Orienteering Race - Spain

The kids with map in hand, searching for our next landmark

A couple of weeks ago we were lucky enough to be invited to an orienteering race.  I had never heard of this, but there are orienteering clubs throughout Spain that organize races.  Usually the races are in the forest, up and down hills and through streams.  But this time it was in the old town of Hellin.  (For a really cool video on the drum festival during Santa Semana in Hellin)

Trying to figure out where in the world we are.

We met friends and had a lunch and then headed to the race.  The race was attended by young and old alike.  We were given a map and a card to pass over a sensor every time we found one of the markers throughout the city.  We wandered up through the old part where no cars could go, and while our friends and my hubby looked at the map and tried to figure out where we were going, I marveled at the architecture and the peace of the city.

Passing our card over the sensor to keep track of all the places we needed to find.

This was such a fun family activity, with enough activity to keep the kids entertained. We are hoping to participate in more of these, maybe next time we will be crossing rivers and hiking up ravines. For more information on the orienteering club that sponsored this event check out their website.