On the Don Quixote Route

I couldn't get an Uber this morning, so I had to take a cab.  It cost 12€, as opposed to my two Ubers last night (same destination and starting point - 7.25€ and 9€).  Even if the price was equal, I would still choose Uber.

I didn't have a seatmate on the bus, so I spent my time eavesdropping on other people, which is a hobby of mine, anyway.  As I mentioned before, the group is lopsided - 10 Spaniards to 16 Anglos.  

We got here, had lunch, got our rooms, then had siesta till 6:00.  Then we had our intro session and the first assignments were handed out.  Guess what - I got free time, so I wandered around and took pictures.  Now that we are settled, I can go back and add pictures to my posts, but there wasn't any easy way to do that until now.  

On Wednesday or Thursday we will go on an excursion to the castle, which we are all excited about.  Tomorrow there is a street market in the morning, which we want to explore, too.  I understand that this little town has a pharmacy, and a little supermarket, so I can keep my little fridge stocked.  Also, very nearby is a cool, old cemetery and some windmills.  This town is in the La Mancha region, and sits on what they call the Don Quixote Route.  I look forward to finding out more about that.

After my free time, I had a one-to-one, and we decided to walk.  We ended up walking up toward the windmills and then past the very cool cemetery.  Our conversation ranged from learning languages to family history, to reading maps, to burial practices, to the value of study abroad programs.

This hotel is built on the foundations of the original 13th century (I think) castle that was here before.  Tomorrow the hotel manager will give us a tour and tell us more about its history.  It's going to be a long day, especially so for the Spaniards.

Just now, 11:00, I got back to my room and opened the window.  The little village is dark except for porch lights here and there.  All of the windows are shut up tight, and no light comes from them.  It's hard to tell if anyone even lives here.  And you can't even imagine the silence.