Thursday, September 10th - Madrid, Spain

Today was a very different day and rather sad.  It was technically the last day of our tour but there was no touring scheduled.  Rather it was just a day for everyone to head home and they started doing that in the early morning hours.  I, as one of the ones not flying home, slept in and I must say that I didn't miss that morning wake-up call one bit.

Randy's sister and brother and their spouses left about 5 a.m. so we said goodbye to them last night.  Others left early as well.  When I went down for breakfast there were still some folks around but they were all heading out before noon.  Randy stopped by to say goodbye before he left.  He moved to another cheaper spot and is on his way to southern Spain and then into Morocco for the next month or so.  After that, who knows where he will be.  I will meet up with him again in Zanzibar on December 12th for three weeks there before starting some tours in Southern Africa.  Well, he has two tours planned.  I only have one planned at the moment.

Anyway, I stayed at the hotel until the very last moment and checked out at 12 noon.  I couldn't leave earlier because I was still trying to find somewhere to stay tonight that wouldn't cost me more than $100 Canadian.  Madrid is very expensive and even dorm or hostel rooms are over $50.  The hotel we were in for the tour was about $160 per night and quite far from anything, even restaurants.  I finally found something that looked good and seemed to be in a good location so got in the taxi and away I went.

I arrived at my new place and paid the taxi driver who drove away.  I then went to open the door of the hostal and it wouldn't open.  I looked around for another door but there was only one.  Eventually I found the entry buttons and after several rings someone did buzz me in.  I entered a dark hallway with a ramp going up to an elevator and stairs so I thought I'd just stop at each floor until I found something that looked like a hotel.  A "hostal" is a hotel (not a hostel) that just has rooms and no extra areas like a lobby, restaurant, etc.  At the first floor someone was standing at the door to greet me so I had indeed found the right place.  There was just a hallway with a small reception area maybe 4 x 4 feet in size and then nothing but doors.

I checked in but my room wasn't ready so I left my big bag and went wandering for a bit.  There was no where to sit down in the hotel so wandering was my only alternative.  The area is definitely residential and not touristy at all.   Six blocks would get me to a metro station and bus stops are probably closer.  The streets are narrow and seem to go in different directions and angles so it's very easy to get lost even with a map in your hand.  Some of the side streets just have doors on them but the other bigger streets have businesses.  There are lots of bakeries, cafes, hair salons, small grocery and stores that seem to sell clothing and housewares in bulk.  

I felt quite safe wandering around.  In the day time it is very quiet and in the evenings there are lots of families around.  In one square there was a community centre and there were obviously a lot of different programs going on that were spilling out into the square with people of all ages in different groups: toddlers to seniors.  Oh yes, there is also a senior's centre on the one street where lots of them gather to play cards and games.  I didn't go in but they certainly looked like they were having fun. The area is definitely more of a multi-cultural mix than what our tourist hotels have provided.  There are lots of different ethnicities in the area and way more black people whom I'm assuming are from Africa and reasonably new to the area.  Although I don't understand the language totally, when I followed a group of black men in their long gowns down the street I think they were receiving a few comments of the not-so-flattering kind.  The would look at the people making the comments but just keep walking and not reply.  Then tensions over here over refugees is amazing.  Some people accept them quite openly and others really do not want them here.  And since they are arriving in Europe by the thousands, it will be interesting to see how it all ends up.  All throughout our tour of Europe we have seen signs of "Immigrants Welcome" or "Immigrants Not Welcome" and even some protests with both sides participating.

I did eventually make it back to the hotel and to my room.  Well, it was nothing like I was expecting.  The size was approximately 5 feet by 12 feet.  The door opened (just) and bumped against the sink that was built into an alcove at the one end.  Beside it and across from the door was the toilet.  Next to that was the shower - just a brick structure built out from the wall.  Then the single bed went from the other side of the shower to the other end of the room.  At the head of the bed there was a folding chair, a small round low table and a lamp stand all cramped together in front of a narrow window.  I couldn't have my suitcase open and the chair open at the same time but it did work.  There was no closet or dresser or anything but since I was only there for the one night that was fine.  It was cramped but comfortable so I was okay.

I spent some time finalizing travel plans for the next several weeks and that was extremely complicated for some reason.  I have to have a place to stay for at least two weeks so I can send my passport back to Canada to get my Ethiopian visa.  You cannot change hotels in Spain without showing your passport so that was my first priority.  Despite the fact that the children go back to school at the beginning of September, this month still is high season.  I figured if I had to stay for two weeks I should at least have a beach to enjoy so I was trying everything along the coasts of Spain.  I hoped to use my time share weeks in exchange for a spot but there was just nothing available that worked.  That meant I had to book hotels and they too were at high rates.  I did eventually get a place in Pineda de Mar from September 11th to 19th and then a place in Salou from September 19th to October 3rd.  Hopefully I like them when I get there because I'll be spending a lot of time at each of them.  They should both be close to a beach on the Mediterranean and the two-week one should have a kitchen so I can have some simple meals instead of eating out all the time.  And assuming my visa gets couriered out on Monday the 21st I should have it back by the beginning of October so I can fly to Ethiopia.  I'll provide more details on that in some other blog.

In the late afternoon after I had booked my three weeks, I headed out with three things in mind: have something to eat, go to the train station to get my ticket for tomorrow, and go to the Reina Sofia Museum which has free hours from 7 to 9.  I knew the latter was right near the station so it seemed like a great plan to me.  I didn't see anywhere exciting to eat on my way to the train station.  There are lots of spots to eat there but I'dd rather be in an outdoor cafe than stuck inside the train station so I decided to just get my ticket and then go back out.  Well, getting the ticket took well over an hour and perhaps even an hour and a half.  It was amazing how few people they had working and how many people were waiting to buy tickets.  At 7 p.m. a few more counters opened so we figured it was probably their break time earlier and that's why it was so busy.  It moved much faster after the extra counters opened up.

When I finally got my ticket I couldn't get on the train I wanted because it was full so I had to take a later one, which was really no problem for me.  Apparently their engineers are on rotating strike so a lot of the trains are being cancelled and people are having to take what's available and hope they get to their destination on time.  I booked an assigned seat as I didn't want to have to stand for 2.5 hours.  It cost more but it's definitely worth it.

By the time I left I was really hungry and just wanted to eat and go home so I just walked past the Sofia Reina and kept going.  Once I got to the point that I was sure I knew where I was going I found a little outdoor cafe and sat down to enjoy my dinner.  For 12 euros or about $18 Canadian I had an ice tea and water (you have to pay for it because they don't give you tap water), a tapas of chips and a tostado with some strange spread on it, a large salad and a half a chicken in a light gravy.  It was all really delicious.  As that was the only meal I had to pay for and the only one I'd had since breakfast at the hotel in the morning, this was a relatively cheap food day.

I then went back to my little room, got organized for my departure tomorrow, did some e-mails and pictures and went to bed.  I left the window open and the street was pretty quiet most of the night.  There were only light curtains so the street light was a bit bright but I did manage to get to sleep and I slept well.