Madrid: Time to Reflect

Really? Time to Shop, Eat Tapas and Sleep, and sleep, and sleep....

The goodbyes in Santiago were bittersweet. We learned long ago that most friendships formed during travel are fast, furious and a whole lot of fun. Usually we keep in touch with a few folks afterwards, but the majority of people we meet return to their usual lives as do we. This time however, some of the people we've met will likely figure again in our future, at least we hope so. Time will tell. We do plan to cycle to Denmark in the next couple of years where we hope to find Marianne. We hope Ken comes west to visit, or that we at least stay in touch. There will soon be travels to Australia, New Zealand and Ireland where we will certainly connect with others met along the Way...so as usual some goodbyes were in fact that, others were more like, "until next time". A few photos from Santiago and the Cathedral...

The pillar in the Cathedral entrance where peregrinos have placed their hand on the way in for a millennium...at the bottom.

Those who know us well are aware of our history and preference for budget travel. Case in point, we each bought a €2 umbrella (bright yellow!) in Santiago and then walked through the heavy rain down to the train station...what was that all about? Ever heard of a taxi? Well you will be pleased to know that we purchased good quality train tickets to Madrid for the 6 hour travel. The ride was a blast...literally, as the high speed train lived up to its name moving along at a crisp 238 kms/hr! It didn't hit top speed of 315, but it was pretty good. The movies on board were very cheesy, but they kept us entertained trying to understand the dialogue. It rained and rained as we crossed through the mountains and hills of northern Spain, until darkness block out the dreadful sight. We could only think of our friends who were behind us on the Camino with still many kilometers to walk...Dave and Peter we hope you are both staying dry. We arrived into Madrid at a completely unexpected train station, not Atchoa Tren Statione...all the way across town on a late, wet and black night. We looked at the metro diagram,  figured out our route, then paused and said, "what the hell"' and headed for the taxi ranks. We lucked out and met a very nice fellow who drove us to Plaza Mayor where our hotel is located...but it was a long way. That said, we had a blast discussing footfall (Europa League game on his radio) and as we warmed to each other the talk shifted to famous sites along the way including Real Madrid's famous football stadium el Beurabue...which seats about 85,000 fans. A half hour later at our hotel door and a few euros lighter, we shook hands and parted, both parties having enjoyed the exchange in Spanish and English. We began to realize just how far we'd come language wise in 6 weeks...even me!

While on the train we entertained ourselves by dreaming up some of the stats from our Camino...cheesy movies, rain outside...what do you expect?

12 days with rain

39 different beds each

2,645 photos most by Annemarie 

213 poncho on and offs

47 meaningful encounters with other peregrinos

~80 vino tinto & blanco each

35 clothes washings in a sink

30 poems written and 7 more in process

185 Hours spent walking (includes breaks)

205 bars, cafes and restaurants frequented...several more than once!

43 band aides for Geoff, 35 for Annemarie 

3 tubes of Vaselino plus 1 tube of Gerwol foot cream

Minimum 800,000 steps each 

2 countries

31 churches visited +\-

63 liters of water consumed

0 bull fights

2 small tubes of toothpaste

12 Snickers bars (total)

44 beers, perhaps a few more!

18 Cokes each

~ 800 kms, but nothing adds up!

210 villages, towns visited

6 cities

2 campgrounds, 1 convent, 2 monasteries, 1 apartment

0 items lost

50 times Geoff's camera wouldn't turn on

30 tortillas

953  "Buen caminos" exchanged

1 other set of pacer poles seen

14 Canadians completing on the day we did, 0 the day before

50 times Americans claimed there were more Canadians on the trail...the number of Americans at least doubled that of Canadians

2,326 puddles jumped

1 nasty dog, 152 nice ones

2 nights in a parador

3 train rides

3 sheep herds joined, 1 cow herd

1 hospital visit, 10 pharmacy visits

3 new foot support devices tried by Annemarie 

4 credentias with 119 stamps in them

And FINALLY... 2 Compostellas!

The excitement and anticipation of the last four days, hard beds and the many days of walking without a day off finally caught up. I fell asleep twice on the run in to Madrid and I slept last night from midnight to 8am this morning...still want more sleep! Showered and laundry hung for the last time, we walked out to find breakfast with eggs and everything at a favorite cafe from a prior visit. Walls of cured, very expensive jamon!

Then it was off to shop...three hours later and I'm more sore than after any single day on the Camino! Dodging through crowds of tourists, slow walkers and oncoming folks, not to mention aimlessly walking through stores (something I thoroughly hate) and I feel like I was hit by a bus! Caitlin...Christmas crank-up has started here too...

Then stop for nourishment...

Back to the hotel to drop stuff off and check emails as we've had no weefee for a while now...I'm so linked in! Thanks Joe for contacting Trafalgar school about Mr Allen...I was very touched by your efforts. We read the school newsletter today, with a couple of tears from Annemarie, and in retrospect I think that perhaps it's my only memorable contribution to that school!! Perhaps better late than never.

Annemarie has gone out to shop some more and has left me here to write for an hour then we are going to search out some tapas for lunch. We know where to find them so they can run, but they can't hide! Fattening ourselves up as best we can before returning home. I may have lost a couple of pounds, but Annemarie has lost more I think and is very fit...though she won't discuss it! Plaza Mayor where we presently reside...

We knew we were going to cause some disruption to a few morning routines, but based on feedback, we had no idea how much. So long from Madrid.