Ubidea

Our regular bus and driver are back, although the bus still makes some odd noises from time to time. It was a long travel day from Pamplona to Leon, but the trip was broken by a couple of interesting stops.

The first was in the village of Ubidea, which might have 200 people on a Saturday night, but fewer at other times. We were met at the bus by Mikaela, who spoke perfect English with an accent we haven't heard here -- because she is an Australian who studied in the UK before coming to Spain.

Mikaela is part of a team of osteoarchaeologists working in a small laboratory in a converted house on the main street of this tiny place. They are involved in locating mass graves from the Spanish Civil War, recovering skeletal remains, identifying them, and returning them to surviving family members and descendants. Their research also involves the location of burial sites related to older conflicts and periods dating back to the Napoleaonic Wars and even all the way back to the defeat of Charlemagne's army at Roncesvalles (see yesterday's entry).

Obviously very excited about her work, Mikaela explained how bones can reveal much about how a person lived, as well as about how they died. And she explained how objects found with a body, such as coins or musket balls, can reveal on which side a soldier fought.

After this encounter, we walked across the street to a rather unlikely tavern where we were served quite a nice lunch. As always, washed down with plenty of wine.

As we left Basque Country and drove into northern Spain the landscape changed remarkably. This part of the country is obviously more arid, and the mountains gave way to plains reminiscent of Kansas.

At the village of Castrojeriz we rejoined the Camino de Santiago just long enough to walk through town. In a little over a mile we passed three large churches, as well as countless hostels, inns, hotels, bars, and restaurants all geared to the pilgrims who pass through on foot.

This region has been called "The Empty Spain" because so many people have left the rural villages to find work in the cities. Even here in Castrojeriz there were many boarded up houses and businesses. It's clear that the Camino is the only economic lifeline keeping this village viable.

We arrived in Leon in late afternoon, had an orientation walk, and then went to dinner.