June 27
Ages to Burgos  22.5 km
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!
Before supper last night we took a short look,(because it´s tiny), at Ages.  It is a very historic and lovely little pueblo.  We stopped for merienda (afternoon snack) in an outdoor cafe and had a wonderful conversation with a retired couple and a thirty-something couple, all Spanish, all on vacation.  We had the same conversation we´ve had with people from Polynesia, Europe, Australia, Asia, etc all along the camino;  China is taking over the world, with some help from India and Brazil. The US and Spain are going to become third world nations., etc.  I made the comment that we tell students that we study history to learn from our mistakes but that right now the Chinese are making the exact same mistakes we´ve made.  The older man from Spain laughed really hard and say, oh you Americans, the Chinese have been around forever, they have history, you are just babies, you don´t even have history yet.  What a great point from that perspective.  We were having a similar conversation the day before with some young people from England and a young man who has traveled literally all over the world, and I do mean everywhere!! He made the interesting comment that he would like to visit Cuba before it becomes the US.  So we all talked about who would end up controlling Cuba.  On the camino as in most of Europe people discuss history, politics, the economy, etc. and they know so much more about the whole world than I feel like we do in the states.
Our homemade paella was delicious and in great company.  We took a picture of the woman of the house cooking it in its special pan on its special stove. We hope to be able to post pictures soon, but the wifi has been spotty at best.  As we said our albergue was wonderful, the best night of sleep of the trip!  Woke with a ton of energy and less sore feet this a.m.
There was a very nice road out of Ages toward Atapuerca, where we tred the ground walked by the first human beings.  There is a beautiful visitor center there and a very activ archaeological dig in progress.  They have discovered the remains of humans over 1 million years old, the oldest discovered anywhere in the world to date.  Sadly, they also discovered that they were cannibals. In perfect Spanish humor the restaurant on the way out of town is named, El restaurante Comosapiens. (Como = I eat)
 Our lovely country road quickly  became a goat path full of stones and goat poop - full!!!  It was really cool though, and I do mean cool!!!  The wind was blowing so hard that it literally blew us off the path repeatedly. A couple of cloven hooves would have come in pretty handy. When we got to the top there was a huge cross, and an incredible view looking off the other side of the mountain. 
We are now in our albergue in the center of Burgos, showered and about ready to head out to see one of the world´s most beautiful cathedrals, and some of the other sites.  Speaking of showers, I´m sure some of you have been wondering about the bathroom facilities, considering some of the places we have stayed.  We have modern showers, toilets, etc. in every place.  There was only one albergue where the facilities were shared male/female, otherwise everything is modern, clean and nice. The way may be ancient, but the pottys are not.  Buen camino.