Day 13 - Villafranca to Atapueca

At a glance:
Cultural highlight: The museum at Atapuerca
Food highlights: our foraged croissants
Kilometres walked: 17.22
# of steps: 24,623
Elevation gain: 205m
Breakfast was included with our very expensive accommodations ($112 for 2) so we made good use of it and snuck out a croissant stuffed with ham and cheese each for lunch.
It was a 1 or 2k slog right off the bat up 200 m before going downhill for 50 and back up. Good to get it over and done with first thing in the morning.
We passed through a beautiful oak forest and a fit looking man in his 30s who had his backpack on a 2wheeled shopping cart. Maybe he had a bad back . He was obviously struggling.
Once at the top the forest turned into a pine forest.
6 k on Michael passes us. He is only carrying a little canvas bag. His first day sending his heavy 20+lb. bag ahead. He was so thankful not to have worn it up the hill.
He had a 30k day and was feeling it wouldn't be a problem without the weight of his pack. He flew on ahead of us.
Another 5K and at a cafe we run into Lorenzo and the woman from the Netherlands with very short hair. He hasn't found his ear bud yet nor the fellow who has it. I should have kept the ear bud as this is the second time I could have returned it.
He too saw Michael and Michael told him the name of his sous chef Dorio. Dorio has, the now trail famous, ear bud.
There are 2 young women chatting. One is wearing bright red lipstick and the other is admiring it and her determination to wear it on the Camino. Red lipstick!
We run into a man, who said he was Ukrainian and a translator but he lost his job and can't find work. He had with him two dogs and a huge backpack going the opposite way. He is broke and out of food for his dogs so we give him some change.
We stop early for our picnic near a fountain in the entrance to town of Agés.
Lorenzo stopped to get water and tells us the lipstick wearing woman gave him Dorios cell number. Hopefully they will now connect.
We race the last 1k into Atapuerca trying and succeeding to beat the black stormy clouds that are thundering close by.
Atapuerca is famous for being the one place in the world where they have found bones from many hominid species and from many different time periods from as far back as 1.2mill years ago.
We spent almost an hour in the small museum in town where the eager woman there shows us just about everything they have. I notice they have the 3 volume set of Malaspina's voyages and mention I worked for Malaspina University. After some chitchat about Malaspina I mention I am interested in finding out if he collected textiles from the PNW and if so where would they be? She knows a Malaspina expert and will ask.Baca lagi