Salamanca to Madrid to Lugo

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After getting to sleep last night around 1:30, I woke up at 6 this morning to catch the bus at 6:30. Of course this was not enough time to get everything ready and walk down to the bus stop; I was just too tired to get up any earlier. I basically ran the whole way to the bus stop, about a mile, dragging my now way heavier luggage, worried that I would miss my bus. When I got there, I pleasingly saw no bus but all of the people in my group waiting. The bus came as soon as I arrived, and we packed our bags ready to go. Twenty minutes passed by and we were still waiting. I was really anxious and ready to go because I had to take three different metro lines to get to the main bus station in Madrid from the airport. The bus I was going to take to Lugo left at 10:30 and we were supposed to arrive in Madrid around 9:15. I was starting to worry that I would not make it, and I wanted to know why we were waiting. Apparently a group of students from Holland were late. Half of them came on time, but the other half as well as all three of their teachers were late. I was very surprised that the teachers were late because they were responsible for the students, who were minors, yet they did not apologize for holding everyone up. When the rest of the group came, they smelled like alcohol, as if they had spent the whole night partying and not getting prepared for their early morning flight. We were finally able to leave at 7:10 for Madrid, arriving at 9:40. We were dropped off at the wrong terminal because all of the students from Holland had a flight that left at 11 and needed to get going. We said our goodbyes and made our way to the right terminal. It was already too late for me to try to catch the 10:30 bus, so with the help of Macy I found a place to buy my bus ticket from the airport. I knew they were going to charge a fee for using their services, but I didn’t have access to a printer, so I couldn’t buy my ticket online. What I didn’t realize was that my ticket was going to be 58 euros. I expected 38 because of what I saw online. I was prepared to leave at 2:30 but the bus ticket I bought was going to leave at 1:45. After a moment I figured out that I had bought a ticket for a higher class seat. Instead of a standard seat, I bought the first class one. Of course the lady just told me the earliest time available, which was the more expensive. I was a little disappointed to be spending that much, but it meant that I would get to Lugo around 8 instead of almost 10. Although I have learned for next time, I felt better about being in a more comfortable bus for the 6 hour ride, as well as arriving earlier. At 1:30 I made my way over to all the buses and searched for the one that said Lugo. Well, none of them said Lugo. I was starting to get worried, thinking that I may have to hire a taxi to drive me the almost 7 hours, spending probably like a thousand euros. At that moment, the bus driver closest to me came over and asked where I was going. I showed him my ticket and asked if his bus was the one. He said yes and asked if I spoke Spanish then English. He said his English was very bad so he tried to explain to me in Spanish that I would ride this bus to a stop and then change to a different bus. He took my luggage, put it under the bus, and told me that my assigned seat didn’t matter until the next bus. I nervously walked through the bus, sitting in the very back. I didn’t know where I was going to change buses/ how I was going to know when to. I tried to relax and believe that God was going to come through on his promise. That bus ended up going to the main bus station, where the bus driver came and told me to get off and get on the bus that was parked next to us. As I got off, I saw that my luggage was just sitting in the middle of people trying to get there luggage. I was a little worried, but I just grabbed my luggage and made my way to the bathroom. I didn’t believe that I would be able to hold it for almost 7 hours, but I knew that I had to. (I have a very small bladder) I came out of the bathroom when the same bus driver came up to me and told me that I needed to load my luggage because the bus was about to leave. He quickly took me over to my new bus driver and told him to put my luggage on the bus. I watched him put it on, then went to line up to get on the bus. The bus was pretty awesome. Individual tv’s, free water and nuts, and comfortable seats; however, no bathroom. I mostly listened to music the whole time, starring out at the beautiful scenery. We passed through beautiful mountains. Some still had old ruins of watch towers, some had towns on top of them, some had towns running down them, and some had towns in the valleys. As I looked at God’s beauty, I realized how completely happy and content I was. I knew that God planned this trip for me, and that he would be with me the whole way, but I didn’t know how to completely trust Him. In that moment, I realized that I was relying on him every step of the way. Whenever I was nervous or freaking out, I remembered what He promised me, and that He always delivered. As I look back at the two weeks that I have been here, God has taken care of everything for me. It has been a really smooth trip, and I am completely trusting in Him to watch over me, and to go with me. How amazing is He? I cannot wait to see what He has planned for me over the course of the next 9 weeks. I spent most of the bus ride just smiling and thinking about all of this. I was so happy to arrive in Lugo though, because I really had to go to the bathroom. I am very proud of myself for holding it, although I practically dehydrated myself in order to wait. After I got off of the bus, I took out my instructions and tried to find my hostel. Of course I went the wrong way, circled around, and then went the right way. It wasn’t a very far walk, although I did go down a hill in order to get to the hostel. That means every time I go somewhere, I will have to go up the hill. I walked in to the hostel, checked in, and paid. The guy at the front desk was very nice, and spoke English. He was born in London, lived there for 16 years, then moved to Spain. He showed me to my room, which was a double with a bathroom. So far, I am the only one in the room, but that doesn’t bother me at all. But now I must get some good sleep for all the exploring I will be doing tomorrow!

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Photos

Hostel room.

The hostel Lug 2

Cool walkway, the trees all connect.

My first glimpse of the roman wall.

shady walk way