Madrid...continued (day 2 after the Camino -- biremes, 30 Noviembre 2012)

Thank you Tom for reminding me..."Remember you are still a Pilgrim. Bright lights and a big city moving fast can send you into a strange place. You have been going slow and holy, find a cathedral and sit for a while, touch base. (Museo) Sorolla's house is slow and holy."

Thank you body for saying "Kind and gentle! Keep with the essence of the Camino and steer clear of things that are non-beneficial!"

So I asked the front desk to move me to another room. I could smell the faint smell of fresh cigarette smoke in the hallway when I came in last night. Inside my room, all was smelled okay. Turns out the cigarette smokers were in two different rooms on my floor--one room being next to mine! All despite signs saying no smoking allowed!

As I walked today from the hostal to Museo Sorolla...I looked back at my Camino as a huge detox on a lot of different levels! Being in fresh air every day. Walking through nature or small villages. Tom is spot on--I am über-sensitive to sights and sounds and smells and energy that does not fit with what I've grown very accustomed to over the past 64 days!

No wonder my body went tired yesterday after I arrived. And my stomach was upset! I needed time to acclimate and better digest all of this 'different' stuff!

So I walked on quiet side streets of Madrid to the Museo! And before I called it a night at 9 pm (early by the folk here), I felt okay to walk along Gran Via for the few blocks to my hostal. Definitely lots of people! And traffic! And I was quite happy to go to my quiet hostal room! Take a quiet bath in the half-size bathtub! And hit the hay!

Tomorrow is a trip to the Museo del Prado.

Am also noticing...my body does seem to want to eat the same amount of food on a daily basis! Makes sense--I'm not walking 10 to 20 km daily either :-)