From France to Spain and Basque Country - Oct. 10, 2018

Personal note, Linda’s mother-in-law would have been 101 today. May she rest in peace, and may her fallings pass with time.

Archeology thought for the day. Every 1-2 months of excavation results in 5+ years of research to understand what was discovered.

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7 plus hours of driving today. Not every day is a big cave day. And hopefully not ever day is a rainy day.

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However this may turn out to be a very special day. One of our tour members, Jon, has made flutes of the same type as the ones the cave painter made. If things go according to plan, we may get to hear him play one in a cave we visit today. A sound that has not been heard for some tens of thousands years in that cave. Talk about beyond awesome. Everyone’s fingers are crossed for this one.

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The Pyrenees. Spain is ever nearer.

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Tour de France monument.

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Years ago, before all the drug and doping scandals year after year, I never missed watching Le Tour, even getting up in the middle of the night to see it when we lived in California. Haven’t watched it in years and have  no intention of ever watching it again. Still the memories of Marco Pantani will remain forever. Sad yet Glad Bob.

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Fuel pump choices.

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Tour of Isturitz and  Oxcelhaya caves ( they run together.)

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Postcard photo by Linda. It was in this room that the most awesome moment of the entire tour took place. Jon played  his flute. Sounds that had not been heard for millennia spoke to me. Close your eyes, open them to the sound and you are one with the past. Jon later said he only knew what he played for the first note, after that the flute took over and the notes just came out. These were spiritual places to our distant ancestors. It is still a spiritual place to their descendants.

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Curtain stalactite postcard photo by Linda. Linda said it best. The curtain stalactites we saw in this cave were probably the finest we have ever seen anywhere in the world.

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Sharing the road on a rainy afternoon in rural France.

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The perfect French goodbye as we crossed the border into Spain.

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It was a very long day on the bus. During the ride we watched a movie about the discovery and what followed of the the cave we will visit tomorrow. Unlike the normal US movie crap where the truth doesn’t matter, reality TV comes to mind, just make it interesting, this one was historically accurate, intensely moving and also riveting. We’re so brainwashed in the States it’s lucky we know which end of a pencil to use compared to the rest of the world. Ranting Bob.

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Like I said. it was a very long day, and also a long up hill walk to our hotel. Now we shall see what Spain has to offer.

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One good thing Spain has to offer. Another meal, another awesome wine. This is an expensive tour, but the experience in every instance, guides, sites, lodging, food and wine has been wonderful.


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