November 6

A late night for some, but a ridiculously early rise for others – at 2 am all the choristers were told to get going for our big day of travel ahead. We were awoke by an unusually chipper and noisy wake up call by singing choristers and chaperones at our door. We faced our first challenge of the day when all the lights in our building decided they did not want to light for us during these crucial packing minutes. This lead to slight packing chaos but in the end we all made it out of the building, Shalloway hoodies on, and at least one suitcase in hand.

By 3 am we were all on the bus heading to the airport. While many seated choristers tried to steal a quick nap, many like myself used every last minute soaking in the beautiful countryside we have come to know for the past two weeks,

But by the end of our long bus drive, I gave into my heavy lids like everyone around me. I had a solid 10 minute snooze.

We arrived in Bilbao at about 4:30am. We were quite early to ensure all 66 choristers and chaperones were checked through in time for the early flight. However the airport was not nearly as prepared as we were. With only about two hours to sort out our large group, Bilbao airport was CLOSED!! The weather was the coldest we had encountered in Spain, resulting in some very interesting activities to keep us warm and entertained. While a large group participated in large rounds of Hokey Pokey, many choristers and even chaperones ran around in circles and danced to stay warm. The few strangers also waiting to be let into the airport appear to have been slightly thrown off but amused by our actions.

Eventually we were let inside and after long waits in many lines we took off for our brief flight to Frankfurt, followed by our flight to Montréal. The food is good and the company surrounding me is also fantastic. As we make our descent into Montreal, we are feeling anxious for our arrival but also sad to be concluding such an amazing and fulfilling tour and leaving behind one of the most beautiful places in the world. We really came together as a group on this tour and represented Newfoundland and Canada to the very best of our ability. We hope we did you all proud. See you all soon.

Erin Eaton