Planes, buses, time zones, joy

I’ve been planing this Camino since January. I think that diving into the details helped me get through the first 100 days of…you know what.

Today, embarkation day finally arrived. And just in the nick of time because I was driving myself crazy trying to pack, and keep my backpack a reasonable weight. One thing I’m noticing is that my last Camino was ten years ago, and things change. More necessities are needed. I finally made a deal with myself that I’ll use the bag service to lighten my pack.

I knew that I’d probably see some pilgrims at the gate and I wasn’t disappointed. A group of three women talked to me when they saw the shell on my pack. Two were walking from Sarria, and one from St. Jean. Later as we were disembarking, two other women said they too were walking from Sarria!

One unpleasant sign of the times: there were ICE officers stationed on the jetway as we boarded.

The flight to Madrid on Iberia was long, but fairly easy and I had an empty seat next to me. It was fun to have everything in Spanish and to be able to understand more than last time. Thanks, Duolingo!

I’m always in awe of European airports. MAD (Madrid) is huge, and has the best signage I’ve ever seen, and also has airport info desks with real live humans to answer your questions if needed.

Of course I’ve been worrying about making my bus connection to Pamplona, which left an hour after I landed. It was a long walk, and train ride between terminals, through passport control, and another 10 minute walk to the Inter-City bus station by Terminal 4, but I made it with plenty of time to spare.

Buses in Spain are big, shiny, and very reasonable. It’s also convenient to go straight from the airport instead of going into central Madrid for a train.

Now I’m on the first leg of the bus trip, cruising through the countryside.

Buen Camino!