Ledesma, Spain

So for part of Semana Santa (Holy week=Spring Break) I decided to do Help Exchange. Its a website, helpex.net, where people list any sort of thing they would like people to help them with and then people come to help them with it in exchange for room and board. The type of work ranges from help on a farm, babysitting kids, painting a fence, just about everything! So I was looking for places nearish to Madrid and I found a posting outside of the big university town of Salamanca--Ledesma. The posting pretty much explained that this man, Ron, had purchased a 15th century palace in this small city and is restoring it to turn it into a tea house or theater, or art installation or what he isn't exactly sure yet except that it needs lots of work. I sent him an e-mail saying I would like to come help him with it with my boyfriend Garrett and he said he'd be most happy to receive us. So, we went west to see Salamanca for one night, which is a beautiful city, and then went on to Ledesma.
Ledesma is a splendid little city on a hill with a river wrapping around it. A botanists, bird watchers, rock collectors paradise with many wildflowers, all types of flying eagles, fishing birds, little zippy birds, and many granite formations.

Roman road, roman bridge going on a picnic w/ Ron

Rainbow

Can you see the hidden creature?

Ledesma

Breakfast nook in the palace

We ended up oiling all the wood in the front, what is to be the tea room, of Ron's palace in return for an amazing experience in small town Spain. Full of very friendly people and great outdoors attractions. Ron was a great host who cooked us wonderful food and was very accommodating with my gluten free needs, he even invented special batter and crepe recipes for me. He took us to many places around Ledesma like old roman bridges and roman silver roads, old city washing fountains, and just generally led us around on walks to see the lovely nature abounding in the area and to great swimming holes. He taught us some card games, we made ice-cream together, and had lots of political debates. It was such a nice time in a nice place with a nice man. I'm planning on going back to visit him again while I am here in Spain. I love rural spain and older men who fix up 15th century palaces using all found materials. Reduce, reuse, recycle man, yeah.