I woke up early today so I would be up when Silvia arrived home. I headed down to the cafe shop and had a nice conversation with "Clara" who knew no English. Its amazing how you can communicate when you want to. She loved that my middle name is Clara. She was crying when I walked in and she explained to me that she came here to work but that her family is back in Peru and she misses them and can't sleep at night.
When I got back to the apartment, Silvia was home! I had thought it might be awkward, but I instantly felt like I've known her years! Her boyfriend, Chris, came over and the four of us went out for a traditional Spanish breakfast of cafe con leche and churros which is like a fritter or donut but its long a squiggly with ridges. Marie ordered hot chocolate and we dipped the churros in the hot chocolate like other people were doing. The hot chocolate was REAL thick, more like pudding or, as Marie called it, sludge. Cafe con leche, which I've been drinking all week, is actually a small amount of strong espresso with lots of frothy milk. We stood around a high table to eat. People traditionally eat a very light, and sweet, breakfast here.
Marie went back to bed and Silvia, Chris and I went for a long walk. It felt short, though, because we talked the whole time. Silvia and Chris are so nice and cute and hospitable! It was a great excursion during which they pointed out many interesting things. They took me to the American Embassy, showed me where all the good shops are and walked by Cuatrecasus which is in a very "posh" district. They showed me parts of Retiro Park that I didn't see when Marie and I were there including a big pond where people were rowing boats. They also pointed out to me the location of a statue of the fallen angel which they think is the only one in the world. We stopped for a beer. Beer sin (without) alcohol is very common here as is the practice of serving little snacks with the beer. I was surprised at how short of a walk it is to the heart of the city from Silvia's apartment. I guess we walked for about an hour but we just "moseyed" along stopping along the way to look in shop windows, admire architecture and interpret Spanish signs for me. I discovered Silvia does not drive which you really do not need to do here. In fact, she could walk to work!
After a short nap for me, Marie and I headed out to join the throngs at Cuartro Vientas (Four Winds) airfield. We stopped for something to eat first and decided it was still to hot (102 degrees today!) to go to the airfield where, as Chris pointed out, there would be no shade. We were near the Museo Romantico so decided to stop there first. I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but when we received our backpacks we were given a "pass" which allows us free entry into most of the city's museums, theaters and other cultural spots. It also has the location to which we are assigned to at Cuartro Vientos (F3 for us).
Museo Romantico is a very cool and unique museum! The Romanticism is a cultural and political movement that reached its height throughout Europe in the early 19th century and which represented a new world view. The Museum is housed in a palace in the neoclassical style, built in 1776. It is a "museum house" in which the furniture, decorative objects, graphic arts, paintings are preserved. However, you also appreciate the intangible such as uses of rooms, family roles, social customs, etc. Best of all, it was cool and not crowded at all. At the end there were computers where we played interactive games corresponding to things we had seen in the museum. That was a great Spanish lesson.
We continued on our journey to Cuatro Bientos. This event is the culmination of the week and the pilgrims were heading there all day. Although we've seen massive crowds all week, this is the day were everyone gathers together for all day and night Saturday and on Sunday morning. We saw pilgrims heading there with their sleeping bags, mats, etc. Most check out of hotel rooms on Saturday morning and head to the main event with their luggage in tow. We decided to go but play it by ear. (How funny that saying must be to those who speak another language. How about "I "see" what your saying"? ) We didn't have anything to sleep on so the odds were we weren't going to stay the night.
We stopped and loaded up with 4 large bottles of water... it was still very hot... and some snacks. The water was heavy to carry and hurt my shoulders but I kept thinking of Jesus carrying the cross. We took the subway to nearest station. The Cuatro Bientos station was closed for security reasons so we had to get off at a nearby station and walk. It was a VERY long walk. Along the way, we saw a lot of people heading back and rumors started flying about it being closed.. no more room... That would have been horrible for the people whose hearts were really set on this and who had no where to spend the night and had their luggage with them.
There were four entrances and it appeared as we approached the first one (mind you that the entrances are probably a mile apart) it appeared that people were waiting to get in. There was a spot where people were going in because a fence had been knocked down. Someone told us that the doors were opening back up at 11pm (it was 9pm and dark at this point). We continued meeting people, joining in dances, and taking flag pictures while we waited. We started to walk to find another entrance when it grew VERY dark and started lightening! A "freak" (as the newspapers put it) storm blew in! We found shelter under an entrance to a garage with a small group from Italy that we had a blast with. They were so funny! They taught us a song and dance where they imitated a crocodile (arms going up and down for its its big mouth), a kangaroo (jumping up and down) and "Benidicto" -- making the sign of the cross! We swapped facebook addresses and continued on our journey after the rain let up. Apparently, the Pope told the crowds their prayers were answered... They had prayed for more water during the sweltering hot day and they got it! I guess the Pope didn't hang his rosary in a bush to assure good weather. Anyway, the storm actually cooled things down.
Before getting into the next entrance, we met two guys from New Jersey. They had already graduated and had degrees in education and film production. They were part of "the press" and asked if they could film us. Of course we let them! They work for World Youth Day. com. I told them how Marie had turned her pictures with people and their flags into a slide show and they said to send it and they would put it on the website! Wait until you see her slideshow! It is so cool! You have to wait until we are sure we are done taking pictures. I think we are up to about 60 different countries! Last night we met people from, among others, Belarus -- Minsk! --- the Congo, Iraq, Israel, Haiti, Japan, Egypt and Zimbamwa!
So we went in the entrance and, interestingly, there was no security. They didn't check our backpacks or anything. I think that everything was in a state of confusion because of the storm. We didn't realize the extent of it but the storm had knocked down structures at Cuarto Bientos. Praise God that no one was hurt (although I read that about 800 had to be treated during the day becasue of the heat. And there were ambulances everywhere). The dusty field had turned into mud... especially by the lavatories. It was reminiscent of Woodstock. We walked the length of the "esplanade" which I think was about 4 miles to find our section. This was happening during the prayer vigil being lead by the Pope! Many people were walking, looking for their spots. Many others were kneeling, praying along with the Pope. Marie and I kept looking for flags and taking pictures! We found F3, briefly looked for people we knew from back home, and continued on to find an exit. A steady rain was coming down at this time and we did not want to stay. Plus, our feet and legs were very tired. We kept asking volunteers and police where the nearest exit was and they either didn't know or directed us back to the way we came in! It was rather disconcerting to think that, if there had been an emergency, noone knew the way out! We ended up "sneaking" out an exit that I think was just for the press and medical. We couldn't find the metro or determine if was still open so we hailed a cab to take us back to the apartment. Unbeknown to us, the major highways of Madrid are underground! We were in a tunnel for most of the ride back from the outside of southwest part of the city to the northeast side. It cost 30 euros but it was worth it.. I don't think I could have walked another step. After showering, I tried to blog, but, much to Marie's amusement, fell asleep while typing so I had it finish this morning. Ok,... its now Sunday afternoon, 1:30pm, and Marie is still sleeping while I blog. Yeah... we missed mass this morning and yeah the Pope has left the city. I looked out the window as I sipped my cafe (made from Silvia's espresso maker which she showed me how to use) and saw pilgrims returning from the big event. I'm so glad we went last night. It was a great experience. I have no regrets about missing the mass this morning. We are both enjoying just being spontaneous, not rushing, resting and doing whatever and whenever. I think we've done and seen a lot.
Marie wants to volunteer to work at the next WYD in 2013 to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I'm sure she'll have fun.
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