Tues 4 Sep 2013 Do widzenia Krakow, Hola Madrid!

Slightly rushed farewell to Krakow, as we had breakfast before hopping the local bus to the airport.  After everyone else got on the first bus that arrived (not the bus # we wanted), we decided to check the schedule and learned to our horror that we were on the wrong side of the road.  Ran across just in time to catch the bus going in the right direction.

Nice Lufthansa flight, two hopper with only 55 min connect time at giant Frankfurt airport.  We were bussed from our arrival plane and to our departure plane but fortunately we made it AND so did our luggage.  We carried aboard our backpack but had to check Jan's trekking poles and our umbrellas (in mailing tubes) as these are considered weapons in waiting.

34 degrees in Madrid when we arrived about 5 pm, a shock from the high teens, low twenties in Poland.  Airport Express bus dropped us at the main train station Atocha, a couple hundred metres from our Hostel Bruna.  Family run, on the second floor of a six story building just off the main drag that fronts the HUGE park retire.  You buzz at the main entrance -- huge fortified black door that screams dangerous neighbourhood -- then a voice and you announce yourself and they buzz you up.  

Hostel itself was clean, room clean, but when I said family run, I should have said family overrun, as in the so-called reception area (seemed to be their living room), three young boys were playing a soccer videogame, loud sound and hooting and hollering.  This didn't bother us until we were in our room for a while and we could hear every hoot and holler.  On the advice of someone on the Camino forum website, we'd asked for an inside room, to avoid street noise.  Inside rooms face into a tall courtyard where all inside rooms of all six stories of residences face, incl the reception room and their kitchen.  And Spaniards are up very, very late, not eating dinner till 8 or 9 or 10 or later.  Even the young kids face and voice of the victims, presenting a passionate, thoughtful iron clad case for what actually happened.   up till midnight.

Jan tried on her Camino "dormwear" for sleeping: ear plugs, eyeshades and that helps. On the Camino, dorms are notorious for snorers, late comers and especially early risers who turn on lights, rustle their bags, pack up and head out ... before dawn.

Didn't see much of Madrid.  Seems like a beautiful city, stunning architecture and massive.  We fly out of here 23 Oct so will have another chance to see it then, if we feel like a big city.

As I write this, we are hurtling along the tracks on a ALVIA class high speed train, bound for Pamplona, where we'll catch a bus to St Jean Pied de Port in France, the semi-official starting point of the Camino Frances ( the most popular route of many trails that lead to Santiago de Compostella).   We caught the train at 7:30 am and it was just getting light as we walked.  Nice and cool, though!

The countryside is hilly and parched a dry wheat colour, like the dried grasses on our Gulf Islands in summer, but stretching out as far as the eye can see.  The occasional old village briefly flashes by -- the mason houses the same colour as the land, occasional olive groves and wheat and hay fields ready for harvest.  We look forward to seeing similar countryside to this over the coming weeks, but  at walking speed.