Vingt-deux (22) Spain & Visitors from Guntersville…
Bonjour a tous..
We thought sharing a few impressions from our tract tour in Spain would be nice. It is interesting to see how God opens doors. We had felt at different times that we would love to travel to Spain and explore. However, we have plenty of things to do in France and didn’t know if we would ever see it!
Sometime in early fall, we had started communicating with a couple from Copeland, Michael and Janet Decker. They had made plans to spend a little time in Spain and felt that spreading tracts might be more rewarding than just sightseeing alone. So, they reached out to the tract board, and long story short, we had a large box of Spanish tracts sent to France, and we were on our way to meet them in Spain!
Michael and Janet had established Barcelona, Spain, as their home base for the duration of their visit. This town is about an hour south of the French border along the Mediterranean Ocean. We arrived there on a Wednesday afternoon, and after some brief discussion and a little lunch, we headed out to pass out tracts.
It was very obvious that Spain was very different than France! The Spanish people seemed more Italian than the French with their coloring but had a very distinct culture all their own.
We saw many people exercising and big groups of friends in the center parks talking and laughing. We were struck by the bright colors of clothing as well. The people we walked by seemed willing and happy to take the tracts when we offered them. This is a little different than we have found in France. If we put a tract on a bench beside a person, they will pick it up after we leave. (as we’ve witnessed on many occasions) However, if offered the tract, they usually say, “Non, Merci.”
While on the subject of culture, food is always a big thing to notice. In France, we are used to the Boulangerie (bakery) being the heart and soul of daily food. In Spain, we couldn’t understand their food preferences. We expected to find places offering street tacos, burritos, and enchiladas. However, we didn't see much of that, as that is "Mexican" rather than "Spanish" food.
Barcelona has a great diversity of cultures, which might be why it was hard to pin down what the “Spanish” ate! We did end up discovering some of the local dishes in Barcelona: Paella, seafood dishes, Iberico ham, etc…
The night before we left for Western Spain, we ate at a seafood restaurant specializing in octopus. No one ordered that dish; I am guessing the thought of “suction cups” on the plate wasn’t appealing.
We had a very nice server who told us about his little side business. He had started baking desserts for different clients in the city. He showed us some of his creations! When he heard we were headed for the Basque Region, he exclaimed, “Oh, the green hills of the Basque Country,” quite wistfully…
On Friday, we picked up Michael and Janet, loaded up our Peugeot 5008 (POO-ZHOH), not (POO-GO) with luggage and tracts, and headed for central and western Spain. We all thought it would be good to get out into a few other areas of Spain to get a “feel” for the different regions.
After about 30 minutes, we left the mountains surrounding Barcelona and went into the farming area of Spain. This area has a lot of farming, mainly raising olives, almonds, corn, wheat, hay, and many cattle. The soil looked very difficult to raise good crops with as it had a tremendous amount of rocks about 5” in diameter. We drove by old farmhouses that looked 300+ years old and still standing, built of local stones with tile roofs. I had to check myself several times to see what year we were in... We could have been in the 1970s in some spots.
For those in the Glenn area, we saw the company name Borges quite a few times and spotted harvest equipment from Chico, California, working in the fields. We stopped to get some gas and bought a “fresh” bag of “Spanish pistachios,” but then realized they said “Borges,” grown in California. Ha!
We drove for about three hours through central Spain and experienced quite a desolate country, which appeared to be suffering from drought, even though some parts of Spain were experiencing severe floods. Who knows? Maybe it is always that dry in that area?
We stopped in Pamplona and spent some time in the streets, passing out tracts directly to people and leaving them on benches. Isabella and Lydia had returned to the car and noticed some of the tracts they had put out had already been picked up! Pamplona is rich in history. The city is famous worldwide for the running of the bulls during the San Fermín festival, held annually from 6 July to 14 July.
Basque region..
Towards the afternoon, we started getting further into the “Basque Region.” The country started shifting to more mountainous terrain, and we understood the “green hills “our server had spoken to us about. We haven’t been to Ireland, but it seems like the green grass would be similar. In some ways it reminded us of Switzerland.
“Green Hills” Basque Region
Thanks to some intense scouring of the internet, we found some affordable, pleasant, short-stay apartment rooms. We visited with the receptionist and learned she spoke four languages fluently. I asked her which one she liked best, “Oh, of course, the Basque language.” This language is unique to this area. She said it was influenced by the Celtic people who had been in the area years ago. As we visited (her French was very good), It was quite surprising to hear her say, “I don’t have much hope for my children. “The climate change” is coming, and I just don’t know what the future is”. We felt sorry for her, and in a way, I believe she spoke the minds of many European families. It is sad to see people expressing such hopelessness; they do not grasp that God is in control.
We had a late start the next morning (the people in Spain eat even later in the evening than the French! We saw families still eating at restaurants at midnight!) We checked out and headed down to see the mighty Atlantic Ocean! If you travel directly west from San Sebastián, you'll find yourself in the Nova Scotia area. It's hard to believe, especially since we had just driven 12 hours straight south from Lille, France! Witnessing the mountains disappearing into the sea in that region is amazing.
Coastline San Sebastian, Spain..
For lunch, we wanted to get some local food. Basque Country is known for its rich cheeses and lamb. Michael went to get some fresh sandwich meat, and we picked up some fresh cheese, mandarin jam, Spanish olive oil, local olives, and some spring water. Michael came back with two different kinds of meat and some fresh bread. As usual, testing the specialties straight from the local market is the best way to eat. Michael put it best when he said, “This is the best meal I’ve had since we got here!”
We passed out tracts in the city and decided to go out into the “Green Hills” and see if we could find a little village to canvas. We found that in the little village called Berastegi…
Berastegi, Spain
We dropped over some mountains and spotted the village in the valley below. Michael said, “Surely you're going to stop here!” I got the feeling that maybe we had sailed by just a few too many nice areas!
more of Berastegi…
The area was built hundreds of years ago, and the cows and sheep still graze close to the city center. There were a lot of community gardens that looked to have a bountiful harvest. We parked the vehicle at the church pictured above and started passing out tracts. The people were friendly and waved as we went by. It was a completely different experience than the “big city” life. Michael kept searching for properties for sale in the area, and we began to wonder if he was planning on making a move! :))
After leaving the Basque Region, we were again headed back to Barcelona; it began to feel much more arid. We took the route back along the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains. It was very desolate in that country. It is more desolate even than in central Spain, I believe. On one fuel stop, Michael gave the proprietor a packet of tracts, and he kept asking Michael why he had given them. Michael explained that they were for his soul. He said he didn’t believe in anything. I think he was so isolated from the True Light that he may have never heard the true message of Salvation.
We found a little mountain stream along the road and stopped to finish our “buffet” left over from lunch. We returned to Barcelona after dark and said our goodbyes. It was good to spend time with Michael and Janet; we were thankful for our time together!
The weather was sunny and beautiful as we headed back to France. As we drove, we wondered about the tracts we had put out and the people who had happily received them. We pray that God will make himself known to those searching hearts!
When we arrived home, we took the day to settle back in and prepare for Branson & Sherilyn, Madeline, Benny, and Anderson! They were coming for Thanksgiving! We sure had a great time with them! Good family time talking, Madeline and Bella making a sushi supper, singing, playing games, playing family soccer down at the pitch, doing tract work, and seeing the sites! (and we can’t forget, eating frites ;))) It was hard to see them go, but we were thankful they had visited and that we had made good memories together…
Marche du Noel Lille- (Christmas Market)
(( P.S. A memory made…
If I close my eyes, I can see the Christmas Ferris wheel at the Lille Marche du Noel… It’s nighttime, and the wheel is lit up; a gigantic tree decorated with lights sits beside the wheel; reindeer, sleighs, and gifts decorate the area. Hundreds of people are in the square bundled up.… A Christmas carol is being blasted over the loudspeaker..(was it Silent Night? I can’t recall…), I look down into the Ferris wheel box below me as we spin in a slow circle and I see the joy-filled smiles of two little Alabama boys with red faces, cheeks flushed from the biting cold wind, and their laughter ringing. It’s a picture in my mind that time will not erase…))
We wish all of our friends and family a very Merry Christmas! Until next time, God Bless! T& L
