Last week, I went on a quick 4-day road trip to the south of Spain and back to Germany again. A friend of mine (Jesús) was moving down to the town of Turre in Almería with his wife (Damaris). He asked me if I could help him drive down with him in another van to move their stuff down and I was ready for the adventure. It just so happened that another friend of mine from Holland (Osmir) was on holiday in Germany at the time and he was happy to join us. We picked up the van on Tuesday after work. I think it was the first time for me to drive a Mercedes Benz and it was certainly the biggest vehicle I've ever driven! The journey started Tuesday late afternoon when we drove 1 1/2 hours to Biedenkopf to load the van and 1 1/2 hours back home again the same evening. On Wednesday, we drove all the way to Barcelona (over 12 hours). And on Thusday we went on to our destination Turre (about 7 hours), where we unloaded the van again and then went out for Tapas and pizza in the evening and walked to the beach before going back to the house to go to bed. On Friday, Osmir and I woke up early and were on the road before 6am, arriving in Elche by 8am, where we had breakfast with Pedro and Tila Victoria who are very good friends of my family. Then we went on to Barcelona where we were able to see a bit of the city and enjoy the nice weather. We got up at 6am on Saturday and made our way home to Germany, stopping for lunch in Lyon where we met up with Franca and Edafe who had married only a few weeks ago. (Franca was a member of our Spanish-Italian church in Darmstadt until she moved to Lyon.) And then we went on the last leg of our road trip, arriving in Weiterstadt before 10pm. What a trip! Lots of driving but it was fun and great to spend some time with friends I hadn't seen in a long time. Praise God for His hand of protection over us and helping me to stay awake and alert while driving! It didn't feel too tiring throughout the trip but once I got home, I was ready for my bed and a loooooong sleep! Below are some pictures from my trip...
The van!
On the road
Destination: Turre
Jesús' and Damaris' new home
The church in Turre
With Osmir in Barcelona
The Pyrenees
Franca and Edafe in Lyon
A weird photo taken on the road just before getting home at night
Receipts for petrol and road charges (one way)