This morning came abruptly at 8:04AM when twenty or so students egged on by Laura and Cecilia came knocking at my door with a birthday song. It was one of those mornings that shocks you out of your slumber, but it was worth it. They presented me with a birthday cake in the monastery dining hall this morning, too...so we all have cake for breakfast.
We spent the day in Combarro, a small fishing village on the north-western coast of Spain and dead west of Santiago...more like inlets and fjords than a coast, but with some amazing beaches ten minutes away. As we came down into the valley of the coastline, there were little specks out on the flats of teh early low tide...folks hunting mussels, clams and crabs as I imagine they have for the seven centuries the town has subsisted on what the Atlantic has offered.
After that, I spent the majority of my birthday laying in the wonderful sun, in 92-degree heat. It was somewhat of a topless beach, too, which was interesting for the students to experience.
Tonight we´re off to dinner of tapas instead of eating at the monastery as usual. My suitcase is half packed for Bilbao, for which we depart tomorrow at 9AM. Tomorrow will be lots of work, submitting grades, writing students reports to the program, seeing them all off to host families around Bilbao and San Sebastian in the Basque Country, then Thursday the 13th I hope to spend three or four hours touring San Sebastian before making Pamplona by 7PM to buy a ticket to the bullfight on the 14th. I guess during Pamplona´s Fiestas of San Fermin, hordes of people simply sleep in the public parks, since the over-burdened and over-priced hostels and alguergues are packed. The plan is to watch the morning running of the bulls on the 14th, take a long siesta (in a park?), watch people for awhile, then get to the bullring. If I stay overnight again, Saturday would be perfect to watch a JAI ALAI (pelota vasca) match.
I am in Bilbao until July 20, when we go to Madrid via Segovia. Until then I will try to write another quick blurb or two. Now, time to say farewell to Santiago de Compostela- the third most visited of holy pilgrimmage sites in the world next to Mecca and Vatican City.
