We soon must trade in our fallen leaves for falling snow. Yes, that first magical snow where you go to bed in one kind of world and wake up in a winter wonderland. Children are excited (Ask any classroom teacher today!) and adults are scurrying about getting prepared for the worse case scenario of a raging blizzard. Stock up on groceries, fuel, get the snow removal equipment ready to go and the list goes on.
Whether we like it or not, I guess we all are excited about the first snowfall in our own little way. Call me delusional, but I prefer to believe in the magic…
We leave at the crack of dawn to beat the heat today and find the path surrounded by tall plants that look and smell like dill. As we proceed down our path we hear the hum of paragliders as they entertain us with dips and swerves making the moment seem surreal. (Included in the video at the bottom of this post.)Delicious wild black raspberries are a treat along the trail.
The Romanesque 11th century bridge at Puenta la Reina (The Queen’s Bridge) owes its foundation to Queen Doña Mayor who had the bridge built over the river Arga.This old Roman road is said to be the most important stretch of Roman road left on the French Way. My mind wanders imagining centuries of use and here I am in this moment, right here, right now. Mind boggling… We take a lunch break next to a water fountain and enjoy the entertaining company of a group from Italy as we communicate using charades and the English skills of the young woman on the right. Why are Italians always so much fun? I may need to go to Italy some day to discover this phenomenon.The final leg of the day proves to be challenging as the high temps and lack of shade takes its toll. Our survival strategy is shade hopping as we slog our way under the hot sun and take short breaks under the shade of the occasional small tree.
Aa-a-a-r-r-r-g-g-g-h-h-h… So hot!
We are too slow today and there are no beds for us in Lorca, but an outgoing character from Amsterdam is at the bar highly recommending Oceana Youth Hostel in Estella. Better pick up the pace so we can find nice cozy beds. At this point, cozy isn’t even necessary… just a bed will do.
I’m not fond of drama in real life but I do love a dramatic blended image… and high school sports.
Tried to make my own lightning at first, but decided that was too time consuming. Googled smoke and lightning brushes and downloaded some free brushes, installed them in Photoshop CC 2015. BOOM! …much easier.
Every image can use improvement and I think an action image would be a good candidate for a blend using these brushes.
Believe in yourself, and the rest will fall into place. Have faith in your own abilities, work hard, and there is nothing you cannot accomplish. ~Brad Henry
September 2, 2016: We (Joan, Randy & Joyce) leave Pamplona shortly after sunrise and find the early morning streets fairly quiet. (Short video of the day at the bottom of this post)
ALERT!!! Joan and Randy possibly witness an ATM scammer at work this morning with a Camino bicyclist as his victim and it reminds us to always be aware of people nearby when using these technologies and don’t use a machine if you view anything suspicious. Click on this link: How to avoid ATM fraud while traveling for some useful information when withdrawing cash. Also, be sure to alert your bank as to where you will be traveling so they are aware of your activity. Shout out to the fabulous customer service, while we are traveling, from our local DNB National Bank in Clear Lake/Gary, South Dakota. You are definitely an important part of our adventures.So much history… It was in this area that Charlemagne’s Christian forces defeated Aigolando’s Muslim army in the 8th century. Ruins of Guendulain palace are visible from the path, but I am having trouble finding historical background of the palace. There is a hotel in Pamplona by that name – Palacio Guendulain. If someone has a link to its history, please leave a comment The plowed field in the foreground is interesting as it is almost totally made up of rocks which must be hard on equipment. As we approach the summit of Alto del Perdon (Hill of Forgiveness), we discover that there is ambulance service on the mountain and feel fortunate to not need their services. The high temperatures combined with the climb and lack of shade are certainly taking a toll on pilgrims.Check this off the “Bucket List”: On the summit of Alto del Perdon is an iconic sculpture dedicated to all the pilgrims who walk the Camino de Santiago. The long metal sculpture representing pilgrims on foot and on horse reflects the historical and eternal nature of the walk. There is a Spanish inscription on it “donde se cruza el camino del viento con el de las estrellas” meaning “Where the path of the wind crosses that of the stars.” ~caminodesantiago.com
Beautiful views as we look back towards Pamplona, but what goes up must go down, and we carefully make our way down the steep descent. One wrong move and the hike is done. The unfortunate and injured pilgrim would need to be picked up after rolling down to the bottom. It wouldn’t be pretty and I’m sure tears would be involved.
You can’t beat “free,” right? Ashe Designs had a free overlay offer that included a football with shattered glass around it. I thought the football in the overlay appeared too cheesy so dragged it over my image and erased the football out. Copied and sized the glass only results and added a zoom effect to one of the layers to show movement. Plain bleacher background is now jazzed up. Ta-dah!! Love free things…
RJMeyerArts 
