Space-A Air Travel   

Medy & Larry Magilligan
 Visit Spain, Portugal, and Lourdes, France

My wife and I wanted to spend this Easter in Lourdes, France. Since we live in Winter Springs, Florida, we wanted to fly Space-A out of Charleston AFB into Ramstein, Germany and work our way to Lourdes.

We checked into AMC at Charleston AFB on 4 April and it looked good for one or two flights going to Ramstein. However, we did not get selected for either flight, so, maintaining flexibility, we quickly decided to try for a flight to Rota Naval Base, Spain.

We were selected and departed at 0200 on 5 April arriving Rota at 1500. Two things to keep in mind for Rota: (1) Upon arrival you must obtain an entry/exit permit for both the Rota and Puerto Gates - this can be obtained at Pax Service. (2) You must get your passport stamped at the National Police Office just off the Base (Rota Gate) within 24 hours of your arrival— please note that the hours of this office are from 0900 to 1400.

We adjusted our itinerary to now include Portugal, traverse Spain and cross the Pyrenees into France. We spent the night at the BOQ, picked up our rental car from NEX and purchased some maps and travel materials to complement that which we had brought with us. As retirees, we are now allowed to purchase all products offered by the Video Mart.

We rented a mid-size, four-door Chevrolet Matiz for one month at $500 U.S., which included insurance. We drove due north, paused in Seville, and paid respects to the launch point (Sanlucar) of Ferdinand Magellan's 1519 journey during which he circumnavigated the world. We continued west to Huelva and paid respects to the launch point of Christopher Columbus' journey to the new world in 1492. Then we were on to Albuferia, Algarve, Portugal. The construction of homes throughout Algarve is remarkable. They are numerous and the quality seems exceptional.

Saturday, 8 April we drove to Fatima, Portugal and spent Palm Sunday weekend in and about the Sanctuary of Fatima. There were approximately 8,000 Pilgrims from Portugal and the festivities were extensive, reverent and gala! It was the start of Semana Santa – Holy Week. From Fatima we journeyed north then east to Garda, Portugal, which is situated on a prominent piece of terrain some 1100 meters in elevation. Garda is a beautiful and very old city steeped in history and tradition.

From Garda we started our travel to Spain, which took us to Salamanca, Avila, Segovia, Burgos, Longrono, Pamplona, and Jaca. The exchange rate for the dollar was 1.22 Euro. We sought economic alternatives and stayed in hostels and two-star hotels. We also used Kevin J. Wright's book, Europe's Monastery and Convent Guesthouses in addition to Lonely Planet and Let's Go To Spain and Portugal. All the cities have their own cultural highlights and the festivities of Semana Santa abounded. Midway through our travels we encountered Pilgrims trekking the Camino de Santiago heading to Santiago de Compastella in the northwest corner of Spain. The Cathedral there is the"finish line" for their trek. Of special note was Denis O'Connor, a teacher from Limerick, Ireland. Denis had started in France and was some 70 km into his journey when we met him at Punta de la Reina. He was allowing himself 35ays to complete the journey.

Prior to Jaca we visited Javier, where the 500th anniversary of the birth of St. Francis Xavier is being celebrated. The Castle, Basilica, and entire complex are meticulously kept and are a special stop point.

We journeyed into France through the Pyrenees north of Jaca and spent our fi rst night in Becharem. An economic alternative in France is the Chambres d'Hotes. There are some 4,400 registered and they are the French version of a Bed and Breakfast. In many instances in both Spain and France we did not opt for either the desayuno or petit dejeuner. We felt that the six Euro each could be better spent in either a patisserie or roadside grille.

We arrived at Lourdes on Good Friday. Hotel rooms were readily available. It is said that Lourdes has more hotel rooms than Paris. We stayed just outside the Sanctuario. Lourdes is very active for the Easter Tridium. Although crowded, we have never seen a more orderly, peaceful, and compassionate gathering of people. Visits to the Grotto, bathing in the spring waters of Lourdes, the Stations of the Cross, attending services at the Basilica of St. Pius X and fi nally watching the sick and how they are cared for are memories we will cherish forever. The volunteers at Lourdes are called "Hospitalite" and their loving care of the sick is very inspirational.

From Lourdes we continued our journey through the south of France, spending time in and about the Armagnac Region. We worked our way to Perpignan then south into Spain to Barcelona, Valencia. We then traversed west to Granada, Seville, Jerez de la Frontera and onto Moron Air Base.

Moron AB has good flight activity coming back to CONUS. We stayed at the Hotel Frontera on the base and easily caught a flight to Dover and then a flight to Charleston AFB. In all we were gone three weeks. We traveled off the beaten path and mingled so language was a lot of fun. We drove 4,785 km. Gas averaged 1.28 Euro in France and 1.08 Euro in Spain. We got 17 km per liter and there are 3.79 liters in a U.S. gallon. Great trip – fun and adventuresome! All the best.

Larry and Medy Magilligan
COL,USMCR (RET) 
dvldog1369@cfl.rr.com 
Winter Springs, FL