Very sweet and moving reminiscences.

My first time in Spain was a 17 days tour of Northern Spain and the Pyrenees in Summer 2004. I was extremely happy there. I say they have the best food in the world - the best crops of the earth, cheeses etc.

What a beautiful and insightful saga.  

Quoted Text

A haplotype is a chunk of alleles at different places along the same chromosome that are inherited as a unit. Sort of like if you went to a clothing store, bought a blue sweater, and wound up being convinced by a very good salesperson that the sweater would look great with this pair of plaid pants.

A haplotype'chunk   of alleles' at different places along the same chromosome that are inherited as a unit.... so how many of these Haplotypes and  chunks  are there??  and of alleles known to date.. Is this where the genome project was expecting so much more info? is it the chunk of alleles that will be in the big numbers?

I have wanted to visit 2 friends in Spain, now I really wish to go and visit that place you are talking about, ruins and all...

Why did your parents take you to Spain? what was your fathers interest in going there? I would have loved to sit at your dinner tables.. thanks for sharing..

wunneful as usual   

btw.. I'm a surviver of a B Rh- mum without any shots during birth... and I'm still here ....

Very nice blog

truly insightful of your roots and traditions!
its a poem!

I loved reading this, especially your personal reminiscesences, which I found very touching.  I could almost feel the hot sun and see the craggy landscape, and smell that sardine roasting.  How kind of your uncle (was it?) to take time to engage a shy boy.    Being O neg. I'm also very interested in that part of the installment, although I don't understand the science very well...yet.  Iron from animal protein, yes that registers.  Descent from reptiles and extra-terrestrials, as I have been reading on the 'net, not so much.  Thank you!

This was so interesting to me. My father's aunt traced their family tree back to the land of "Navarre" and the 15th(?)century.
Related to the Bourbons through Charles of Orleans, one of my father's ancestors is the brother of St. Francis Xavier, the Jesuit who followed Fr. Loyola. This brother fled to England, then America, and his grandson became the first governor of Tennessee, changing the surname from Xavier to English sounding " Sevier."
The interesting thing is....after hundreds of years...down my father's blood line.....
he is blood type O and Rh-!!!
(He knows he is French but never heard of Basque blood.)  

Amazone are you on only child?

nope...I was the second one... all in all we should have been about 8 kiddies... but only two survived... both AB's .....

Thanks for sharing, Dr. D. What a talent you have for poetic, descriptive writing