Love Spain 2018 Vision Trip
Please check out the daily details of our Love Spain 2018 Vision Trip itinerary from September 21-29, 2018 below. We begin in Madrid with a day of community service with the Rivas Light and Life Cultural Center followed by a bus transfer to scenic and historical Andalucia, the southernmost region of Spain. Our vision trip makes stops in Cordoba, Seville, Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz, Ceuta (in North Africa!), Malaga, and Granada. We will be learning from and volunteering with various churches and strategic ministries serving migrants and refugees in the region. We will also have ample time to sightsee and shop and will stay in four star and above hotels - the last two nights in Granada, site of the magical Alhambra palace. Each registrant's fee helps us pay for a half scholarship for a Rivas Light and Life Cultural Center student and participants are encouraged to raise the half scholarship match ($360). Participants may also sign up for the prior Love Spain 2018 Cycling Tour from September 14-23 and join up on September 23 in Seville with participants on this Love Spain 2018 Vision Trip at a reduced combined cost. For additional details about both trips, consult the blog for occasional updates.
Itinerary
Friday, September 21
All participants need to fly into Madrid, Spain - arriving early afternoon at the latest, if possible. We will do all airport pickups and transport you to a nearby hotel where you will be staying for two nights. We will organize a lunch at a church in Rivas Vaciamadrid where we will make introductions, discuss overall organization and schedule of the event followed by a "Love Spain" campaign presentation. We will then take a two-hour tour of Madrid highlights before letting you crash for an early night back at your hotel.
Saturday, September 22
We will be staying in Rivas Vaciamadrid for the day to get involved in activities in conjunction with the Rivas Light and Light Cultural Center. You will have a chance to meet some of the students and we will plan a variety of community events and volunteer for some of the Cultural Center's activities. We might also go on a walking tour of "La Cañada Real" an informal settlement adjacent to Rivas Vaciamadrid where some of our students live. We will plan an evening pool party and "paella" dinner at the home of Peter Clark, a long-time Rivas Vaciamadrid resident.
sunday, September 23
We will depart Madrid early by bus for the four-hour drive to Cordoba, where we will stop for a church service at a local church actively working with immigrants and refugees, tour the ancient city center, visit the old mosque (now converted to a church) dating from Moorish occupation times, and continue on for another 80-minute drive to Seville where we will be staying within walking distance of all the major sites in the historic city center. At our hotel we will meet up with any cyclists staying on past the end of the Love Spain 2018 Cycling Tour who wish to extend their time in Spain to join our group. Evening is free to explore Seville.