Spanish Adventure 2008 Day 4,5 and 6....

Day #4 - Sunday March 16.

We landed in Madrid at about 8:45am local time and went to see if we could find our missing suitcase of clothes. We were not alone. There were at least 3 other people on the flight who's bags had come in before them. We did not immidiately see it in the unclaimed baggage area and were very nervous about that, but ultimately someone came out and took us to a locked room where we all found our bags....YAY!! We headed down to the Rental car place just HOPING that they had kept our reservation because we were two days late picking it up. They told us when we got there that they do hold reservations for 48 hours....we got there at hour 47!!! PHEW.

We had printed directions of how to get to Ponferrada, the town from Lennie's mission where we'd be staying with his friends, but we asked the rental car place for directions as well. Sounded easy enough....and it was! We drove straight there. We got on the road about 10am. It was supposed to be a 4 hour drive, but Lennie did it in about 3½. We were really trying to make it in time for church. When we got there, we called his friends, Merce and Manolo to come get us. The church building had moved since last time we were there, so we didn't know where to go. They came and met us at the park and led us over to the church. We got there just as church was getting out. We didn't get to attend services, but we still got to see the new chapel (very tiny, in sort of a strip mall...but VERY nice for them) Everyone was SO excited to see us, they had all been expecting us for church. We talked to the missionaries too....I think they were happy to speak a little English, LOL.

We went back to Merce and Manolo's apartment - pretty much everyone lives in appartments. They had moved since last time we were there....the new place was nice. They live in a 2 bedroom on the 3rd floor of thier building, and they had a spare room for us, so we were very grateful. We showered, they fed us Caldo soup - which is very typical for lunch, and is like a chicken noodle soup....and then they asked if we wanted to go for a walk. Really, most of the people walk EVERYWHERE. Most don't even own a car....in fact it costs LOTS of money (like thousands of dollars) to get a drivers license, and I think you have to go all the way to Madrid to do it. When you ask them how far is it from here to there, they tell you "it's a ___ minute walk", instead of "Oh, about ___ miles". This walk actually started with a drive, and it was the only time we drove anywhere within the city....they had rented a car, because they had wanted to meet us in Madrid on Friday....but since we were late getting there, they just needed to return the car. We drove out to the car rental place on the WAY edge of town and walked back...about an hour walk or so. Very pretty scenery, and they showed us some of the things that had changed since we'd last been there.

When we got back, we went to visit another friend of Lennie's. Her name is Celia. She works in her family's restaraunt everyday, so she wasn't at church. She had asked if we could come over on Sunday for dinner so we could visit with her on one of her few nights off....Of course we did!! We walked to her appartment, and she cooked us dinner...Spanish tortilla and salad and chicken...very yummy!! We of course did lots of talking and visiting too.....well, Lennie and Celia did the talking...I listened. I was pretty good at following the conversation, but I did not dare speak much, LOL!! None of his friends speak any English. After dinner we snapped a couple photos and then we walked back to Merce and Manolo's.

Day 5 - Monday March 17 (St Patricks Day)
This was the day we walked the most in Ponferrada. They wanted to show us everything that had changed and was new since we'd last been there, so we walked for most of the day just all around the city. It was amazing how much it had changed, and how much they were improving the city. New parks and fountains and green grass and flowers everywhere. They kept telling us we should be cold and where were our jackets....they were all bundled up in coats. But it was in the 40's, and with all the walking we were doing, we were just not cold. Ponferrada is up in the mountains in a little valley, so many of the streets are quite hilly, but it wasn't a bad walk....but I WAS tired by the time it was over. We were also still trying to adjust to the jet lag still...We tried to watch a movie that evening, but we were just falling asleep (and I couldn't understand it anyhow) so we turned in.

Day 6 - Tuesday March 18
One of the things Lennie really wanted to do while we were there this time was take a day trip and drive into Portugal. It was about a 2 hour drive. He had never been there, and since we had brand new Passports, we needed to stamp them up, LOL! Merce came with us, and Manolo stayed home. We had printed directions, and Merce was with us....though she had never been there either....and we set off about 11 am. Well, we missed a turn somewhere along the way, and ended up going the "long" way....which was just fine as the scenery was gorgeous, and we were in good company. We were driving through mountains and along rivers and there were little clusters of houses with grape vineyards from time to time....very beautiful, and it only added 30-45 minutes to our drive down there.

The town we were going to was Chaves, Portugal. There is a castle there, that we wanted to see...as well as a Roman built bridge built about 100AD that is still being used...and a hot springs where the water is 163 degrees!!!!!! We were driving along and waiting for the check point when you leave one country and enter another...we had our passports ready to show....and all of a sudden Lennie, goes..."Um these signs are all in Portugese!". We had gone from one country to another without even knowing it. There was no check point...in fact there was not even so much as a SIGN! We did not get a stamp in our passports, LOL.

When we got there it was lightly raining...we made our way to the bridge, and the castle (which is really only one tower of the castle left), but we needed to get directions to the hot springs, and see if there was anything else that was suggested to see while we were here. We went to the tourism office, but there was apparently a time difference between Portugal and Spain so they weren't open at the time. We decided to get some lunch, we ate at a small restaurant. The prices were SO cheap!! About half price of everything in Spain. We ate very well, for not a lot of money. By that time the tourism office was open, so we went there for a minute, but it was now time for us to be heading back....Merce and I were going to the Relief Society Birthday Dinner at the chapel this evening. Yep, I was gonna go without Lennie!

So we headed back and this time we went the right way (shorter). We were late getting home, so we RUSHED in and changed into Sunday clothes for the meeting. Merce couldn't believe that I was wearing sandals...she thought I was NUTS. Lennie and Manolo walked us to the chapel, then they went off to do some shopping. We went in and only got to be there for about the last 15 minutes of the meeting....and for refreshments! I met the branch president (who had not been there on Sunday) he was very nice. Many of the women came up to me and spoke to me in what English they knew. Some of them take English from the missionaries, and they did very well. One lady asked me where I was from, I told her Arizona, she said "Oh, I want to come to Arizona. My son loves the movie "cars" and we want to drive on Route 66." I thought that was so cute....I didn't tell her that Route 66 really isn't anything like in the movie. We left the chapel and went to find Lennie and Manolo, walked around the city for a while and then went home.

4 days left...we had no idea what was in store for us!!