atapuerca

it has been a wonderful day and so i kept walking. i had planned to go 22, but walked 27k today. i remember so clearly now the first time i walked and i am struck by the differences both in me and the land. me- i am confident, free to come and go when i like, happy to be back, and familiar with the process of checking into the albergue,knowing where to put my boots and poles, finding the showers, the washing area for my clothes, the clothes line. it is all automatic now.
bed bugs- i arrived at the bedbug town at only 11:30am so i kept walking. i ended up at Granon, a small town with it´s albergue connected to the church. we slept on mats on the floor in an attic area. there were only 30 people, and we cooked and ate together. the local priest has a pilgrims mass every night and after a pilgrims blessing. i have been to a few of these blessings and they were disappointing. automatic, given by a bored priest. this time was the exact opposite. the priest was totally present with us.in the blessing he said that he was honored to be with us not because we were brave to take on this challenge of walking so far, but because we were brave to be on a spiritual journey. he said we would have three encounters along the way. the first with ourselves. and when we came to know ourselves, we would have the courage to open oursleves to others, even all of our enemies- the person who turns on the lights at 5 am and the person who snores next to us. all people. and when we open to loving others, we would encounter god. he said even if we don´t believe, we will meet god. it was really beautiful. we stood in complete silence, drawn by his sincerity and confidence. there were few dry eyes.
last night was just as good for me. i stayed at the albergue where i said goodbye to the dominiques last time and where i began walking alone. i felt like i had come full circle. it was great. the same man who is the host at the albergue was there again. he kissed my cheeks and said welcome home. ´
and today i am in atapuerca, i am in the home of lucy, the 800,000 year old homo antecessor, and some of the best preserved human remains ever found. it is an unesco site and work is still being done in the area.
oh, about the difference in spain. i loved this landscape when i was here in the fall of 2007, and i love it even more today. in the fall everything has a finished look to it. an ending. everything harvested and the world waiting for winter. today it seems that someone painted over the land with water-colors. how many shades of green can there be? or gold? it is just gorgeous. there is field after field of wheat, and barley and something else, i don´t know. i feel so lucky to be here before harvest or any cutting, the see the tall plants. the sunflowers are taller now, but still without flowers.
ok good bye. i am off to dinner.