Savoring Madrid's Sun and Moon: A Day of Goodbyes and New Beginnings | Day 273 of my 2023 Journal

In a park in Madrid

The heat is back. Thirty degrees Spanish full-on sunshine, you long for shade, yet love it. Just love it. This exact nuance of blue, this culture, the birds,

the people, the heat, the heat, the sun.

Oh My God.

Thank you!

It was perfect NOT to have that while walking the Camino, really - but now that it is back, I remember how much I LOVE the Spanish sun.

I also love the Spanish culture. The way people are out and together in their free time. They go all in with tables and games and radios and food and sunshades and grandmothers and kids.

Somehow, I made it to run in the morning heat, around the park, getting back into shape. It has been a long time since I could run, but after the Camino, it seems I am strong enough to rebuild the habit.

How great! Looking at people, sculptures, and dogs, I worked with my inner strength as the temperature climbed to an unbearable 30 degrees, and I had to hide in the shade of a tree with my yoga mat.

The whole deal was to wait for our Liv and Erik, who needed (mostly Erik, who had been traveling all night) sleep, to show up for yet another goodbye.

So, we picnicked, did co-yoga, joked, walked to a cafe, walked back, found a park where everything was illegal, walked back to the first park, had coffee, and said goodbye. We will see them again in December in Mexico City.

Then we did something a bit crazy.

We drove all the way to Playa de Sant Salvador—another 550 kilometers.

We just felt like getting it over with and waking up at the beach.

Again, When you take a risk, you are rewarded.

I can not begin to explain how beautiful the mountains were in the sunset. And to tease another overwhelmed moment out of us, we drove about 15 minutes in boring darkness before an orange full moon suddenly appeared from behind a mountain and was so beautiful we were screaming, both Jesper and I.

And so it was: Driving the last two hours guided by the amazing moon to the Mediterranean, to our hood.

Fell asleep to the sound of waves and the knowledge: This will be good!

With love

Cecilie Conrad

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