Spain - day 2

We thought we’d get to bed early on our first night and then be up early and ready to go and we were very, very wrong. 🤣

We had gotten train tickets for 7:00 and then read we should be there an hour early, so we had to be up by 5:00 and we were so sleepy. Madrid is beautiful and clean and it was actually a really beautiful walk and nice and cool because the sun hadn’t come up yet. 👆🏼 And after a few false starts, we made it to the first train to get to the station to catch our big train! 👇🏻

We figured out where we needed to be and after we had my best sewing scissors confiscated, (Delaney brought a sewing kit and was trying to be helpful) we got a small brekkie and got settled in. 

D agreed to sit by herself with the iPad, which she thought she’d left behind but had just found. 

Watching the sun rise was so pretty! And then, as much as I hated to miss the sights, after an hour I just couldn’t keep my eyes open and took a nice train nap. 

We travelled 2 hours north to Leon where it is much cooler, and we waited outside while Matt rented our car. 

We finally got our Seat! (say-aht) And he’s finally driven in Spain! He rode bikes his whole mission. 

We drove to the Embalse de Luna (Luna Reservoir) to see the Minera de Luna (Mine of the Moon) where, when the water is low you can see ruins of a town that was flooded when they built the dam. But first, some exploring. 

We love us a spring fountain. 

Matt wanted to wash his face with the non-potable spring water. 

And monkey see, monkey do. 

It was cold! 😂

The water was too high to actually see any of the ruins, but we could make out a wall and it was fun to explore.

We continued our tour of the Babia y Luna Natural Park.

We started off on a hike we’d read about that was supposed to be really cool. 

And then we took a wrong turn because their trials aren’t super well marked. 

And we ended up at this beautiful lookout. 

But then we had to hike down to where we were actually supposed to be. We were all sleepy and physically pretty tired still. 

So while we’d have loved to finish our hike that would have taken us to amazing waterfalls, some people “couldn’t possibly walk another step.” Can you guess who? Hint, in spite of his face, it wasn’t Matt.

We found a babbling brook and refreshed our feet for a few. 

And then headed back to our car. Goodbye for now Riolago De Babia!

The rental place offered us a bigger car if we’d take standard and thankfully this guy is a pro. 😍 We were worried about our luggage fitting, but we didn’t need to worry, we had room and to spare. 

We drove another hour to Aviles and dropped our stuff at the hotel, some of us put on bathing suits, and we headed out for dinner and the beach. 

Lighthouse! ❤️❤️❤️

The water was cold and o was already pretty tired so I knew I didn’t want to swim, but these crazies did while I checked out a swap meet. I walked along the boardwalk and enjoyed the beach from above. 

❤️

We decided to pick up food from the grocery store since we were all tired, but as we walked back to our car we realized the keys had fallen out of Matt’s pocket when he changed into his suit. First we prayed and then we searched, asked an ice cream vendor who sent us down to a mini police station on the beach, who said they’d heard the lifeguards back near where we were had keys given to them. I had also walked back to the car to see if maybe they’d be there, with no luck. Anyways, blessings abound and someone had found them and given them to the lifeguards, so all of our walking worked out. But we were real tired!

And on our final walk back to our car Matt wanted a pic with some palm trees that reminded him of his grandparents house in Southern California. 

We found a Lidl, our second of the day actually because we bought lunch and water at one earlier, and let the girls pick whatever they wanted. We came back to our little apartment with a kitchen and made pizza for Delaney and Matt and I, curry for Adi, dumplings for Frankie, sushi for all, fresh mozzarella and then ‘digestives’ (cookies) for dessert. Everyone showered and it was lights out by 10. A good and long day outside, which was perfect after a full travel day.