Going into Madrid, my bus was surrounded by huge white flakes slowly falling from the sky. In retrospect, a warning. Madrid itself was snow-free and my first order of the day was getting a “Bocata de Calamares” (squid sandwich) for lunch. I’m told the tasty baguettes filled with deep-fried squid are something of a Madrid specialty. And very easy to find in the city! Then onto the Museo Reina Sofia gallery....
Clonk, clink, clonk, clong! The sound of cowbells followed my afternoon on Madrid’s country trails. Aiming for high(ish) places, I took Guadalix de la Sierra’s Ruta 7, a loop from the village to the mountain San Pedro and then back via a second village. Doable in an afternoon, I was told. Translating a guide to the rutas armed me with a hand-drawn map and directions. Unfortunately, there are more branches in the trail than in the guide and in several places, the path isn’t clear....
Learning a new language is far more varied when a lot of your practice is with kids. Can I say many useful conversational pieces in Spanish? No. Am I (comparatively) well-versed in dinosaurs and their features? Yup. Besides what good is Spanish when English is so highly valued? Finding a local Spanish course might be proving difficult a nightmare, but I’ve already been offered work teaching English at a language school....
Spain: sun, sea & sand, right? I’m staying near the mountains north of Madrid and it’s sunny, but cold, cold, cold. Some of the surrounding mountains already have peaks tipped with snow, apparently a taste of things to come!
My first time traveling the world solo led to years of return journeys and some amazing times. Tomorrow I’ll be in Spain, which comes with a language barrier. Here’s hoping this adventure goes as well as the last 🤞