La Meseta

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After spending the past week on the narrow, winding, mountainous backroads of Spain where we saw as few as two cars an hour, coming out of Leon was a bit of a wake up call this morning. For the first twenty kms or so we were in very heavy traffic, lots of trucks and, fortunately, a nice wide shoulder for us to bike on. After that, we found ourselves on a low traffic, fantastic road with a tailwind.

But I'm sure that some of you are wondering how our worship and sleeping experiences went last night. First of all, the Vespers service was lovely, including biblical text relating Abraham's pilgrimage to our own. Of course, it was all in Spanish, but we got the gist of what the nuns were saying and singing as about 50 of us joined in for the blessing.

Then it was "Lights Out," literally. The abergue turns off all lights at 10:30 and though we were in a top bunk in a room with 50 or more people, we both slept quite well. The only problem was our nightly trip to the restroom which required climbing out of the bunk bed in the dark without disturbing the folks sleeping under us.

At 6:30 a.m. the lights were turned on!! A breakfast of coffee, bread, and jelly (typical here in Spain) was served and we all left by 8 so that the volunteers could prepare for the next group of pilgrims. With that schedule, we found ourselves in Sahagun by 11:30, our original destination for the day. Figured we might as well go another 40 kms, so today was our longest day yet with 110 kms and we are feeling good.

Feeling good -- yes. We are in the Meseta region of Spain for the next two or three days. It is fairly flat, with only gentle hills and today the TAILWIND (every biker's dream) pushed us. Woo -- hoo!!!

One thing I have noted as we cycle along is that the Spanish have developed a number of energy sources rather than relying on coal-fired electric plants. We've seen several nuclear power plants and solar panel set-ups. And we have observed hundreds, if not thousands, of windmills, gracefully lining the hills. Why are Americans so set against windmills? They are aesthetically pleasing and are a renewable resource. Come on, let's call our government representatives and tell them to develop this resource!!

As we get farther from Santiago we do note fewer pilgrims on the Camino and in the small villages along the way. Tonight we are camped along Rio Carrion in a decent campgound. Rather than wait for a restaurant to open at 7 p.m. we bought ham and cheese and asparagus and pineapple and chips and wine at the mercado and picnicked here at the campground.

In spite of the unexpected day off at the beginning of the ride (Lady and I have recovered well) and the extra day in Madrid, we are about a half day ahead of schedule. That's fine with us -- allows us some flexibility in case of weather or bad health. And if we get real far ahead, we figure we can bike into the Czech Republic or Slovenia or some place we never thought of before.

As I end this blog entry, I again thank those of you who send us regular e-mails, updating us on your lives -- we love hearing from you all!!

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