Day 10 of the Camino

Santiago and the return to Madrid

Today was scheduled as a sightseeing day. I enjoyed sleeping until about 9. We had a buffet breakfast at the hotel. Then everyone except Karin headed for Decathlon. The main purpose was to get a pedal wrench and some bike bags for our return trip by train. They didn’t have any bike bags but we did get something that would work – hoping that we would be able to return them in Madrid. In the end, I got a fleece and Terri Lynn and Sheri ended up with a new outfits including some sandals. They were ready to have some warm feet after not being able to wear socks with their flip flops.

After our return to the hotel we took the shuttle bus into town. The driver gladly explained all that we were to see in the old part of the city. We got in on the end of the market.

Our main task was to get our certificate saying we had completed the Camino. It is in Latin and made out in the name of Alexiam. Other than that, I have no idea what it says. We also visited the church. We passed on waiting in line to see the bones of St James.

Outside in the square we saw two bikers we had met at Cebrerio. When asked if they remembered us they said, “Yes, you were the ones who flashed by us.” That must have been on the down hill because we weren’t flashing by anyone on the climbs.

A church in Italy made a model of the main cathedral in Santiago out of wheat. It gives a good idea of how big the cathedral actually is.

After getting some souvenirs we got something to eat and our umpteenth Magnum of the trip.

Then we walked up to a park area that overlooked the city for another photo op.

The Decathlon Girls - we could be models decked out in our decathlon stuff.

Karin, Alice, Terri Lynn, Sheri
A picture without our helmets on so people besides our mothers can recognize us.

During Karin’s conversation with the man who gave her a massage back in O Cebrerio he had told her that she would find a boyfriend the next day. Here’s the one she found – though she finds that he is a little cold and stiff.

One of the unique things in Santiago is the timer that tells you how many seconds pedestrians have to cross the street before the little green man turns red. What was funny was how the green man would start running when there was five seconds left.

Since it began to drizzle we headed back to the hotel. The great plans of hanging out by the pool didn’t happen. At least we had a 4 star waiting room. The staff was very accommodating and let us leave our things in a store room. We had something to drink and I was finally able to do some reading. I guess it was worth the effort to haul that book along.

As we looked at the weather we decided to see if we could come up with another solution for getting to the train station. Our original plan had been to ride our bikes. We asked the shuttle bus driver if he could take us. He could take us two at a time so Sheri and Terri Lynn went first. Karin and I took the second run. By then the sun had come out but it was nice to not have to worry about riding through the city.

Once we got our bikes and things onto the platform, the station manager came over to ask some questions. Once he saw our 1^st class tickets, he let us go. He also told us where on the platform our car would stop. We carefully took the pedal wrench out of the package (we were able to take it back) and got our pedals off. We also turned our handle bars. One unique thing in Spain is the necessity of putting all luggage through an x-ray machine. When the train pulled into the station at 22h30 we were ready to get on.

Our bikes lined up perfectly in the hallway of our car but the Mr Bean look-a-like conductor let us know that they had to go inside our rooms. That was our challenge for the evening. In the end one bike went up in the luggage compartment while the other was stood on its end and attached to a hook on the wall with a lock. Karin and I even managed to do it in such a way that we could still get in the bathroom.

While we were working on our puzzle, the waiter came by to ask if we were coming to dinner. Of course! Once our bikes were firmly in place, we went to eat. It was one of our best meals of the trip. Karin figured out that it is not easy to pour wine (or anything else) on a train that is rocking.

I had a spinach crepe for the 1^st course and soused chicken with red peppers for the second course. None of us were sure what soused chicken was but I could figure out the French which was mariné. After the cheese course, dessert and coffee we headed for bed.

There was a little bag of toiletries for each of us in our rooms. It included slippers, a comb, ear pugs, a razor and shaving cream, a tooth brush and some toothpaste, shampoo and shower gel, Kleenex, a shower cap, a shoe shine kit and a sewing kit.

It was after 1 when Karin and I got the light out and as soon as I laid down I felt like my meal was getting well mixed up in my stomach. The rocking and noise of the train kept me from sleeping much at all. I was actually glad when 6:30 rolled around and we could go to breakfast.

Our train was due in at 8:30 but it was more like 10:00 when we rolled into Madrid. We took two commuter trains to get out to the area where the others live.

After getting our pedals back on, we had a 10 km ride to get to Sheri and Terri Lynn’s house. Our final photo op was on their front porch followed by a great 2nd breakfast of bacon, eggs and pancakes. We ride for a lot of reasons but one of them is definitely to eat!

Thanks all for a great time!