I ventured out one last time for supper at the cafeteria on the plaza before packing everything in my backpack for the trip to Madrid. I had a fitful night of sleep partly because of all the squeaking wooden floors in the hotel and partly because I was feeling unsettled.
I got up early and took off walking in the cold rain for the bus station. Had coffee and tortilla at the cafe in the station while waiting for my departure time.
The bus was very comfortable and they even had a movie on the TV monitors in the bus. It was strange to watch Spiderman in Spanish. The Spanish voices they chose for the actors just didn't match up. But -- there was free wifi on board, so I was set!
The bus route took me to the Madrid airport where I called the hotel for a shuttle. The hotel desk attendant asked me which terminal I was in but I didn't have a clue!! I rushed from sign to sign trying to figure it out, when the guy on the line asked me "What color is the ceiling?" Baffled, I looked up and and said "Yellow." He answered, "You're in terminal number four." Well, that was good to know - and I was so grateful that he knew enough to figure it out! Apparently, the terminals are color coded.
I got to the hotel before 2:00 pm and they let me check in even though I was early. I was starving, but remembering how expensive the hotel restaurant was, I asked if there were any restaurants nearby. The woman at the reception desk said, "Yes, we have a NEW Burger King just across the avenue!" She seemed pretty excited about this. Since I really didn't want to eat at a Burger King, I asked if there was anything else. She said there were other cafes around the avenue as well. I took off walking.
Of course, it was siesta time when I got to the avenue. All the local cafes and bars were closed. But the Burger King was open! I walked in and smelled the French fries and I was hooked. It was the first hamburger and fries I'd had in over a month. They even had Coke Zero on tap! With FREE REFILLS!! The French fries even came with catsup!! Oh it was so delightful.
I ate my food and had TWO refills of Coke before heading back to the hotel. I asked for a wake up call and a shuttle to the airport for my early morning departure, then I showered and went to bed. With the help of two ibuprofen and a sleeping pill, I was out early.
It wasn't a bad day, yet I couldn't shake a melancholy mood that had settled on me in the rain in Burgos. My knee was still swollen. I wasn't walking the Camino. Things weren't going as I had planned.
Well, end this chapter... Turn the page, start a new one. Here we go.
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