Sunday, August 17, 2008 Barcelona Sants

Barcelona Sants Train Station

We arrived here at the station about a half hour ago.  Our flight into Madrid on the 13th, the impressive AVE train trip to Barcelona,  and the past three days in Barcelona were full and delightful, but I am ready to start walking the Camino.

We had a pre-Camino pilgrimage when we spent one day visiting Montserrat.  To Montserrat pilgrims have been traveling since the 12th c. to see the famous statue of the “Black Madonna.” I read somewhere that  Ignatius of Loyola made a pilgrimage there after he had been injured in a military battle and he shortly afterward wrote his Spiritual Exercises.

The overnight train to Burgos leaves at 10:00p tonight and arrives tomorrow in Burgos, Lord willing, at 6:53a.  The sleeping accommodations – a six bunk room – we have reserved will, hopefully, be enough to assure a good night’s rest before we start off tomorrow.

There's not a lot of space up here.

Small quarters for a big American

Rick Steves says it’s the way to go when traveling in Europe.  He always appears rested when he crawls out of a train bunk.