Harsh fall, scenic drive and non-stop miracles

This morning literally started with a “bang” when I took a spectacular fall in the hotel shower; I could have killed or maimed myself, but I miraculously didn’t not, and after a long run north of St-Jean-de-Luz overlooking the Ocean and amidst some very well situated real estate with breathtaking views, we hit the road through more of the Basque region, avoiding the main motorways and meandering through hills, farms, herds of cows and sheep and going through countless villages. We eventually emerged in Bearn country driving towards the town of Lourdes that has been made famous by the Virgin Mary’s apparition to Bernadette Soubirous, a young sheep herder, back in 1858. As luck would have it, we made one wrong turn and through the second miracle of the day, found ourselves into Lourdes’ main commercial street overflowing with crowds of pilgrims wearing blue scarves and walking in the middle of the street since the sidewalks were full. Never, except perhaps a Saturday night on the Las Vegas strip had we had seen such a big crowd and so many retail stores that seem to do huge numbers by selling all kinds of religious statues, pictures and other memorabilia. Business must be booming and the over-heating cash registers incessant noise must be as loud as those of slot-machines and constitute the sole, true and never-ending miracle that keeps this mountain valley booming year after year…