The Rain in Spain....!

Today is the first day that we have arrived at our Alberge without getting wet! I will admit, we chose to walk only a half-day today but it is almost 1:30 p.m. and it has yet to rain! The threatening clouds are there but they seem to be passing us by.

Spain is very different from France and the atmosphere in the Alberges and on the road is not the same. Part of it is I expect, communication. There are people from so many countries, Brazil, Japan, Korea, China, Italy, Spain of course, Canada, lots of Canadians and the U.S.A. It is harder to strike up a conversation as you walk. We tend to say Hola (I know there is some kind of an accent but where??) and continue. In France the gîtes or refuges that we stayed in were much smaller and there was usually an evening meal provided so that there was a time that you had to talk. In Spain the Alberges are much bigger, 80 to 120 people, almost like army barracks but not as orderly! Some provide a cafeteria style meal. Lights out at 10 p.m.

Spain is a beautiful country and we have seen some wonderful scenery through the rain. The wildflowers are, as they were in France, numerous. The valleys are huge and you will see from the pictures that there are a lot of fields of wheat, hay and oat. There are also fields of poppies! There are not the small farms that we saw in France, at least not in this region. Farmers or workers tend to live in the villages.

Yesterday we climbed to the Alto de Perdon that is a mountain outside of Pamplona. The Spanish have really taken to wind power because there are a multitude of windmills on top of the mountain. In 1996 they erected a steel structure in honour of pilgrims of men, children and donkeys. It is said that their heads are bent towards the west wing. There is an inscription on a stone that says, and this is the English translation: "Where the path of the Wind crosses the Stars".
Many villages are on hilltops.


The urge to continue and the desire to finish is still strong. I feel as if I am accomplishing something that will help me be a better person. There is a strong force that seems to propel my feet. Until the next time.

Michèle


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