(Distracted along) The Way

Santiago de Compostela is alive with the legend and culture of the Way of Saint James, the ultimate historical pilgrimage. And I’m sure that Road Scholar wants us to learn all about it. But first, they decided to take us on a boat excursion to see how mussel farming works in northern Spain.

To make sure we understand the farming process as completely and fully as possible, they put us on a boat with 50 ready-to-party senior citizens from Granada, Spain and provided free-flowing wine and mussels. The end result is best conveyed here, in this conga line that circled continuously. Or maybe it’s best conveyed above by Ron, getting into the spirit of things with two strangers from Granada:

Ron has started behaving in a manner that puzzles me. I’m already on alert for a purchase of something large that needs to be shipped home. But now, in addition, on the Party Boat, I came back from looking for dolphins on the horizon and found him downing the first mussels of his entire life with some of our tour mates:

Shortly after that, I overheard him speaking Spanish with our guide, Mayra, which, no matter how hard I practice with him, has never happened before. He can’t even master gracias, and yet I absolutely heard him discussing that there is a difference between vaminos and vamos in relation to going somewhere and then he held up his bottle of water and said agua and I could not have been prouder. Mussels, dancing, bilingual – Ron’s on a journey here in Santiago de Compostela!

Tomorrow we get down to business and study The Way and so, for now, I’ll leave you Ron fans with one more shot, further proving his rebirth along The Way. No head injury whatsoever sustained in using this bathroom!