As if we hadn't gotten enough travel time, we took onnnee laaaast trip before heading home, this time to the north of Spain. Luckily, our friend Fran and his wife Aline had family up there and were planning to take a trip there during their vacation time anyway. We decided to tag along, and we're so glad we did!
The Basque country is BEAUTIFUL and so different from the central and southern Spain that we were familiar with. It's lush and green and a little cold. Some places reminded me of my mission in the Caribbean, others looked almost identical to Switzerland. Our first stop was in San Sebastian where we hiked around to see the views of the bay from a huge fortress that separates the city in two. Our professor Scott Alvord told us that this is his family's favorite city in Europe, and I can see why! It's such an interesting city and the people are so laid back.
Here's Hayden really diggin' this cannon at the fortress.
For dinner, I'm ashamed to say we went to Burger King. This was NOT our idea, ironically it was our Spanish friends who chose it. We laugh all the time about when Hayden asked the girl behind the counter for an extra tomato and she looked really confused, turned around, and came back with her arm extended holding a single tomato slice in between her thumb and index finger looking disgusted. Hahaha if there's anything we Americans do better than Europeans, it's customer service.
(Side note: BYU actually posted this picture to their Instagram talking about traveling during COVID since we've got our masks on. Kind of a weird choice for a pic, but kinda cool).
We noticed there weren't many people on the beach, which didn't surprise us because so many people had told us how cold the water was. When we got down to the beach and touched the water for ourselves, we realized it was actually really warm! Like, REALLY warm...somewhere in between east coast USA and the Caribbean-warm. We decided that the next day we HAD to have a beach day, and that's exactly what we did. After spending the night in a hostel, we came back into the city for a fun day on the beach! We were much more careful with sunscreen this time (learned our lesson the hard way) and had an awesome day rolling around in the San Sebastian waves. For lunch, we ate pinxos, the Basque version of tapas, because we couldn't let Burger King and Dominoes be the only places we ate while there (yes, I'm sort of ashamed to say that the night before, we got the all-you-can-eat deal). Pinxos are yummy!
The whole morning had been sunny and warm and beautiful, but as soon as we finished lunch, it started POURING rain. It sort of reminded me of being on an island in that way: one minute it's sunny and lovely and the next there's a flash flood. Lucky us for catching the rays while we could! We hopped back in the car and drove to our next destination: Bilbao.
If I remember right, our landlord Mikel is from somewhere near Bilbao. Bilbao is a really neat place. The buildings are much more modern than a lot of other Spanish cities and the city is very well organized. We didn't do too much while there-- we spent most of our time exploring the city and walking along the beautiful riverfront. The famous Guggenheim Museum is really as weird-looking as it's made out to be. In fact, the whole riverfront was filled with weird, modern stuff, including a bridge made by the same guy who did all the crazy architecture in Valencia, a gigantic metal spider, and a huge dog statue covered in colorful flowers.
We put Fran in charge of getting the hotels so we didn't really know what to expect when he said we'd be staying in a capsule hotel in Bilbao. Come to find out, a capsule hotel is almost exactly what it sounds like: a hotel where you sleep in capsules! It was a little weird, but I think they're on to something. I think capsule hotels could be a big thing in the future. It was basically a big hallway with private bunk beds that all had their own TVs, lights, mirrors, and fans inside. It was a little claustrophobic, and you could totally hear everyone coming in and out of their capsules, but I think they're on to something. With a little more soundproofing, better airflow, and a little more comfortable mattresses, I think the capsule thing is a great idea.
The next morning, we got up early to go for a run along the river. Exercising during our travels was big time-- we definitely gained a few pounds and lost some muscle mass since our days of quarantine CrossFit with Damián, but getting out and exercising when we could helped keep us sane during the whole 6 weeks we were traveling. We got really sweaty running around in that humidity, but it felt so good. We snagged some amazing Basque pastries and hit the road again.
We headed to the next beach city along the north coast of Spain to Santander, which I've heard has been called the most beautiful city in Spain. I'd have to agree that landscape-wise, this place takes the cake. The water was so amazingly blue, and the mountains were so close to the shore.
It was pretty hot as we were walking around exploring the palace on the hill and looking at the sea lions that they randomly keep there on the beach, so we put on our swimsuits again and headed back to the water! But again, just like any other island or beach city, one minute the sun was out and the next, pouring rain.
It poured rain HARD on the entire drive to our next destination. I couldn't believe Fran could even see driving, it was that bad. The scenery we could see out the window, though, was absolutely gorgeous. So green, so lush, so many rocky beaches with crashing waves. We were headed to an area where I bet very, very few American tourists had ever been: a little town called Boo.
If you don't say the name of the city the way the Spanish do, then the town sounds pretty spooky, but it was such a cute, sleepy little town that reminded me a whole lot of the islands. The place is built on the side of a beautiful green mountain with the tiniest little roads and goats all over the place...it was really like stepping back in time to the old Basque sheepherding days. We would never in a million years have gone there if Fran didn't have family who offered to let us stay with them. Boy, was that an experience.
Fran's aunt and uncle moved to this place from Madrid because the house was literally $10,000. The place was a piece of work, though. Once again, very reminiscent of the Caribbean, the place was like a concrete shack with sheets as doors and an outdoor bathroom. They were so kind to let us stay there, but I felt a little bit of what a missionary in a foreign language-speaking country would feel at a big family dinner on the second night when we all got together with both sets of Fran's aunts and uncles. I could follow most of what was going on, but they were all so, so loud and obnoxious (and almost all of them were extremely overweight, to be honest) and by this point in our travels, I think I was just so tired of moving around that I couldn't handle it anymore. They also had 4 dogs in their tiny house, so that didn't help. As I laid there on the little bed in the shack in the middle of nowhere on our second night there, I counted almost 30 different beds that we had slept in over the previous 6 weeks...I wonder how many people can say they've done that.
Anyway, Asturias! This part of Spain was so breathtaking, and we got to do a super fun kayaking trip through the mountains. We definitely weren't the only people with the idea, and the river was just about at capacity with kayakers, but it was so fun being back in nature and seeing the beauties of a very different part of Spain.
As we were driving home in a BlaBla car, we passed through some mountains that looked identical to Switzerland, which is crazy because nobody thinks about going to northern Spain. We passed through a tunnel in a mountain and within just a few miles we went from mountainous, green, luscious Basque country back to dry, flat, desert Spain.
When we got back to Madrid, we met up with one of my friends who was also a teacher at my elementary school. She let us crash at her place while we did some final shopping and sightseeing in Madrid. She was so sweet to let us stay with her, and we had a great time walking around the city for one last evening before heading back to Alcalá and preparing to fly home.
Our last few days in Spain were a little stressful just trying to fit in everything we needed to see and picking out souvenirs, and I was soooo done with all the COVID nonsense...it's like, the Spanish aren't known for their proficiency, and the pandemic just gave them an excuse to be even more unaccommodating. I was also just so done wearing a mask even just walking around outside. As much as I loved Spain, I was ready to go home.
Of course, we couldn't leave without hanging out with our BFF Damián a couple more times! He brought some of his friends to one last tapas bar night, and then came to lunch with us on our last full day to say goodbye. He vowed to come visit us in Utah after we have a baby so he can meet his godchild. We were so lucky to have met an awesome friend like Damián and all the other amazing people we did. I'll never forget Mikel, Damián, Esther, Guille, Juan Carlos, Fran, Aline, Sonia, Elena, MarÃa Jesus, Alejandro, Noelia, Javi, Ricardo...the list goes on.
Our last chocolate and churros run:').
I'm sort of ashamed (not really) to say that our last meal in Europe was the all-you-can-eat special at Dominoes. Why can't America get on board with this deal?!
When Hayden approached me with the idea of moving to Spain for 6 months in April 2019, I could hardly believe he was serious. As we went through the application process, got our visas, and booked flights, I couldn't believe we were really going through with the crazy plan. I knew we would learn a lot and have a blast, but I could not have anticipated what a crazy, adventurous, emotional, heartbreaking, life-changing experience it would all be, or that we would end up being in Europe for nearly 9 months. I learned how to adapt to a new culture and try not to let different cultural quirks bother me. I learned how to be more patient with children. My Spanish skills improved a whole lot. I learned so much about history. I spoke with people who have shared experiences that have totally shifted my perspective on so many important issues. I met friends that I know I will have for the rest of my life. More than anything, I think Hayden and I grew closer together as a couple and created invaluable memories that will bless us and our future family forever. While the year 2020 will forever be a dark memory for a lot of people, we will always look back at 2020 as the year we learned more about the world than any other year.
I know that we made the right decision in staying in Spain throughout the lockdown. As difficult as it was, I'm so glad we didn't let ourselves miss out on all the opportunities that our Heavenly Father had in store for us. I'll be forever grateful for His hand in our European adventures.
