Before that I was still in Piedrahita and some how had to get out. This is when KEITH'S LUCK finally struck. My flights were all changed by late Saturday afternoon leaving me time to join my adopted team the Americans for a swim at one of the local swimming holes.
Early Sunday morning chaos all begin with me packed and ready to go only to find out the one and only bus going to Madrid did not leave till 5pm which just simply was going to suck for my luck. Well up to the plaza to see if my Canadian Charm could get me to Madrid sooner. Well sure enough it did and in a very nice kind of way. Steve Ham mentioned that one of the drivers from the comp had just left in his personal vehicle to go home which was just past Madrid. A short phone call later and 5mins later I was sitting in a pimped out BMW travelling at close to 200km/hr at times across Spain to Madrid. Before long Benjamin and I were speaking and sort of understanding one another with many nods and pointing. I was lucky that my terrible French and his even worse French was still better communication than my english and his spanish. I managed to convey that I knew nothing about bull fighting and this was a terrible trip so far. He proceeded at speeds quicker than I have ever travelled in a car to get me into Madrid in record time. My new best friend then drove right through the trendy section of Madrid to the Plaza de Toro. Next thing you know I was the proud owner to a Seat at Sunday evenings Bull Fights.
Now time to find Brett at his Hotel which turned out to be no problem with a local. Now time to get Brett to the subway and with little convincing he was all the proud owner to a ticket to the fights.
Our Madrid Metro skills are top notch now and we were able to criss cross back and forth with little to no trouble at all around the city.
The fights I will not describe as they are certainly not for the faint of heart but the ambience in the stadium is like nothing I have ever felt before in my life. It was truly inspirational to be a part of and I am so glad to have gone. Brett and I got lucky again as the man next to me was the proud father of a young matador and was there with his family cheering on a female Matador who is 19. The rules are hard to figure out but by the end we were able to tell who should win and who sucks. The basics are that 3 Matadors and 6 bulls, with the matadors taking turns killing one bull each.
By the end of the night it was close to 2am when we got back to Brett's room close to the airport and with maybe 2 hours shut eye I was back up at 5am and in a 3 minute taxi ride that cost 17 euros to get to my 7:30 am flight. Europe is ridiculously expensive.
Its now Monday afternoon and I am sitting on the very packed train to Switzerland with plans for a cold beer and dinner with very good friends.
Germany is stunningly beautiful so far and I have managed to put a large grin back on my face after a disappointing trip so far. I guess all things happen for a reason but this is one that sticks out as strange. Between all the comps I did just to qualify then the support of all the local pilots here I am not competing at all and doing something I honestly never thought I would ever get to do and that is travel Europe. I am totally 100% relaxed and feeling all sorts of energy return. I figured this morning on the plane to Munich to just not worry about and to really enjoy myself.
One last thing I plan to do after Interlacken is travel to see Rudy and Esther as I looked on a map and they are too close to not go see my favourite Austrians.
So thanks again for making this a vacation of a lifetime after a major disappointment at the comp.
I will try to continue my blog with the goings on around Europe. Oh the weather is great...haha but very humid here in Germany after very dry Spain
Keith
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