We luckily survived the cold weather, and got up early to go for a final walk through the Picos de Europa. On our walk, we hiked through part of a dried up lakebed (the lake is formed from the melting snow) to the edge of the gorgeous lake. The water was so blue! We also walked around the tiny town of Boca de Huergano and saw the Roman bridge.
After our morning hike and a light breakfast, we left the Picos to head back to Victor in Toledo. On the long journey back south, we hit a nail in the road and had a flat tire. As we worked to change the tire, a company that works for the government (part of their DOT) called Iberpista showed up to help us. They instructed us to find a garage as soon as possible since the spare tire could not go over 50 mph. This was the worst part of our trip. Since it was a Saturday, all the garages were closed and even the "24-hour" car service provided by Volvo, the manufacturer of Victor's car, said that no one would fix a tire on a Saturday. Everyone kept telling us we would have to wait until Monday. Since J. Santiago's program started on Monday and he had to be there for an introductory meeting on Sunday, waiting was not an option. Exhausted and stressed, we drove on the interstate well under the speed limit at 50 mph all the way to Toledo. We received a lot of car honks, rude gestures, and cars whizzing past us on the way!
Dia Once:
In the morning, we took a little time to say "Hasta luego!" to Toledo before hopping in Victor's borrowed car (he still couldn't drive his car with the spare tire) as he drove us to Madrid's bus station. We took a bus to Salamanca on which J. Santiago saw several of his friends from his program the year before. It was really nice for him to be able to catch up with them. I enjoyed watching all of them comment on his short hair (it was really long last summer) and tell him that they hardly recognized him. Upon arrival in Salamanca, we all walked to the residence, checked in, and all the members from J. Santiago's program went to an introductory meeting. I was glad to have a chance to unpack my things and feel settled for the first time in twelve days.
We took an evening walk around Salamanca once J. Santiago got back in order to orient me so I could venture out on my own during the following week while he attended class. My first impressions of Salamanca were that it is very urban and industrial in some parts, yet it also has some lovely older sections that are incredibly gorgeous at night. It is a place full of life, especially around the vibrant Plaza Mayor, and offers a lot of opportunities for socializing...if you speak Spanish, of course. I was excited about my time in Salamanca, but also nervous about being without a translator for the first time in Spain.
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