May 14 – Happy Mother’s Day to my Mom and to all mothers, grandmothers, mothers-in-law, stepmoms, godmoms, aunts, teachers, nurses, and anyone who has ever loved a child.❤️❤️❤️

Here’s another Salamanca story.  This city hosts the largest number of University students in Spain.  When a newbie comes to Salamanca for their first year, they are told that they must find the frog on the skull, or they will not pass their exams.  Like any freshman challenge, upperclassmen will not help them find the frog.  It took us a while, but we found it – the crowd of gaping, pointing tourists may have helped.  Can you see it above the door of the university?

How about now?

See it?  Good!  You will pass your exams!

We walked south this morning to see the old Roman Bridge.  It’s very quiet on Sunday morning, but we see policemen and military vehicles lining the roadway.  What’s up?  I’m wondering if there’s some sort of news event about to happen, when a policeman on a bicycle rides by, shouting the Spanish equivalent of, “Move over!  Out of the way!”  And then came:

Marathon runners!  Hundreds of them! After a few dozen came a man on a bike with a sign that read 1st Mujer (Woman).  Soon came the 2nd:

Do they announce the women in US races too?  The 3rd Mujer also got a sign, but the rest just ran with the pack. It was a beautiful morning for the race – dry and cool.  We walked against the tide to admire the Roman Bridge, which held up well under a thousand pounding feet.

After the race passed by, we admired the reflection of the Cathedrals in the Rio Duero.

…and admired the river itself.

We strolled down to the Convento de San Esteban:

…where St. Stephen is eternally stoned:

…and stoned again:

Interesting stone mosaic floors:

The cloisters around the courtyard:

The worship space is huge:

…with 118 seats for the choir:

…and my favorite part, the misericordia, or mercy seats, that give the choir members a place to rest their butts while appearing to be standing:

Back at the Plaza Mayor, the book sale was still going on:

…while the tourists drank coffee

…and an orchestra entertained the crowds:

There is one more thing you have to look for in the stonework of Salamanca.  A little rabbit – rub it for good luck!

Tomorrow we are back on the road.  308 miles to go.