Tres Cantos, Spain
On a Camino Branch
Janardan, president of the Krishna Centre in Madrid, led our party of three (including Narottam) through the dark, dry trail from Fuencarral, on the very outskirts of Madrid. This is more like what I envisioned The Camino to be—countryside, bushes, farms, dogs barking, remoteness, and maybe other pilgrims. But NO, we were up early, at 4:30 a.m. to take the first steps of a short distance—12 kilometres.
How powerful it was! Janardan’s cell phone was our map and flashlight at the same time. Every time we spotted the golden arrow, it gave assurance we were on the right track.
Perhaps the most noticeable feature was the constant thrust of wild flower perfume into the air. It was such a perfect trail that I would do it again. Most likely I will tackle Tenerife, the island. It looks like I have some troopers all set to go for a four-day stretch somewhere in the future. I’m usually asked, “What’s your next destination?”
There it is, Tenerife, at least, sometime in the future.
Additionally Mantri, the main deity priest at the Madrid centre, took me for some more kilometres during the evening. We were all comfortably locked inside the building for most of the day. Who wants to brave the 40° C conditions? By 8:30 p.m., we were poised to trek to the rio (river) and back. This is when everyone comes out of the woodwork. It was humid. Overnight my kurta(top) dried to a crusty salt from the sweat.
It was splendid being back in AC land—the centre.
May the Source be with you!
16 km
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