To "A Gudiña"

Today we have a science lesson, prompted by the morning sky as I began my walk today (see 1st photo).

I love crepuscular rays. I love them because they are one of the great optical illusions of the human experience. If you think of the point where it seems like they originate, the sun would only be a few thousand feet above the earth's surface, zooming around the earth. For most of human history this was what was believed, partly because of this universally experienced illusion, and partly because ancient texts made it so (think Bible stories of the sun standing still, etc.). How could it possibly 150,000,000 km away?

I love that humans can be SO wrong about something. It should keep us humble about our opinions. Unfortunate, it normally doesn't.

The word "crepuscular" comes from the latin meaning twilight, because they are most commonly seen in the evening. The optical illusion happens because parallel lines often don't seem quite so parallel. Or even if we know they are parallel, it still seems like they meet at a point, usually just out of sight.  See 2nd photo. This is picture of a field which I passed on March 1st as I left Seville. (Wow, today is the 31st!!!!!!). We all know these rows are perfectly parallel, they never meet. But it certainly seems that they meet, right before they get to the buildings in the background. Crepuscular rays are a 3D version of the two demensional field photo, which makes it even more difficult for our minds to comprehend!

OK, enough of that. Today I entered the Province of Galicia. Crossing this border is where I feel like it is the begining of the end. I will continue to enjoy each momemt, and appreciate each sight, sound, and smell (well some of the smells), and be especially thankful for each person I meet. But with the long walks of the last few days, and more to come, I can't help look forward to arriving in Santiago.

Photos: Crepuscular rays. Uniquely sculpted field. A tunnel that was a bit more thought provoking than yesterday's, as it curved and I couldn't see the other end. Green pastures, still water (as in "He leadeth me beside").  Today's trail. The seemingly wild high country of Galicia Spain.

Weather: Low in the 30s, High only about 50F, with strong wind and rain late in the afternoon (after I was safely inside). We also had a very heavy rain last evening after I posted on the blog.
Distance: 24 km
Route: Once again I stayed on the highway until I made it through the tunnel. This saves about 1000 feet in elevation, both up and down. I missed a view from the top, but hey, I live in Colorado, it would have been 2nd class compared to the view from I-70 exiting the Eisenhower tunnel.
Town: The albergue here is a bit prison like, with concrete walls and stairs. The hot shower felt great!