Act Five: I Believe There Are Angels Among Us

At one point I walked over to the courtyard door (which had been locked by some neighbor) and stared at the sky.  With zero light pollution coming from the entire Iberian Peninsula, the number of stars visible was incalculable.   It was like caveman days.  I’ve seen stunning numbers of stars before, particularly when camping in the Australian outback, but I think this was even more.stars, because remember, there was no light for two whole countries! 

Then I settled back into my chair -- it was so dark in the building I needed my phone light (the battery was on fumes, so I was selective about using it) to get to the courtyard door and then back to my chair.

Sleep, which had come easily to me in the afternoon was hard to come by (remember, we had been in country just over 30 hours, so jet lag had hit).  Worrying in the dark is hardest on the mind.

Around 11:30 pm the neighbor in the other ground floor apartment (which was quite a ways away from ours) came out to look at the stars.  Surprised to see us, Lucilla had a conversation with Carol, found out our predicament, and invited us to use the spare bedroom of Lucilla (Mexican woman) and her Spanish husband.

At first we said no, but then when she offered to let us use their toilet as necessary, we took her up on the whole offer.  She led us back to her apartment, and quickly explained to her husband why they taking in two strangers for the night who she had found pathetically sprawled out in the lobby chairs.

They gave us a quick tour of the apartment.  She's a painter, and her beautiful paintings are spread out all through the place.  Here I am, emotionally and physically worn out, and I'm worried about accidentally bumping into and ruining one of her many large paintings leaning up against the walls of the apartment, including the hallway.

She also offered us food and drink, which we appreciated but turned down.  I had Carol tell her that she was our angel.

Lucilla gave us a battery operated "candle" to find our way to the bathroom in the pitch black darkness.  The second time I woke up, around 3:30 am, I heard clicking noises, turned toward the door, and realized a light was on.  Not fully believing, I went to the hallway -- both hallway lights were on!!!

I woke Carol up.  I told her to stay by the apartment door, while I walked the twenty yards or so to our door to see if the electronic lock was now working.  

Success!  We were reunited with our stuff, including medications, clean clothes, and clean socks (I despise wearing dirty socks!). 

Do you know how disgusting the socks of active 12 year old to 24 year old boys/men are?  Very -- and I don't easily disgust myself.  So, we showered and got ready to head to the train station and Granada.

My moving around their apartment hallway had woken Lucilla up, so she and Carol exchanged contact information.  In the morning I placed a note Carol wrote and a bottle of Ribera del Duero we were going to share on Lucilla's doorstep.  

We will forever be grateful for the kindness of strangers.  We haven't always depended on it, but Lucilla and her husband were wonderful to us.  I would have blanched at the idea, but it turned out great.