June 19 Sunday Llanes to Ribadesella 20 miles

Last night I did not sleep well.  My mind was mixed up with Spanish, English with a Spanish accent, what would the next 10 days being, mixed feelings of separating from our Vaughantown closeness but being ready for some peaceful times with just Craig and me and I didn't like the musty smell in the hotel room.  

As happens on these trips, my mood shifted easily after a cafe con leche in the morning and getting on our bicycles.  

Travel is life, not vacation. At least our kind of travel - the Sudoko version.  

I must admit that Skype, FB, text, photos, and now What's App make it so much easier to be separated.  The Spanish could be more tethered to their mobile devices than even we are 🌞.

So off we want, heading west towards Sanriago de Compostela.  The beauty of this route is that we are along the coast most of the time.  Normally, we take a small road with minimal traffic but today we opted for the Camino since a man told us our bikes would be ok on it. The photos will show otherwise!!  We made it though to a wonderful coastal town and our hotel for 55 Euros faces the water, private room and bath and breakfast included.  

We met more pilgrims today when we stopped for lunch; one young woman has an uncle in Olympia!  This always happens.  The walkers are enjoying this Camino. Evidently the Camino France's is very crowded. This affects the pilgrims staying in albuergues more as there is a race for beds! 

Cycling felt oh so good today. Either the roads were less steep or the extra gear we left behind paid off or perhaps we're getting in shape.  I hope the latter is true although I probably will have to ride a lot more to counteract the amount of wine and bread I'm consuming.  And olives!!!  

It's 9:30 right now and no sign of sunset or darkness.  

So after we settled in at Hotel La Marina we went for a stroll along the paseo.  6 miles later we stopped for pizza and salad and now we're ready for bed.

I'm scoring the good feelings of this day and sending them far and wide.  

Some photos.  We took so many today; So much beauty! 

 

View from our window

Happy Father's Day to one of the best! 

And now we hear of a possible air controller strike at the Madrid airport on the 29th and 30th of June - our return date!!

That will be the travel Sudoko for tomorrow! 

June 17 Friday Vaughantown to Madeid

Breakfast and checkout.

We lounged around in the lobby taking photos, setting up What's App data and some feeling the pain from last night's celebrations.

Then we had the closing ceremony where Alba and Malena spoke a few words about each Spanish student and presented a certificate for completing an 80 hour English immersion program. 

The Anglos also received certificates and an apron😀.

We were humbled by the appreciation and words that we received both as individuals and for who we are as a couple.  We have to believe it because everyone else seems to.

We boarded the bus to Madrid and there we said our good-byes for now.  The cheating however continues.

Some photos at the last:

Alba and Malena

Marga (who reminds us of Sonya)

Fernando, Craig, Elena, Joy, Alba, Rafael, Borja

We hope some will come to visit as we said: Mi casa es tu casa.  

PS no one likes Trump and were relieved that we shared their feelings.

I am sure it felt exceptionally wonderful for the Spaniards to speak their native tongue again.  They have my respect for their courage.  As Raimond shared, even though he does presentations all the time, feeling anxious is always a part of it.

I have so much more to share about these wonderful humans.  I am sure some of our paths will cross again. I can hear their ways of speaking English as I write this.

Happy to have had this experience.

June 16 Thursday Vaughantown

So this is the big day.  All the Spaniards have to give a 5 minute speech in English starting at 6pm.  You can sense the angst in the air.  

Perhaps it doesn't sound like much but even if it were in English, not knowing what your topic will be until that day and having to prepare and present to one's peers would create a challenge for most of us, yes? 

Topics were selected at breakfast and they were abstract in nature.

For example, 

What is the best advice you have been given?

What sound brings the most pleasure to you?

And so on....What is the meaning of life?

In our 1:1 sessions today and at meals we discussed some things.  A three hour siesta was given to allow the Spaniards to prepare and to rest.

I went to have a swim and a sauna.

I wish I had recordings of each and every presentation. They were superb. Each and every one and reflected the professionalism and level of education of all the participants.  In addition, each one was so unique, well organized, sometimes humorous, with so much heart and soul.  

We became so aware of the courage it takes to communicate in another language and as Marga said, the frustration of wanting to express something and not having the words.

A big relief was felt after all the presentations were done and a big celebration later that evening with music and dance that for us lasted until 1 in the morning, and for some others until 7am!!

June 18 Saturday Barajas and back to Llanes

This is what is happening right now. We just returned from VaughanTown. Below is what I posted on What's App to our VaughanTown  friends who we said good bye to yesterday evening in Madrid:

We are in Barajas. No busses, no trains to Llanes in the near future where our bikes are. Strikes and repairs seem to be the order of the day. Our friends at this hotel are very helpful. We will try to rent a car at the airport.  The adventure continues! All is well.  We are so glad to have had the chance to get to know you all. We agree with Joy- it feels like we have been long time friends/family.  Well wishes to you all.  Buenas noches.  

We will see what happens next. Here is the view from our hotel window:

And we leave even more "stuff" behind;

At the present moment, we have boarded the bus to Oviedo!! This is the Sudoko of travel! Everything is a puzzle and we must fit everything together. Finally at the airport we found a schedule that will get us to Llanes this evening as planned. We took a train (Renfe) from the airport to Mendez Aroyo station and there we were just in time to catch the ALSA bus.

It feels to us just like the end of a school year when you have to say goodbye to people you have become attached to and ....love.

At the same time, the excitement of free time and having your own schedule feels delicious. And rest is very much needed.  

Note: Public transportation is so plentiful and easy here. What a shame we don't have it.

It's now 11:30 and we are still stunned that all our connections worked out as originally planned!  We're back at Hotel Las Rocas where we were last week. Tomorrow we'll pick up our bikes and see where they take us.

June 14 Tuesday Vaughntown

A regular day at Vaughntown, following the schedule, talking, talking, talking.  The Spaniards are all quite proficient in English having studied in school

But have not had opportunities to practice speaking to become fluent.  All feel that speaking English will enhance their job opportunities and visions for their futures and are very motivated.  They range in age from 24 to 58, working in many different fields.  Conversation flows easily and each session includes explanations of phrasal verbs (who knew?) and idioms. 

Here we have Craig engaged in the evening's entertainment with Fernando, Martin, and Raimond.  I have a video of this. They are conversing as they use the word "Deck" in English and "DYK", a kind of alcohol. Hilarious. We are a group who enjoys off color humor. 

 

This is the evening that I was part of a skit singing the song, California dreamer."

And this was the drink created during the Quemada ceremony,  A Galician spirit ceremony.

June 13 Monday Vaughantown

At the river with Jenny and Fernando.

Craig and Luis about to begin a 1:1, joking about how Luis and I had just had a 1:1 and what I shared about Craig!

By lunch time we were exhausted, wondering how we could keep up this pace all week.  

Then the evening activities began

The poem, the Seeker, was a keeper and I took this photo to remind myself to look it up.  Alba, our MC is an extraordinary person hailing from Melia a Spanish city in North Africa near Morocco.  She is a talented actress, dancer, singer, writer and a genuinely beautiful (I can hear her say this word in English with her Spanish actress)human.  We all were compelled to follow her directions and requests obediently. 

After dinner we played a group game. That took us to about 11:30 at which time Craig and I went to bed. Others continued on drinking and socializing (in English).

I was feeling a little anxious about what I might be asked to do during the entertainment the next day. I offered to do a short presentation on the Camino with Craig, thinking that might get me off the hook......

June 15 Wednesday Vaughantown

The routine was changed up today as we walked as a group into the small town, Avila Del Barco, together.

The famous beans from the area.

The day continued on as usual after that with a siesta, 1:1, simulated phone and conference calls for extra practice in English without having body language and visual cues - very important in professional life.  

Then preparation for the evening entertainment. As one of the English speakers was from India, Bollywood dancing was on the program. Guess who was selected to be one of the dancers?  We have a video as well but for now, a photo!!Confession:  it was fun!!!!  

And for the final entertainment of the week, a very stunning and funny performance of Grease!!  We have a video of that as well. 

Dinner ensued at the usual hour of 9 and another activity after dinner.  Truth or false.  Once I adjusted to this schedule and to the amount of talking and social interaction, it was a lot of fun.  By now, the group has cemented and we really enjoyed our time together.  

These condensed events, where there are no outside distractions and everyone is there with a common purpose accelerate intimacy. This is similar to the Camino. And I mean that in terms of communication and friendship though there is the saying, "what happens in VaughanTown stays in Vaughantown!"