September 4

On the train, the Renfre fast train between Madrid and Pamplona.  Very tired - jetlag plus a lovely dinner at the home of Antonia and Antonio Sagredo, she an old friend of Katherine Gould-Martin.  They kindly walked me home at 11:30 p.m.   The train left Madrid at 7:35 this morning.  

I loved Madrid - for a city.  Hostal Dulcinea on a quiet narrow street very near the Prado, which is overwhelmingly large, but well-organized.  I have studied many of the paintings there but also found some unfamiliar artists like Joaquin Sorolla,a social realist from turn-of-the-19th to 20th centuries.  One of his works is "And They Still Say Fish Is Too Expensive!"  It depicts a young fisherman dying after an accident on the deck of a boat, attended by two older men whose faces are resigned and compassionate.

I keep seeing it even now in my mind's eye.

My fiend Nerea is meeting this train.  It will be good to see her, and she will help me get to St. Jean.  I should be on the Camino by tomorrow!  Love, mary burton