After Daniel Alexander mentioned how introspective my entries are, I realized there is a pattern to them:  I do something on the trip, experience it as a problem or tension, and to overcome it, I have an epiphany of self-realization.  That is probably ripe for analysis, including how I approach faith.  But I´ll save that for another entry!

For now, the following are some of my favorite experiences thus far, namely the most beautiful and memorable things I have seen, touched, tasted, and felt --

• The deep aquamarine and turquoise water at the tip of the rock jetty off Cabo Mayor in Santander. The water was smooth and undulating like a silk parachute gently whipped in the wind, but when it broke over the rocks, it turned to cascading then violent white foam. I was completely alone.
• The beautiful beaches of Santander -- Sardinero and Magdalena.  As I walked along Playa Magdalena at dusk, I saw fisherman on the shore, boats in the bay heading for home, and the smoky Cantabrian mountains in the background.
• The coastal route the bus took between Santander and Bilbao, alternating vistas between green, tree-covered rolling hills with grazing sheep and cows, and beaches where rock cliffs shot straight to the water.
• The children playing in the park near Santillana del Mar (only neat for about an hour). Two girls in particular were practicing some flips and dance poses.  I ate an ice cream bar on the steps of the city hall while waiting for the return bus.
• The reds and blues (and every other color for that matter) in El Greco´s paintings in the Prado. Also the light that is always coming from off the canvas but which illuminates the contemplative and enraptured faces of his subjects, or which shimmers on and makes transluscent the fabric of those who behold the light.
• The pond with shooting "geyser" and waterfall, which you could walk behind, in Retiro park in Madrid.  Ducks and turtles were sunning themselves as the temperature swung between warm and cold, depending on the cloud cover.
• The charm and tranquility of Plaza de Catedral (Cathedral Square) in Santander where I sat at an outdoor cafe and drank my morning tea. The second morning, the waiter remembered me and my order, and brought it out with a big smile and a hearty "buenos dias".
• The dimly lit chapel crypt in the cathedral in Santander, praying with the old men and women and contemplating a corpus Christi behind the altar. I wondered how I can see and feel more of the love expressed in Christ´s passion -- rather than just sacrifice and human brutality -- like the kind of love Julian of Norwich experienced in her revelations.
• The hip and chic vibe of La Musa restaurant, almost enjoying the smoke but certainly lapping up the ambience and the la bomba (potatoe stuffed with meat and smothered in three kinds of sauce), loving the fun noise bumping up from the basement bar whose sand floor was packed with Madrilenos in their 20s and 30s.

Tomorrow´s post:  The Top 9 Things I Hate about Spain (and probably Europe) so far. :)

P.S.  I think it´s actually "barato" not "borrato". David, where are you to correct my Spanish?  Oh, that´s right, trying to graduate from law school...