A Trip up North, A Visit from Kids and a Coating of Sahara Dust.

Two weeks ago we left home for a roundabout trip to pick up one of our kids, Andrew, and his wife Lisa in Madrid.  The drive to Madrid takes about 6 hours if you go directly there, but I thought we should see something along the way, so we scheduled a few extra days.

The first night we stayed in Béjar, a town just south of Salamanca, founded in 400 BC and on my must-see list since 2008.

The next day we drove up to a section of the Camino de Santiago.  I walked the Camino in 2015 and have wanted to take Sam back to show him parts of the Way. We visited several villages on the Meseta, the high central plateau that defines the Camino between Burgos and León. 

San Antón 

The outskirts of Castrojeriz


We drove along a section of the Camino from Castrojeriz to Moratinos.

This view was just as spectacular as when I walked, but what took me three days on foot, only took a couple hours by car. We saw very few Pilgrims out on this February afternoon.

We spent the night in Moratinos, a village of only 20 people; every Pilgrim passes through Moratinos, but many may not remember. 

Last June the sister of an ex-pat friend shipped a painting to our house in Oregon, from her home in Pennsylvania.  We included it in the shipment that we sent to Spain from the States.  It arrived at our new home in late October and we finally delivered it to our friend in Moratinos.

Fabulous sunset on the Meseta as seen from Moratinos

Finally we drove on to Madrid where we stayed for three nights in an apartment that is conveniently located between the Prado museum and Retiro Park.  We have returned to this same apartment four times now and Anna welcomed us both with a warm embrace.

Sunset in Retiro Park

After enjoying a few days of wandering Madrid and eating delicious meals, it was time to pick up the kids from the airport. We found them easily and hit the road for the six hour drive back to our home. After nearly 24 hours of travel, they were sleepy but managed to stay awake to enjoy the scenery as it changed from city, to pastures dotted with oaks, then vineyards, and finally endless miles of olive trees. Our goal was to show them the sunset as we drove up the mountain, but as we neared Granada it was evident that there would be no sunset.  We had heard while we were gone that the Sahara desert had blown north and covered much of southern Spain. Typically the Sierra Nevada mountains tower over Granada, but on this day there was nothing but a thick haze.

When we arrived home everything was covered with a layer of fine, pinkish-brown sand and the next morning Sam was busy cleaning the terraces while I washed windows.

Even Mulhacén was covered with sand from the Sahara

The rest of the week was spent showing Andrew and Lisa as much as possible of our life in Spain. We probably didn't schedule in enough time to just sit and enjoy the peacefulness of our home, but we fit in several easy hikes, a day at the coast, and a trip to Granada and the Alhambra.

Hiking near home with Andrew and Lisa

 Lisa enjoys the view from further up the mountain from our house

At Puente Palo

 Andrew's first time in the  Mediterranean

Grilled Octopus

 In the Cathedral in Granada

At the Alhambra

 View over Granada from the Alhambra

Exploring Pampaneira

 I got to share my beloved Almond blossoms with the kids!

Andrew enjoying the scenery

Too soon it was time to take Andrew and Lisa to Malaga to begin their long journey back to Seattle. We stopped in Frigliana for lunch and to show them around a typical White Village. As we enjoyed our meal, the rain began to fall, and after dropping the kids at the airport we drove home through downpours and battled raging winds along the coast. 

 A typical doorway in Frigliana

The wind tossed the car back and forth as we drove up the mountain, but the rain had passed. When we pulled into our driveway snow started to fall; we were relieved to have made it safely home from the airport.

The sunset after the rain, and before the snow

It is a joy to share our lives with friends and family and we had a great time with Andrew and Lisa. 

I will be taking another break between blog posts as we welcome a dear friend next Sunday for her first visit to Spain.