Spain – Day 2

Day 2 of our trip came early – Peter and I were up around 6:30 am and he tried to start reading his Kindle under the covers with this little reading lamp.  I turned to tell him he could turn on the lights if he wanted.  We had about 7 hours of sleep and were now wide awake.  We hung out in our room till it was time to head out for the day.

Jona, Tan’s bro-in-law, was our designated guide for the day.  He had driven from Barcelona the night before (arriving around midnight).  Jona is a cool dude and a hoot to be around.  First order of the day was to feed us breakfast and he brought us for some yummy food.

Our starters – hot chocolate milk, OJ and muffin.

The main meal – Spanish omelet with potatoes and bread.  So good!

After breakfast, we went for a little walk and visited some more historical buildings in the area.

 

Over looking the river that runs through Leon.

From there we walked to the church (Iglesia Evangelica) who oversees these camps and where Tan ministers at.

After hooking up with Tan, we headed on another stroll through the city.  Our first stop was the “gypsy market” and it was amazing to see so many people out on a Friday during work hours.

Dude sells some all kinds of meat at this stall.

The crowds at the market.  Prices are cheaper here than the grocery stores.

I love Euro fashion and I was hoping to visit one of my favorite labels that is from Spain while I was here and today I got the opportunity.

ZARA is not yet in Seattle but I am excited that it is coming.  They have cool clothes there.  Tan “dropped” me off there  by myself to shop.  I was a good boy and window shopped – I have scoped out a few items and hopefully i will get another chance to shop before we leave.

After walking around for a bit, we headed towards where we were going to have lunch.  Apparently this is a place that not many people know serve food and this is because it is partially a monastery, spiritual center and museum.  The food is used to feed the priests typically but they also use it as a means to generate income for the church.

This is a really beautiful and serene facility.

Here’s Pat and Jona playing a game on his iPhone.  As you can tell by the place settings, this was a pretty elegant dining experience.

Our main entree was a cream and wine based sauce dripped over perfectly roasted pork loins and “fries.”  This was served to us after our soup which was green bean soup and seafood potato soup.  It was an excellent meal but we weren’t done.

Cinnamon dusted, blackberry drizzled rice pudding

Chocolate Banana pudding/cake

Orange flan

And finally to top off the meal was a round of coffee

Peter, who doesn’t drink coffee, decided when in Spain, to try coffee (with loads of sugar in that small cup).

As we walked back to our vehicle, I couldn’t help but notice this restaurant.  The Chinese people are everywhere and this is a Chinese restaurant.  I was hoping to catch one speaking Spanish but no luck there.

Jona and his wife Lara having their moment together.  Lara is Tan’s older sister.  Next up was the camp in Toral and that was about a half hour drive on the auto vista from Leon.

Toral is a small little town/village off the auto vista (freeway).  The air is filled with the smell of manure and the windows and doors of everyone is closed.  I found out that they are constantly closed because of the colder climate here.  It is a very interesting sight because the streets are empty and the houses shut tight; looks like a “ghost” town except for the gringos, one asian and campers that had descended.

We got situated into our rooms and we proceeded to set up our gear and do a sound check.  That reminds me, schedules and pace of life is pretty laid back here so we have had to adjust to go with the flow; we were asked to lead 2 songs tonight which was not part of the camp schedule, so we have to be ready in season and out of season.  I think we have begun to slow down from our city life and have adapted quite well.  It has been fun to be able to serve whenever we can and be a blessing.

Our “stage” – the corner of a very small room

A drummer’s dream – fake drums :)

After we set up and sound checked it was time for dinner and it was about 9:20 pm by this time.

Aaron, Kris and I at the dining table.

Chicken Macaroni soup for dinner and every meal this is bread.

Tan giving some announcements and also instructing everyone about an ice-breaker game we were going to be playing.

 

And my favorite picture of the night…

Business in front and party at the back!  Full on mullet – the try to be fashionable kind!  Come to find out, this is Philippe and one of my drum students :)  Good kid and very eager to play for Jesus.

After all the festivities, everyone gathered for some light snack, coffee and cider and this started around midnight.  It was a wonderful day and it was exciting to be at camp and start the weekend with the people.  We were wiped by this time but looking forward to the next morning of teaching and sharing with everyone.