Despite hitting the climax of an extreme heat wave (a high of about 104 fahrenheit in the afternoon), we had an AWESOME first official excursion of the summer to the beautiful cities of Astorga and Ponferrada on Friday. The day began at around 9:00am when we convened in the Plaza de Santo Domingo - our central meeting place for most excursions. Our charming bus driver, Chema, had the air conditioning prepped as we boarded the bus, some of us still a bit sleepy. After a quick bus ride, we arrived in lovely Astorga, greeted by a very pleasant sunny morning with a light breeze (the heat got oppressive later on). From the arrival, we already had a great view of Astorga's stunning palace, designed by Antoni Gaudí, the celebrated Spanish architect. Of course, we had to take a few photos...
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| Equipo León at the Palacio Episcopal de Astorga |
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| The girls wanted a photo... |
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| ...and then the boys |
Designed around the end of the 19th century and finally completed in 1915, this palace is recognized as one of Gaudí's masterworks, and it isn't hard to see why - students compared it favorably to fantasy palaces from Disney movies with its elaborate arches and spires, its ornate windows, and its lush gardens full of sculptures. We had a chance to visit the inside of the palace as well to see what today amounts to a museum of religious and municipal history, including a number of beautiful reliquaries. Needless to say, Gaudí's palace did not disappoint.
From the palace, we advanced onward toward Astorga's world-famous chocolate museum, and the anticipation among the students was palpable.
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| Jutta, the German-born tour guide explaining Spanish chocolate cultivation in Mexico to a group of US students. Chocolate clearly brings the world together. |
Our friendly museum tour guide, Jutta, led us through the history of chocolate cultivation, refinement, and manufacturing in Spain, from the Spaniards' first encounters with xocolotl in the Aztec empire to the historical circumstances that would eventually position Astorga at the center of Spanish artisan chocolate production. We then walked through a room of hand-operated chocolate refining machines that demonstrated important technological achievements in blah blah blah... the history was very interesting, but at this point, the students just wanted to eat some CHOCOLATE. Mercifully after the tour, the group got to do a chocolate tasting which included different percentages of cacao (the higher the percentage of cacao, the more pure and less sweet the chocolate is). The chocolate tasting was unanimously hailed as a success, and students subsequently shopped for artisan chocolate bars made locally in Astorga. They said the chocolate was intended as gifts for their US families and friends, but we'll see how much of it survives their appetites this weekend.
From the chocolate museum, students were given some free time to eat their picnic lunches (prepared with lots of love by their León host families) and to explore some touristy gift shops. Stomachs and shopping bags full, we got back on the bus for the quick ride to Ponferrada, a beautiful and very ancient city set at the foot of a mountain chain. Ponferrada is a lovely and scenic place, but it is famous for one attraction in particular... the Castle of the Templars.
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| Team León at the Templar Castle, smiling and excited despite the 100+ degree weather |
Our destination in Ponferrada was, of course, the Templar Castle, which most students agreed was the highlight of the day. However, before visiting the castle, we had a chance to drop by a nearby gift shop where some students purchased replica Templar shields, daggers, and swords (don't worry, they're not sharp!). Upon entering the castle, we were given a brief history of the castle as well as its ancient Templar occupants.
The group had a couple of hours to explore the tall towers and turrets, deep dungeons (one of which is said to be haunted...), and beautiful halls of the castle, which included a temporary Templar library exhibit with replicas of centuries-old books. From the tops of towers, students had a beautiful view of the scenic mountainous landscape that surrounds Ponferrada.
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| Reagan, Ellie, and Madison have breached the castle's defenses and scaled the walls! |
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| David, Trey, Nicole, Chyan, Leah, Maya, Isaac, and Augie standing inside the castle with the oldest portion in the background |
After spending the weekend with host families (and hopefully escaping the heat), we're looking forward to another full week of classes and afternoon activities. Next weekend brings us to one of the most festive times of year in León - the nights of San Juan and San Pedro, during which there are open-air festivals and live music all over the city. Many students will be heading out at night with their host families to enjoy the festivities and celebrations, and they may bump into their professors while they're out and about in León...
Until the next update, we thank you (as always) for sharing these talented, curious, and super fun students with us for 7 weeks. Things in León couldn't be going any better!
~Mark (and Sarah, Sarah, and Isra)
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