Touchdown Madrid

Madrid, Spain

To be part of the World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain opened up a lot of first-times for me. It was my first time to go out of the continent, my first time to ride on a Boeing 777-300 ER and my first time to go out of the country without my family that is why the thought of going out of the country on my own, just with my friends, had not sank in deep within me until my feet touched the grounds of Madrid.

It took us a total of 14 hours of travel time + 9 hours stopover time  in Doha International Airport before we arrived at lunch time the next day in Madrid Airport Barajas. We were picked up by a coaster which brought us to our home for the next seven days.

The accommodation assigned to us was in this school called Republica de Panama which sits in San Blas, a district east of Madrid Capital. San Blas is a quieter part of Madrid since it is still quite far from the city center and is mostly residential.
Upon seeing the school as our accommodation, memories of my girls scout camping resurfaced. It feels like grade school camping once again with our luggages dumped on one corner of the gym, sleeping bags scattered on the floor, girls and ladies alike teaming up to establish their territory and the flags of each nations either plastered across the wall or put at the end of a stick as a sign that the place was already occupied! But different in a way since we are in another country, we are working as one and we are sharing it with other youths of different nationalities.

Since we came here not just as tourists but also as pilgrims, our first stop for the day was to go to Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena  in Central Madrid to hear mass. The closest metro station (San Blas) was just a 10-minute walk from our place , which  made travelling around Madrid a cinch.

It was already 3 pm when we arrived in the cathedral. Maybe it was because of fatigue, the scorching heat outside, the purely Spanish mass or a combination of all, but I have found myself dozing off more than what is tolerable! Anyway, when I can feel that I am about to doze off again, I just look up at the ceiling, around my surrounding and to see the magnificence around was already  enough to remind myself that I could not afford to close my eyes more than I should because it is not all the time that I could experience something like it.


I wish I could really eat like this, al fresco style in Manila in the streets.

Going around the heart of Madrid felt like walking in a huge, outdoor museum. Every little thing you focus on seems like art. Everywhere you pan your eyes to seems perfect and well structured.

We walked around some more and explored  until our bodies were already exhausted as hell. We went home at around 12 midnight, excited already for what will be in stored for us in the next seven days.