1 October Villafranca to Atapuerca. 18.3 km
We climbed a mountain today. And it feels great. The first hill was straight up and we were a bit fearful that the whole day would be like that, but thankfully only the first two or three km were uphill. The final 9 were a gentle descent into the next town. It was a beautiful walk through the woods. Farm fields were replaced with pine trees, ferns, and flowers. The scent was amazing.
The descent found us in three lovely villages. The first we stopped for some coffee and then just a few short miles we found a lovely albergue in the town of Atapuerca. It's on the map for being the location where the oldest human remains were found on the European continent. We would consider the museum except that it would mean backtracking out of town and taking a detour a few miles. Our feet are not in the mood!
Our albergue (the only one in town) advertised private rooms for 35 Euros. When we realized that meant a private bathroom, we were elated. It seems like a small thing but small things can be big blessings. It's the first private bath since we've started. No waiting in line for showers or the toilet in the morning. (Last nights accommodations held 100 people and boasted just 4 toilets). Then, to our great astonishment there are towels provided! And soap! To be honest, the lovely square of towel sold to me by the good folks of EMS has lived up to their promises, but to be able to wrap a towel around what little hair I have, was bliss!
And it's so clean. I must admit that I have not been pondering Gods baptismal promises on this journey when showering; rather the myriad of bacterial life forms God has created and how they love to live in damp environs. But I digress.
Today was beautiful and I am blessed in so very many ways!
Buen Camino
We climbed a mountain today. And it feels great. The first hill was straight up and we were a bit fearful that the whole day would be like that, but thankfully only the first two or three km were uphill. The final 9 were a gentle descent into the next town. It was a beautiful walk through the woods. Farm fields were replaced with pine trees, ferns, and flowers. The scent was amazing.
The descent found us in three lovely villages. The first we stopped for some coffee and then just a few short miles we found a lovely albergue in the town of Atapuerca. It's on the map for being the location where the oldest human remains were found on the European continent. We would consider the museum except that it would mean backtracking out of town and taking a detour a few miles. Our feet are not in the mood!
Our albergue (the only one in town) advertised private rooms for 35 Euros. When we realized that meant a private bathroom, we were elated. It seems like a small thing but small things can be big blessings. It's the first private bath since we've started. No waiting in line for showers or the toilet in the morning. (Last nights accommodations held 100 people and boasted just 4 toilets). Then, to our great astonishment there are towels provided! And soap! To be honest, the lovely square of towel sold to me by the good folks of EMS has lived up to their promises, but to be able to wrap a towel around what little hair I have, was bliss!
And it's so clean. I must admit that I have not been pondering Gods baptismal promises on this journey when showering; rather the myriad of bacterial life forms God has created and how they love to live in damp environs. But I digress.
Today was beautiful and I am blessed in so very many ways!
Buen Camino
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ReplyDeleteIf anyone would like to follow Pastor Aileen and Larry's progress, I am updating it on this map (copy and paste into your browser as it's not clear that comment links are enabled):
ReplyDeletehttps://drive.google.com/open?id=1vQb3O6UJR5X0RKH9NrnBK5xAlvA&usp=sharing