Sobrado Dos Monxes, July 04 and Arzua July 05

 Sobrado was the destination.  I am still at Bi Terra, the place in the middle of nowhere.  Had to wait 2 1/2 hours fot the taxi to pick me up after I reached the destination, but the weather was fine, I did a little grocery shopping, worked on the stupidest Spelling Bee ever (middle letter J), read the Daf, read the commentary on the Daf, read the news (it is never good), and walked around.  When I got back, at 2:30, I had a repeat of yesterday´s lunch.  Too bad it was so not delicious because to eat a meal beautifully presented, outside, on a gorgeous day, in lovely surroundings, should be quite a luxurious experience.  And it was except for the food!

Nothing remarkable about the stage today.  Kind of boring.

This is what the app refers to as a dirt path:

I really do laugh when the App says "Turn left on the dirt path" only there is no dirt.

It is my custom to let sleeping dogs lie:

                            

Even though Stella has cancelled the word "fat," I insist that this is one fat slug:

This was the perfect spot to sit and eat a plum:

There was a little lake near the Monastery of Sobrado Dos Monxes.  You can read about the lake/lagoon and the monastery here (And just BTW, Dos does not mean two in this context, it is a contraction of de los.)

Apparently, 15 Cistercian monks still live on the premises. They make dulce de leche and beer, and there may be a bookstore.  What the website says and what you see from the outside don´t exactly match up.

Friday, I did not start walking until close to 7:00 because it was a 20+ minute drive back to Sobrado It is already a big enough request to ask a taxista to pick you up at 6:30, and some won´t even if they advertise 24/7 service.  I worried about the day heating up, but it was not terrible. The walk, however, was super dullsville on pavement and asphalt.

I gotta tell you, you could become a serious animal rights person after seeing the sorry lot of some cows:

But at least they will have what to eat:

Is this kitty is guarding her food supply?  That is her secret:

                                    

I bought a cookie:

These cookies are supposed to resemble the curved, clay roof tiles.  It (the cookie), essentially sugar and slivered almonds, pairs well with dark chocolate.

There must be an important futbal game going on somewhere in Spain because people are going nuts screaming ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡GOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!   ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!!      ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!

I just watched a YouTube video of a group of Chasids in New Jersey, on the 4th of July singing God Bless America in English and Yiddish!  So, one guy was singing, but there were lots in attendance, including Cory Booker.  The rendition was quite touching! (The reception Irving Berlin got—in some circles— after he wrote this song was...well, open the link!)

The wikipedia entry on Irving Berlin is lengthy, but it is well worth reading the beginning.