Because We Can

What a difference a day can make. Yesterday, mostly disappointment, today, total awesomeness. Doesn’t excuse the bus snafu of yesterday, but it left us with a good taste in our mouths. The other problem. How to pick from the nearly 200 photos we took between the two of us. Almost surreal photos to begin the day. Man emerging from the ladies restroom? You bet! Ours had an inch of water on the floor so the ladies became a unisex restroom. I purposefully left the seat up to let an any of the female persuasion following me know that the seat had had been desecrated, peed on, soiled, or whatever terms the women use to describe what they think men do to toilet seats when they stand in front of the toilet. Considerate Bob. Setting the scene prior to our trek to the site. Hair net, Hardhat and earphones. What the well dressed adventurer wears. I bring along my Koss over the ear headphones because the ones they always give us are the in the ear type and they do not play well at all with my in t...

Let’s just say that Linda really, really, really enjoyed the sweet pastries that came with breakfast, and leave it at that. Sweet Bob. The amount of wine in my suitcase keeps increasing daily. It was rime to start transferring wine from glass bottles into plastic bottles. Water bottles with screw caps work very nicely. This was not a normal tour day. There was a cave tour, if you wanted wet and slippery, low ceiling height so you were always bent over and very limited group size so you would have to wait several hours either before or after the tour. We decided we had seen enough cave paintings, so would pass and travel directly to Bilboa. That sounded good, at least until arriving at the parking lot a the bottom of the hill after the long walk, there was no bus ready to take us. After a lengthy wait it was determined the bus had left with our luggage and without any of us. He was already over a half hour away, so it was way more than an hour until he returned to add we passengers to o...

I have not been posting the usual blogger’s required 15 food photos every day. So I trust this one of the great Spanish breakfast I enjoyed this morning makes up for it. I feel sorry for those on the expedition (they don’t call it a tour) who only eat what they would in the States. They simply have no sense of what it is to be in a different country. Maybe you don’t like everything they fix, at least try it, then decide. I can remember years ago in some country I can’t remember, I tried something, I don’t remember what it was, that I didn’t like. As long as the yellow yolk of an egg isn’t staring at me, I’m willing to try almost anything. Linda doesn’t say I have any taste buds and a cast iron stomach for nothing. Neanderthal Bob. Ready for the day. Three ladies, as opposite each other in their life experiences as possible, yet  bound together as one on this expedition. It’s why it has been such a great experience. Beauty is not just found in the caves of Basque country. Not a cave...

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. 7 plus hours of driving today. Not every day is a big cave day. And hopefully not ever day is a rainy day. 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. The Pyrenees. Spain is ever nearer. Tour de France monument. 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 li...