Let-me-grow

After partners had arrived during Wednesday the 20th in Boñar, the official programme started on Thursday morning, with the visit to the school.
Pupils and teachers welcomed all visitors warmly in front of the school, waving flags of every partner-country. Every delegation visited classes, many questions were asked.

After a little pause with apple cakes and biscuits children invited their guests to a lively show. Every class was involved in the show – the small children from preschool and also the older ones. In Spain children from 3 to 5 attend preschool-classes, afterwards they stay in primary school for another six years.
After a little break partners were asked to come to the school yard where children taught their guests traditional dances.

In the afternoon the group left Boñar by bus to visit the Wild Fauna Valdehuesa Museum. This museum is located in a wonderful mountain landscape and presents stuffed and mounted animals from all over world. Afterwards the bus stopped at the impressive Porma Reservoir. The group enjoyed the fantastic scenery.
Following a first coordinators meeting the group was invited by parents and teachers to eat different meals from around the region.

Friday was the day to visit León. León sits along the banks of the river Bernesga and it's the last major city in the Camino de Santiago. A guide explained the history of León and of the Cathedral Santa María de León situated in the city. It was built on the site of previous Roman baths of the 2nd century and is a jewel of Spanish classical Gothic design. Its almost 1,800 square meters of stained glass windows dating from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century are among the world's finest stained glass. The group was able to get really close to these windows standing on a platform.

At noon the group visited the magnificent Collegiate Church of San Isidoro. Built mostly in the Romanesque style, the basilica has had major additions in the styles of many succeeding centuries including the Gothic. The arches on the crossing of the transept hark back to Islamic art. However the many styles merge into a harmonious whole. The Royal Pantheon is a funeral chapel of the kings of Leon. It is one of the outstanding examples of surviving Romanesque art in León.

After lunch and a little walk we visited the MUSAC, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León. The museum, located in the city of León, was created with the aim of becoming a Museum of the Present. The architecture of MUSAC has become one of the Spanish projects with wide international recognition due to its winning in 2007 of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award.

In the evening the Spanish hosts introduced their guests to “Tapas” culture. A tapa (Spanish for appetizer) is served in special Tapas-Bars together with wine or beer.

On Saturday the group left early to visit Valporquero Caves in the mountains. At 1.309 meter altitude, under the village of Valporquero, you can discover hidden and amazing underground wonders. Stalactites, stalagmites, columns of different washes and colors shine in these huge dripstone caves. About 5 km from the caves the group had lunch in Vegacervera, a little village in the mountains.

In the afternoon again a little village was visited. In Coladilla a famous yoghurt producer has his home. He only uses milk from animals in the neighborhood. As well a pottery was visited. On the way back the bus stopped at a sausage factory, where the well known Spanish specialties like Chorizzo, Jambon … are made.

After a second coordinators meeting three impressive days ended with a dinner, which was gifted by the town hall. All partners were impressed by all things they had seen and thank the host for their great hospitality. Everybody went home very tired but with full hearts.

The spanish local press reported: