WALKING TO ATAPUERCA

This was the first time I got caught in the rain. It wasn’t really a downpour, but I was pretty cold and wet when I got to my hostal. It was a beautiful, rustic Spanish cottage with beams in the ceiling and tables all set for dinner when I walked in. It smelled delicious. They were making the pilgrim dinner. Pilgrim dinners aren’t a great culinary experience, but I was glad to get a hot meal that night. I love these old Spanish hostals. They’re little hotels inside of a home. The keys go in brass locks that you have to use to get in, and then lock yourself in. It feels warm and personal. All the bathrooms I’ve used have been amazing. You’re in this ancient building expecting to get a trickle of warm water and you walk into the most modern shower you can imagine. The water is always hot and there’s strong pressure. This hostal had a triple shower head. There was a big rain head, a hand-held showerhead and a third selection that sent a wall of sprayed water across the shower out of tiny openings in the fixture. The Spanish have modern plumbing down in the countryside.