- Time of past OR future Camino
- Several and counting...
NOTE this thread continues later as https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/a-short-walk-continued.51788/
May 4 2017
Day 1 Madrid to Tres Cantos 28km
Hola. I started in the Iglesia of Santiago y Juan Bautista in Madrid yesterday and am now in Tres Cantos. I've put 'short' in the title as I am only going as far as Valladolid on this occasion. My plan had been to go to Sahagun and Leon and then Salvador to Oviedo, and then recalibrate with my remaining time.
But my 90 year old mother is having cataract surgery, so I will go 'home' for a bit of postoperative shopping and cooking. It was fun the last time about three years ago.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
I started in Dublin at 0345 for 0615 flight to Madrid. Then took Metro to Ópera and definitely time for breakfast. A five minute walk to Santiago church, arriving 1130. Worth having a street map or you'll find you are using up battery v quickly on phone with Google maps!
Nice church and welcoming sacristan who provided credencial and expressed amazement that I intended to reach Tres Cantos in the afternoon. I'm not certain how much was due to the distance and how much to the physical specimen in front of him!
I stayed for Mass at 12, increasing the congregation from 4 to 5. And received a solitary solemn pilgrim blessing which seemed the right way to start.
I set off and wanted to check out the nearby (1.8k) church of Comendadoras de Santiago mentioned in CSJ guide. Closed! Access only with hard hats so I presume being renovated. No useful informative notice to be seen. No matter it was in right direction. I already said you need a map. I was fleeced for €7 buying one in a bookshop.
Make your way to majestic Paseo de Castellana and just keep going. Up past Santiago Bernabeu stadium and on to Plaza de Castilla with leaning towers and most importantly the reassuring appearance of flechas amarillas. If you need water, now is the time to buy it.
Thereafter follow arrows to get rather quickly out of city and a way which is at times a dusty gravel track, a track alongside motorway or highway or railway, and cycle track. Do not rely on Google maps. The track you are on is not recognized as a road. You would need wikiloc or maps.me or similar. But it is very well waymarked and you don't really need a map.
It was very very hot, and late afternoon not my best walking time. And I don't believe I got lost, but my watch said 28km to Tres Cantos hostel. More than I anticipated. I'll check my track later but I certainly never had to be backtrack.
A long long long day from 0345!
Shower.
Sleep.
Headed out at 9 (the advantage of hotel and not albergue!) for nice supper in smart modern city, teeming with pavement restaurants. I had 'secreto Ibérico' - I'm not telling you.![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
All is well!
A good start. Mass and blessing. I love cities but live deep in the country so walking through centre was a treat for me. If you don't, you might want to get Metro out part of the way. Interestingly passed a lot of stations I had passed through on Metro from airport that morning.
I have been learning Spanish since Christmas but my mainstay of conversational practice has been talking to myself while driving or running. Very pleased that people seemed to know what I was saying and didn't want to revert to English immediately.
I have met no other pilgrim.
Right now heading for Manzanares El Real.
May 4 2017
Day 1 Madrid to Tres Cantos 28km
Hola. I started in the Iglesia of Santiago y Juan Bautista in Madrid yesterday and am now in Tres Cantos. I've put 'short' in the title as I am only going as far as Valladolid on this occasion. My plan had been to go to Sahagun and Leon and then Salvador to Oviedo, and then recalibrate with my remaining time.
But my 90 year old mother is having cataract surgery, so I will go 'home' for a bit of postoperative shopping and cooking. It was fun the last time about three years ago.
I started in Dublin at 0345 for 0615 flight to Madrid. Then took Metro to Ópera and definitely time for breakfast. A five minute walk to Santiago church, arriving 1130. Worth having a street map or you'll find you are using up battery v quickly on phone with Google maps!
Nice church and welcoming sacristan who provided credencial and expressed amazement that I intended to reach Tres Cantos in the afternoon. I'm not certain how much was due to the distance and how much to the physical specimen in front of him!
I stayed for Mass at 12, increasing the congregation from 4 to 5. And received a solitary solemn pilgrim blessing which seemed the right way to start.
I set off and wanted to check out the nearby (1.8k) church of Comendadoras de Santiago mentioned in CSJ guide. Closed! Access only with hard hats so I presume being renovated. No useful informative notice to be seen. No matter it was in right direction. I already said you need a map. I was fleeced for €7 buying one in a bookshop.
Make your way to majestic Paseo de Castellana and just keep going. Up past Santiago Bernabeu stadium and on to Plaza de Castilla with leaning towers and most importantly the reassuring appearance of flechas amarillas. If you need water, now is the time to buy it.
Thereafter follow arrows to get rather quickly out of city and a way which is at times a dusty gravel track, a track alongside motorway or highway or railway, and cycle track. Do not rely on Google maps. The track you are on is not recognized as a road. You would need wikiloc or maps.me or similar. But it is very well waymarked and you don't really need a map.
It was very very hot, and late afternoon not my best walking time. And I don't believe I got lost, but my watch said 28km to Tres Cantos hostel. More than I anticipated. I'll check my track later but I certainly never had to be backtrack.
A long long long day from 0345!
Shower.
Sleep.
Headed out at 9 (the advantage of hotel and not albergue!) for nice supper in smart modern city, teeming with pavement restaurants. I had 'secreto Ibérico' - I'm not telling you.
All is well!
A good start. Mass and blessing. I love cities but live deep in the country so walking through centre was a treat for me. If you don't, you might want to get Metro out part of the way. Interestingly passed a lot of stations I had passed through on Metro from airport that morning.
I have been learning Spanish since Christmas but my mainstay of conversational practice has been talking to myself while driving or running. Very pleased that people seemed to know what I was saying and didn't want to revert to English immediately.
I have met no other pilgrim.
Right now heading for Manzanares El Real.
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