Madrid

Phoenix overnight to London, manhandled (in a nice, polite way) through security (Trump is in England now and they told me we can have him back, thank you) ran to catch my connecting flight to Madrid on Iberian airlines - a plane full of impossibly good-looking Spanish people, even the ones older than me -Then all the rigmarole with finding my checked bag (they wouldn't let me carry on my walking poles, even though I could disable somebody more easily with my fists than with those light weight poles), figuring out the European SIM card for my cell phone, getting Euros, taxi, hotel, wake up call at 5am to take an Uber back to the airport for my flight to Porto, Portugal. The details can be challenging for me, but I'm happy to be here!

I got an international calling plan on my phone before I left and a Spanish SIM card at the Madrid airport. But like every time I go overseas, I can't remember how to call or message people in the US with my GD phone.
505-252-0241?
1-505-252-0241?
001-505-252-0241?
+1-505-252-0241?
Nothings seems to work. Tips welcome.

5 June: the first "etapa" of my Camino: walking about 4 miles though "el Catedral" de Madrid airport to my gate at 5:15am. I'm the only "pilgrim" here.
As we boarded the plane, a group of business men behind me were singing. Now I'm on the plane and the two German men sitting next to me spontaneously sang a song and then went back to chatting. You know you're not in the U S anymore when random groups of people burst into song in public.Read more