Portugal with Family

Madison has Friday and Monday off school so we decided to take a trip together. My sister Shawn served her mission in Portugal and talks highly of the city Porto. So we drove here yesterday. I needed to be on a conference call with my partners by 7:00 our time. We arrived in Porto at 7:00. Good job, Just get to the hotel and give them a Skype call. Well after 2 hours of looking, we finally found a hotel. Not ours but one that could give us directions to ours. Lynette went in so I could double park. She came out with directions. About 30 minutes later we found ourselves in an old section of town with tiny one-way cobblestone streets. We stooped at a Bakery and asked for directions. The lady behind the counter knew a little bit of english but didn't know how to get us to our hotel. So she asked her boss and 2 other men that were in the bakery. After several minutes of these 60-70 year old men yelling at each other, the boss decided that the only way we could get there was if he drove his car and we followed him.

What a great kindness to some lost strangers. We followed him for 20-25 minutes and ended up at the same hotel where we asked directions the first time. We didn't have the heart to tell him it was the wrong hotel. We just thanked him and went in to ask again. the second time wasn't any better. about 45 minutes later I found the right exit and almost fell into our hotel. It was very fun to see how anxious people were to help us. We all just laughed at our adventure and felt good about those who did there best to help.

No Motorcyles, No Fishing, No Huevos

As you have read, Martin Sheen and his Son Amelio Estevez are in town making a movie. My daughters Whitney and Jessica, heard about this and wanted me to make friends with one of them because they (Whitney and Jessica) are both in film and could use some connections. So yesterday before Seminary and before fishing we went by the set. As it turned out they were taking a break and Amelio was just standing around (I don't think people here think Mighty Ducks was a big deal). As we were talking he asked where in Utah we were from. He said he knew where Orem is because he used to own a cabin in Montana and would drive through Provo on the way there. I saw the opening. So I asked him if he fishes (you know a guy with a cabin in Montana should be a fisherman). No he doesn't fish. He said he loves to drive up there, by the time he gets there he is all decompressed. SO I asked "do you have a motorcycle?" ( you know, likes to unwind on the road). He doesn't ride motorcycles either. No Fishing?, No Motorcycles?, get a life.

So two strikes. Do I dare try again. Since Whitney and Scott do movie reviews on Filmthreat.com we thought it would be cool to have him say something on video about their reviews. You know "visit whitney and scotts film reviews on fimthreat.com". He wouldn't do it. He said that Filmthreat hammered him pretty good and he would rather not. Thus the "no huevos" reference in the title. Maybe there is more to the story when his ex-wife Paula Abdul divorced him because he didn't "want" to have kids.

Fishing in Burgos

I've heard people say that somethings are backwards in Europe. When it comes to pesca (fishing) this seems to be true. I have tried to find a place where I can fish in Europe. A trip anywhere doesn't seem complete unless you can do at least a little fishing. I asked around town and no one seems to know where to go. Several weeks ago we went to a friends home village named Barbadillo de Pez (Barbadillo of Fish). Our friends told us that the river there is protected for artificial flies and lures only. They also said that there are many fish and that the area is very famous for fly fishing. With a name like that I wanted to give it a try.

So I found the local Fish and Game office and bought a fishing license. A couple of weeks ago I spent the afternoon in Barbadillo de Pez, on the river with my fly rod. After several hours and not even seeing a fish I concluded that if this place is famous for fishing there are no fish left in Spain. I mean after several hours I should have at least seen a fish. Usually you spoked at least one out of his hole. Nothing. There were bugs all over the place. Size 8-10 mayflies were coming off the water by the hundreds. No sign of any feeding fish.

Yesterday I went for a run through the parkway that goes along the river Arlanzon, which goes right through the middle of Burgos (population @ 180,000). I had a tough bike ride the day before, so I was running extra slow (that's really slow for the normal person). I was looking for reasons to take a break, so I decided to see if I could find any holes where fish might hang out. I couldn't believe it. Everywhere I looked there were feeding fish, not many on the surface but subsurface. Some looked to have good size (bigger than 14 inches). I ran up to the Hotel that Pachi (madi's host family)runs. There is a girl that works at the counter that likes to fish. (see the only person I know in Europe that fishes is a girl. Not to say anything against a girl fisherman (no play on words). But there should be some real men somewhere in this place.) I asked her if she knew that there were fish in the river Arlanzon. She said "yes". She likes to bass fish and those are all trout. I asked if it was legal to fish within the city she said "of course". I ran home and got out the fly rod again. After we rode with Weston to Seminary, I went down to the river. In about 30 minutes I caught 2 nice rainbows and missed a few more. The people on the shore and the bridge near where I was fishing often stopped and stared but mostly just ignored the weird guy in shorts standing in the middle of their river. Anyway, it was fun. No fish in the mountains but thousands in town. Even European fish like to live with everyone else in the city.

Fame vs Fortune

As you can see from a recently posted video we had a brush with fame. Martin Sheen is in Burgos filming a movie about the Camino de Santiago. He is staying in the hotel owned by Madison's host family. The movie sounds like it is going to be good. It is about the father of a boy who died on the pilgrimage. The father then carried the ashes of the boy from france to Santiago. The movie is called "The Way".

Back to Martin Sheen, as we came back from doing paper work (the Spanish national past time) with Pachi, Martin (since we are now on a first name basis) was just coming out of the hotel. He was very friendly and volunteered to take pictures with us. It was very nice he knew we wanted to but we didn't want to ask so he volunteered for us. He stuck out his hand and said "hi I'm Martin what's you name". It was pretty cool.

Our brush with fortune this week was having the missionaries over for Sunday afternoon comida. There are three sisters in Burgos because Sister Johnson is going home this week. The other 2 sisters are from Spain there names are Sister Sanchez and Sister Moraza. Sister Moraza has been on her mission for 1 month. The Elders are Elder Driggs and Elder Holmes. Elder Driggs is being transferred this week. Burgos was his first area. I love these missionaries. They bring an amazing spirit into our home. They are full of light and love. It is a privilege to know them. If I had a chance to befriends with Martin Sheen or anyone of these missionaries it would be the missionaries hands down.

Dia Del Templo En Madrid

Weston, Lynette and I went to The Madrid Temple this morning. Lynette and I did an endowment session and Weston did about 25 baptisms. Getting there was not easy like going anywhere in Spain. Street names are put on the corner of buildings(sometimes) not on the corner of the street. If you ever do see them it's as you pass the street. So you can get directions from google map but it doesn't help because you don't know the names of streets. However this time it wasn't bad. We got to the general area of the temple and I saw the steeple. I followed the steeple to the temple. I think there is an object lesson there somewhere.

As soon as I saw the temple I got that "welcome home" feeling. Everything just felt right. As we entered the temple I thought there would be people that could speak English that would help us along. There were a few but for the most part the workers only spoke Spanish. Yet it still felt familiar like the temple should. I think the fact that most workers spoke Spanish made it feel more familiar in a strange sort of way. After all the Madrid Temple is in Spain.

Lynette and I were the only couple in the chapel before the session so we were asked to be the witness couple. I thought it was going to be a little weird, being the witness couple and wearing the headsets for English. The temple worker asked who spoke what language, as it turned out there were several missionaries in the session so most of those attending spoke English as their primary language. So instead of us wearing the headphones the officiator wore them. That seemed more weird.

I just want to say I'm not one for aesthetics, but the Madrid Temple is amazingly beautiful. The detail, the light, the materials are incredible. The Celestial room is the most beautiful one I have been it. It is stunning! no kidding! There is a great mix of gold and shades of green and white. While I was in the Celestial room the sun came out from behind a cloud and just lit up the room in a spectacular way. (Am I starting to sound like Euro-Man?)

It was great to go into the Baptistry and watch Weston do some of the Baptisms. That seemed to cap my temple experience off.

I talked to the Temple President for a few minutes about the Temple. He said that the Temple was designed by a famous European architect who is not a member. The Architect told him that the Temple has the finest materials of any building he knows of in Europe. It shows. Some how this man captured the spirit of temple work in his design.

Euro-Man

I'm not to sure what to think about "Euro-Man". Lynette and My mother went shopping Saturday so I thought I would keep them company. (Weston knew better so he stayed home) Anyway by shopping, I mean real department store shopping. Before now I have noticed that men here wear clothes that are more feminine than I am used to. I know sometimes I can be a little overboard with bright clothes (red jacket) but the theme is quit consistent here: bright clothes, sweaters around the shoulders, scarfs and designer jeans that look like they have been pressed. But shopping Saturday opened my eyes to a whole new euro-man I have never seen.

First of all I was in a Department store. What men shop in department stores. If I can't buy it at Costco, Walmart or Cabela's I don't need it. Once in a while my wife will get me a sweater or something in a department store but I don't need to be there. (I need to explain about the red dress jacket. I pulled up in a mall to take my daughter to diner and there in the window of a men's clothing store was the jacket. I went inside. Tried it on. It fit. I bought it. I left. I did not shop for it!) So I'm in the department store with my mom and Lynette, I can either watch them shop or I can go check out the mens department. The first thing I noticed was the purple pants with the matching purple sweater. The next thing I noticed was men trying this stuff on. The last thing I noticed before I left to watch my wife shop was the men looking in the mirror to see how the pants looked from behind!. Who Cares! And don't do that little twisty thing to check out your own backside!

Maybe it comes from small families that result in too much of their mother's attention. But I know men from small families that are not feminine. Or maybe they just aren't exposed to things like hunting camping, fishing and real sports like American Football. But then again I know a lot of men that don't do those things that would never do the twisty thing in a department store. I don't know what it is but Euro-Man is different.

Ciento Verbos

I memorized 100 Spanish verbs. I actually know them very well. If I hear the Spanish I can tell you the English and visa-versa. With 100 verbs I should be able to get around pretty well. However, I can't tell you what I did, what I'm going to do or what I am doing. I can only describe the action in the simple present. For example I can say I (you, he/she, we, they) run fast. I can't say I ran fast, I will run fast, or I am running fast. As you know I'm talking about verb conjugation. I have no use for it. Let's just keep the verbs the same and use other words to describe the tense. example: "I ran fast" could be "I did run fast" or "They are running fast" could be "They are run fast". Simple and easy, but it's not going to happen. So learning 100 verbs is easy; learning to conjugate them is a whole new story.

Video on Youtube

I have posted all the videos on Youtube. Sometimes I download more than what is shown here so if you are interested you can go to (www.youtube.com/user/coryborup) and see all the videos.

Burgos Rama-Changing of the Guard

Our branch meeting today was a great meeting with a good spirit. Lynette said she could understand much of what was said in sacrament meeting and I felt like I could follow along in Sacrament meeting and in Priesthood. In sunday school it is easy to follow because we have the teachers manual in English.

Our Branch President, Pres. Cardus has moved to Barcelona because of work. The Stake President, Pres. Franco told how difficult it was to find someone to be the new Branch President. He interviewed everyone a couple of weeks ago but did not feel impressed to call anyone. He went home without calling a new Branch President. He said that he prayed about it and the spirit came to him very strongly and told him who the new B. President should be. He then talked about Nephi and how he was committed to "go and do the things the Lord commands" and how the Lord will sustain our new B. President, Pres. Mendoza. I think President Mendoza needed to here that talk. He seems like a humble man and looks a little overwhelmed. Both his councilors are men from South America. Lynette and I have noticed that they are always at church early setting up chairs and preparing the Sacrament. They both always greet us with a smile.

It is amazing to me that when ever there is a change in leadership, in a position that will directly influence me or my family, the calling is accompanied by a spirit of conformation. Whether it's a new President of the Church, a new Young Women's leader or a New Branch President, there seems to always be a spirit which lets me know the Lords will has been done. This was true with President Mendoza.

His has a tough job ahead of him. He is following a wonderful priesthood leader who really knew how to serve with love, with good humor and with optimism. President Cardus will be missed. President Mendoza's task is very similar to what it is going to be like for someone to follow Bishop Rife ,our Bishop in Orem. I'm going to do what I can to sustain Pres. Mendoza and who ever follows Bishop Rife.

Madison came home with us today after church. It is the last time she will get to be with my mother before my mother returns home. I think Madison is starting to feel some of the pressures of living with another family so it was nice for her to get away for the afternoon and spend time with us and her Grandma.

No More Complaining About 2 Year Missions

We went to a monasterio today to see the place where El Cid was once buried. It is about 15 km. from town. His body was taken a couple hundred years ago from the monastery and buried in the Burgos Cathedral. I don't get this moving the bodies around thing. They get moved so many times it wouldn't surprise me if no one really knows where the bodies are. The other thing is being buried in the floor of a place where people go to church. I thought one of the advantages of dying is you don't have to hear boring sermons anymore. and since the Catholic services are mostly ritual how boring would that be for several hundred years.

Back to the monastery we were given a tour by one of the 16 Monks that live their. Once a monk goes to the monastery it is a life long calling. The man that gave us the tour was 62 years old and had been there since he was 30. He has never left. He works in the grape fields and in the work shop (he did say what was done there) and once in a while he gives tours. His English was very clear. He was humble and kind. We decided that his english was so good because he was so motivated to interact with someone other than the other 15 monks that he studied hard to qualify to guide people through the property. The next time I hear a young man complain about taking 2 years to go on a mission, I'm not going to have any sympathy. One of the Monks at this monastery is 98 and has been there since he was 20-30.

It's amazing to think about. It seems like a candle that has been put under a bushel. It may even be an easy way out. But I could not imagine the courage and devotion it would take to spend your whole life this way.

A Little about Lourdes

The city of Lourdes in France is known for the Saint Bernadette. In 1852 as a 14 year old girl she claimed that she saw and spoke to Mary 18 times. To make a long story short, the place where she had these visions was in a cave next to a river. Mary told her to dig in a muddy spot and drink the water that comes up. She was told that the water has healing power. People come from all over the world to get some of the healing water. The city is lined with shops that sell containers (I thought the container that was shaped like Bernadette would make a good Syrup container, my wife did not think that was funny) to hold the holy water from the spring that she uncovered. Of course there is a huge church on the hill overlooking the spring. The city has a population of 15,000 and more hotels than any city in France except Paris. Over 5,000,000 people visit the site each year. A few of them just curious onlookers like us, but most of them are there for religious reasons. The whole thing sounds obserd but being there with so many devoted followers has it's own power or spirit.

Of course I spent my time looking at the huge trout in the river. I finally asked a group of men if they knew if it was okay to fish in the river. They said they didn't think so. I told them that one of my passions is fishing and that I was from Utah. The next question from them was "are you Mormon?" I told them I was they then asked what I thought about Bernadette and Mary. I didn't want to offend them by saying anything about the Syrup bottles so I told them "I'm not sure how I feel. Mary and Bernadette is not something for me but I do believe in God and in miracles". They were from Germany so I told them about President Uchtdorf.

I don't know what to think about events like this. I worry that it has kept many people from the light of the truth but at the same time it has helped some people turn to spiritual things. It's hard to know. I'll leave it up to you.

When I'm 80 Years Old

Sorry it's been so long. This living in Spain thing take a lot of time. I hope I get a chance to catch up our our trip into France and the Pyrenees. Let's just say if it wasn't for the Pyrenees and pastries, I'd have very little time for France.

I just want to say that my mother is amazing. At 80 she hoped on a plan came to Spain by herself and has the energy to do anything we can do and more. She's not shy. She will just go up to people and start talking in English to anyone she wants an answer from. She knows a lot and she is interested in a lot of things. It's been fun to have her with us but she gets Lynette and I tired, she has so much energy. When I'm 80 I want to be like her.

Some highlights of our trip:

Sagrada Familia

Mont Serrat- a monastery high in the hills on a cliff above Barcelona

Swimming in the Mediterranean

Pastries

The Basilica in Lourdes France-See St. Bernadette

Pastries

Pastries

The Pyrenees-Amazing cycling history and views.

Touring with Mom

My mother arrived on Tuesday. Weston and I went to pick her up. (Weston came because it got him out of school). It was great to see her. I'm looking forward to showing her the Spain I know and even some I don't know. On Tuesday we went from the airport to Segovia. It's sort of on the way home from Madrid. We took a tour around the city and then went inside the cathedral. This city is one of my favorites. It's small but full of history and charm.

On Wednesday we started out toward Barcelona. My mom has been to Spain but not Barcelona and so off we went. On our way we stopped in a city called Zaragoza. Another amazing city with a big cathedral that is very important, and many Roman ruins. we found it by mistake but it is the destination city for many Spanish travelers.

From Zaragoza we drove to Tarragona a city on the Mediterranean coast just South of Barcelona. There we found more cathedrals and more Roman ruins. This morning we drove to Barcelona. On our way we saw lots of cathedrals and Roman ruins. We spent the whole afternoon in the cathedral called "Segrada Familia". The cathedral was started by Gaudi in the late 1800's and it is still being built. Actually this cathedral was a bridge for me. The devotion and faith of Gaudi shown in this cathedral is very inspiring. Don't get me wrong. I don't particularly like the way it looks. It's not the way I would express my feelings about the sacred family. In fact in many cases I think it is tasteless almost disturbing. But it is impossible to look at this amazing building and not be touched by the amount of devotion it took to build and design it. Not just by Gaudi but by all who have worked on it over the past century. I would like to return when it is complete.

As I have looked at this cathedral in progress with modern equipment and now computer assisted designing, I can't help to think that maybe those who built those other, older, cathedrals were expressing their own devotion to the God they knew and loved. I have a much greater appreciation for the many cathedrals that are found every time you turn a corner. I'm not going to look at them in the same way any more. Even the small churches you see in every little village will make me think of those who didn't have the restored gospel so they paid their devotion in the way they knew how.