I start my travel on the 14th September 2020 to Blanes, Spain. With the plane I flew to Barcelona and from there I took a bus to Blanes. Arrived there, Josep the manager of the Botanical garden picked me up from the bus station and drove me to the apartment. There I met the other volunteer and my new flatmate Simon and our mentor Anna. Together they showed us our new home and gave us a nice welcome with a lot of information around the town.
We start working two weeks after our arriving because of COVID prevention. At our first day, we had a tour througt the garden. The first impression was very positive. From the garden you have a look over the sea, there are a lot of stunning plants and beautiful flowers. All in all it is a perfect place to work at. Also, after some weeks, I really enjoy being there. We work in the garden with the gardeners, planting, cleaning and taking care of the plants. Also, we work in the office, where we built up the new seedbank and help to pick up plants and dry them for the catalog.
Blanes is a small town but you can find all you need for your daily life and more. With the sea one minute away from our apartment it is like a little dream. The city centre is cozy, there is a lot of Catalan architecture and the atmosphere is nice and warm.
Unfortunately, we are not allowed to leave the city on weekends at the moment due to COVID, so we spend most oft the times here. Our trip to Girona was therefore a welcome change. I hope that in the future I will see more of the surrounding because there are a lot of exciting places and cities I want to visit.
Stefanie
Image Credits: Minou Heinemann
Stefanie is hosted on the project “Solidarity Seeds 2.0”, financed by the European Solidarity Corps and the Spanish National Agency.