to a special cooking class: our Baret Scholars are now experts in paella!

We talked with our Scholars about what a difference the trip made. Ana Beatriz Lopez de Sousa, who hails from Brazil, noted that although she had spent a good deal of time in her young adulthood biking with her family, she had never been challenged like she was by the mountains of Southern Spain.

This was one of the main appeals of the trip, as it turned out: by the end of the trip, Scholars like Ana found they were capable of accomplishing things together that they would have never been able to do alone. Ana put it this way: “When you are doing something difficult, you bond even more with your friends. Even though the Fellowship was very tough, it showed us that we could do more than we thought. The last day was particularly difficult for me physically, and I wasn’t sure if I could handle it. But when I saw my friends struggling in the same way, I realized if they could do it, I could do it.”

In that way, this journey through Andalusia was like a metaphor for the Baret year at large: the daunting task of traveling across the globe in one year, while it may seem impossible when taken on by one young person, becomes possible when taken on with a group of like-minded people.

Jula Cieciuch, another one of our Scholars, was proud of all they accomplished: “It felt good to have that understanding: that I have this extra gear. It felt very validating to put that trust in myself. There’s no way to understand yourself without putting yourself into a challenging situation.” And James Etherington agreed: “Whenever we reached the top it was only smiles.”

There was something profound that they discovered in the rhythm of their days: a gratitude for the strength they’d found in each other and the beauty of the world. As James put it, “We had the warmth of what felt like spring, but a late sunrise. Every morning we watched the sun rise over the Mediterranean. One morning we watched the mist come in along the water and rise into the mountains. It was an experience you’d never be able to have by yourself, and one you wouldn’t be able to understand if you were by yourself, either.”

They all agreed that this leg of their journey, like the journey at large, has solidified their friendships. “Some of my peers who I didn’t know as well, I got to know them so much better. You can see a person’s grit and how they push themselves in an environment like this,” was how James put it. Ana agreed: “When you are doing something difficult, you bond even more with your friends.” That’s Baret: a year traveling around the globe with a truly international cohort that become lifelong friends. This particular Fellowship, with all its literal ups and downs, is just one leg in a year of learning and insight. Imagine it multiplied across the globe, in jungles and bustling metropolises, on safaris and boats and beaches and mountaintops. It’s a year unlike any other, and one they will never forget.

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