Today's adventure started last night...
My plan was to have a nice dinner, then take a shower, handwash my clothes, and go to bed.
Dinner was great. Fresh caught sea bass, roasted potatoes, and a stewed vegetable relish.
Back in my room, I started running the shower, and before the water got hot, it turned dark brown. Uh oh. I notified the management, and they got back to me quickly with a message just posted by the village. Short version: water for the entire village is contaminated by a break in a main line, which they haven't found yet.
So, no shower, no laundry, no drinking water (and I had only had wine with dinner...), and no idea when it would be resolved. Also, I was depending on a restaurant breakfast this morning.
Much longer story short, overnight I figured out where to get the village updates (Facebook!), found out where they were distributing bottled water, and picked up what I needed this morning. I also found a restaurant that would serve me toast with cheese and steamed milk with instant coffee, so I got enough to start the day.
I even had enough time to climb back up the hill for some pictures before catching the bus to Santiago.
I had lunch in the bus station in Santiago before boarding a high-speed (180+ mph!) train to Madrid. Then a short ride on an underground commuter train, and I popped up in the middle of the crowded, 100°F center of Madrid. It took about 6 hours to cover a distance that took me about 45 days. Magic!
The rest of the day was a shower (finally!), a barbershop, dinner, laundry, and a slow wandering of the crowded streets, reconnecting with "city energy."
Tomorrow: Picasso's Guernica and other artistic treasures.