After a long day of tying up loose ends in Basel, I boarded the train to Zürich to catch my flight to Madrid. The idea was to walk as much as possible before I got on the plane. Of course this meant that I was late to the train. And in arriving at Zürich was almost late for my plane.

The flight to Madrid was uneventful and I had a very nice conversation with an investment banker from Hamburg. He too had a desire to travel the Camino and had planned to do it next year for two months. When discussing the Camino with people I realize they get this faraway look with the idea of taking off time and just walking. When getting off the plane we wished each other a good trip. I had the sense that he would have preferred to come walking with me, then to have meetings the next day to manage a private equity deal in Madrid.

Getting off the plane and walking to baggage claim it was clear who the business people were and who the Pellegrino’s were. It it’s interesting to notice how fashionable the Spanish are when dressed for business travel. It is also interesting to notice the Pellegrino’s in their casual clothes and the ever present hiking boots. There were at least three of us on the plane quietly gathering our gear and heading off to baggage claim pick up our backpacks.

Of the hundred or so or people on the plane, there were only 20 people picking up baggage. The three people who I think were Pellegrino’s, all waited quietly in separate parts of the baggage claim. As the bags arrived after 45 minutes of waiting, everyone’s bag or backpack arrived except mine.

As I was walking to make a lost baggage claim, I looked at my bag tag and realized that my backpack was on its way to Pamplona. Chatting with Cindy on iMessage, she noted that this was my first opportunity to go with the flow and trust that all will work out okay.

Having made a reservation at a hotel near the airport, I walked out and caught the shuttle bus directly to the hotel. Getting into the room I found a toothbrush and toothpaste and all the amenities that I needed. I didn’t need my backpack at least for tonight.

Fortunately dinner time is very late in Spain. I arrived at 9:30 for dinner and realized that I was the first one in the restaurant. Using my best Spanish, which is also my worst Spanish, I ordered dinner of various Spanish hams and broiled hake with cod tripe. As odd as it sounds, cod tripe is delicious! It was only mildly fishy, soft chewy texture, and smelled of olive oil and a bit of saffron.

I got back to the room, took a bath, opened the window to feel the cool night air, and fell right to sleep.