Camino 2016: Via de La Plata - Day 1 Travel to Spain

With all the excitement of Easter and the family visit I still had a list of things to do before I left for Spain.

Packing and making sure that I have what I think I'll need and that the total weight is not more than my target of 18 lbs is one of the final preparations.

On Tuesday March 29 it was off to the airport.

 

I decided to check my backpack since it was bigger than the limit for carry-on luggage but that proved to be a mistake. When it was getting close to time to board the flight first to Washington, then to Frankfurt, then to Madrid United Airlines announced that the flight was heavily overbooked and offered $500 to anyone willing to take an alternate flight. I could go on American Airlines with only one plane change in Philadelphia and arrive in Madrid about 4 hours earlier. I took their offer and all went well until my backpack did not arrive in Madrid. I filed a claim with American and was told there would not be another flight for it until the next day.

 

Since I can't start my journey without my gear I decided to stay in Madrid for a day and hope that the luggage arrives tomorrow. In the meantime I bought a low cost phone with a local SIM card for use here since the wifi is often not available or incredibly slow and I have promised Christa once again to try and blog each day.

I used the phone to look for a cheap hotel near the city center and found one which turned out to be fine. It is near the Prado museum with lots of little shops and restaurants nearby. After I had taken care of this I got a train to downtown and found the hotel. The shower felt good after a night on the plane but of course no change of clothes. The weather is perfect so after settling in and calling Christa I set off to the Prado Museum which is a huge building.

Artists had set up stands outside and were selling their artwork while someone played Spanish music on a guitar. It was very nice.

I spent about two hours in the museum and only saw part of it. It was sensory overload but well worth the visit even if my timing was unfortunate. There are hundreds of pictures of the crucifixion, many of them very gory and I could have done without that so soon after celebrating Easter.

By now I was ready for a bite to eat since I had not eaten anything since very early thi morning before the plane landed. I found an outdoor café and enjoyed a chorizo sandwich along with a beer.

Then back to the hotel and on the phone to try and find out where my luggage is. American were no help and said they had no information as to where it was. I then called United who were very good and told me which plane it was on to Philadelphia but had missed the connection and would be on a plane arriving in Madrid at 8:20 am tomorrow. So I will go to the airport again in the morning and see if I can track it down.

This is not what I had planned for Day 1 but it was overall a nice day once I got adjusted to the idea of a change of plan. Will have to see what tomorrow brings and whether I can get back on plan!

I found little friendly restaurant for dinner and had pulpo (squid) with rice and some wine - all very nice and friendly. Then back to the hotel and an early night.

 

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