09/06/2023 Bikepacking Spain Day 29 : Do Flies Have Souls?

Today was one of those great days when we got everything done that we wanted. Saw great scenery (including sitting on the edge of a waterfall), got groceries before the 1pm daily siesta, managed a coffee (albeit late), got miles, smiles, and even clothes washed with spring water. --

A very steep descent would cost us some brake pads... and a water bottle that fell from my fork mount. This is the 3rd thing that has bounced out of my fork mounts. Since the cages on the lower legs are not suspended (but rider and rest of bike are), I tend to take it too aggressively and stuff flies out. We did not go back for the bottle because this time it was a regular water bottle - not a special UV cap. --

Up on the ridge, a pack of dogs came running towards us. More specifically, they came towards me for some reason. I tried not to make eye contact, as they were barking ferociously. But once they got close, they mellowed out. Signboards say how to interact with sheepdogs, and one instruction is to "not make a lot of noise." This didn't work for me, because one dog was intent on gobbling up my feed bag. He received some loud noises in return. Janet thinking it was so funny that this was not her problem, snapped this photo. --

Do flies have souls? I wonder this each day. Here you see Janet shooing the flies out of the tent before the last zip up... And I guess my niece and nephew were right when they tell me every 10 minutes that "nothing is perfect" because I caught Janet last week doing this procedure with MY sleeping bag. That was when I discovered that even Janet isn't perfect. For those of you who think I should be doing this job, not laughing at Janet while filming... I'm the one who does the second round... handing out 50 eviction notices per night, translocating the fly souls from their bodies to wherever fly souls go. I'm hoping that is purgatory or somewhere far from where the human souls go. Otherwise, there is going to be a bit of a problem. --

Well, hey, flies... things could be worse. --

Janet says that the people here in Spain aren’t that different from us. To a certain degree, she is right; after all: "Everybody Poops!" But in many ways, people do live differently from Americans here. They drink wine and beer for breakfast. Almost no one works from 2-5pm. Janet was kind of lamenting the long conversations we had with people on Latin America where they would tell us their (often gossipy) life stories. Yesterday, though, a woman called out to us from her wheelie walker (not sure if it was a wheelchair or a walker). She said to us, "When I was younger, I used to ride my bike all over!" I asked, "Well how old are you?" "Eighty Five," she beamed with pride. "Congratulations! You don't look it!" I said. "And you're still getting around on wheels!" She seemed ok with this risky joke and looked down at her wheels and smiled. Not too much later, she had a number of friends at her table sharing a morning glass of wine like we share coffee with our friends at home. Im struck by how people here live "the good life" - we know there is longevity from the statistics, but to see it in action gives me a good vibe. Photo courtesy of Janet. --

Buenas Noches! --

I hope we both live to be 💯 or at least as old as many of the senior Spaniards here. However, I won’t start smoking cigarettes or drinking beer and wine before 5pm. Thanks to you and your photos for making me look good on my nice mountain bike! 🚴🏿

Mark G.