Ecocompartimos has a tradition to hold annual summer camps to give youngsters the opportunity to occupy a part of their holidays with fun, developing and diverse activities, as well as knowing new people and acquiring new skills. Usually the summer camps have been held in Toledo but summer 2020 took the campers to Liérganes, Santander, in the Northern Spain.
Small Cantabrian village Liérganes was the destination for 20 children and teenagers in ages 8-16, as well as to 5 camp instructors from 5th to 15th July. We, campers, stayed in a lovely inn called Albergue el Musgoso. But the historical village was not the only destination, as we travelled the region to learn about its history and culture in Santander, Altamira, Somo and Comillas.
With the help of a detailed timetable we were able to organize 10 days packed with different activities ranging from art and theatre to sport and hiking. Keep reading as we give an overview of the activities.
Culture
Altamira. We visited the famous caves of Altamira and learned more about the development of human kind through an interesting guided tour.
Comillas. We participated in a very animated tour in Capricho de Gaudi, a villa projected by the famous architect as a unique and breath-takingly beautiful summer residence. Youngsters participated in re-acting the history on the building, knowing more about Gaudi, art and historical events.
Santander. A visit to the Palace of Magdalena was combined with a treasure hunt that allowed youngsters in groups to discover the legend of Magdalena and learn more about the castle's history by solving several riddles along the way. Visiting Santander also included a tour in the city to know its famous sights.
Talent night. A "Got Talent" evening required the campers to prepare all week, as the final spectacles were performed spectacularly by two different groups: ones that had chosen to re-act "The High School Musical" group act, and others who prepared a shadow theatre with an original plot and sounds. The talent show performances both demonstrated the creativity, uniqueness and, obviously, talent of all the participants.
Legend night. The Liérganes village we stayed in is famous for a legend of a certain fish-man or Hombre Pez whose statue sits on the bank of river that flows through the center of the village. We had visited the river site by the statue several times and youngsters had the creative task to guess the legend without knowing it. Finally, on the legend night, groups revealed their version of the stories and, even though they were remarkable and unique, they were far from the truth. The real version of the legend that has been told in the village was presented to us by Carmen, the lovely landlady of the inn.
Fluviarium and the wetlands. An NGO Fundación Naturaleza Y Hombre welcomed us in a local Fluviarium of Liérganes and the wetlands of Alday to introduce us the local nature: the surrounding flora and fauna, the changes that have occurred due to the human activity, climate change or the domination of foreign species. Big thanks to our guide, Laura, who took us to a walk and taught so much about the nature by simply showing us around.
Sport
All camp days involved plenty of movement, would it be in form of morning energizers, sport games or hiking.
Active games. From frisbee to dodgeball, from relay games to water balloon fights, we spent a great deal of time outside to practice several games involving moving and activity. Also, what is a summer camp without swimming! The cold water in the Liérganes river or a close-by natural pool of Pozo Negro did not stop campers to dive in and indulge the cooling water on a hot summer day.
Surfing. For two days we were fortunate to try surfing with experienced instructors on wavy Somo beach. Everyone were first introduced the basic movements and then released to battle the waves, each according their own abilities. Some struggled to get any balance on the board, while others managed to glide on top of the high waves - it was a new and fun adventure for all.
Hiking. During the 10 days in Cantabria, the campers obtained a higher degree in hiking, as we discovered a variety of trails. Would it be around the familiar Liérganes (including its mountains), by the coast of Somo or in the Sequoia forest, everyone succeeded in the challenging routes of 10, 14 or even 18 km. The satisfaction from surmounting the limits, enjoying the landscape and sharing moments added a lot of value to togetherness of the campers.
Yoga. Concentration, flexing and calmness of yoga offered a great alternation for the rapid games or long exhausting hikes. Many campers had their first introduction to yoga and got to see a different way to practice sports.
Miscellaneous
Furor-furor! Once more, a singing competition let out the creative and talented side of the campers as two groups took turns in singing all the known songs that featured a word everyone had collectively chosen. Good memory for a big variety of songs, rapid reaction and courage to sing were essential in succeeding in the event.
Multicultural night. Basic Estonian vocabulary and learning about the well-known facts about Estonia was the outcome of eventful Kahoot that Erika, the Estonian volunteer, had prepared for the group of Spaniards. This small and distant European country became more known thanks to the multicultural night.
Mosaic workshop. Mosaic technique was introduced to the campers by one of the instructors, Paula, who participated in the World Peace Mosaic workshop in Tunisia (more information in Facebook with #UnMosaicoPorLaPaz). This activity also required a longer preparation as everyone we're gathering natural materials (such as plants, leaves, pebbles, bark, cones or seashells) to combine with magazine cut-outs on a personal mosaic board. Only creativity was the limit in creating one-of-a-kind mosaic pieces.
Dye workshop. Everyone's white T-shirts got transformed into colorful, cheerful and unique shirts as the patterns were formed by twisting and turning your T-shirt into a bundle before dipping it into the pots filled with different colors.
Cave art workshop. After visiting the Altamira caves, we tried to create our own version of prehistoric art by first creating a big multilevel canvas as a base which served as a cave wall. On the "wall" we drew all sorts of creatures- human and animals- in various scenes reflecting their daily life and rituals. A final touch was a hand-print figures using a special technique where you blew paint through a straw to create a dispersed clouds of paint with a vague borderline of your hand.
That's the packed summary of the never-ending learning we did in our 2020 summer camp. And the best thing about it was that all the learning was packed in activities of creativity and fun!
Thanks for reading and until the next blog post!