We’ve arrived in Madrid! Going through customs was a snap. No long lines at all. Our passports quickly stamped and simply followed the exit signs “salida.”  We’re not as conspicuous as I originally thought in that there were enough travelers toting backpacks and very casual wear so that aside from our walking sticks, we blended with the other “backpackers.”  Our ride from the airport to our hotel was very pleasant.  Ana, our taxi driver spoke little English but since I speak enough Spanish to get by, we had a lively conversation on the way to the hotel. She’s a native of Madrid with a Galician father and Basque mother. Her husband is 100% Castilian.

Now  comes the challenge of staying awake all day!  We’re all excited about being here but also exhausted from a long day’s journey. Since we’ve only brought two changes of clothes, we’ve started the routine of bathing, putting on our clean set of clothes and washing our clothes worn for the day in the sink.  This will likely become our ritual for the next 5 weeks.

We’re going to walk to the train station and get our bearings now so that tomorrow morning, we’ll know exactly how to get the train platform for Burgos.  I might take a few quick pictures with my Sony Cyber-Shot and post later today.