Day 184
8 hrs, 12 .8 kms

Next morning I still have a little more hiking to do around Madrid: I need to hike from downtown to Canillejas in the east. I start out by revisiting Parque el Retiro, which I visited with Vino back in 2008. Now the park is enshrouded in mist--but this actually makes it more beautiful and intriguing. Strangely, I find this park more beautiful than I did back in 2008--maybe because I've explored so much of the mundane corners of the world, my eyes are more alert to appreciate beauty when I come accross it. There are perfectly trimmed gardens and fountains... some amazing trees sculpted so they look like giant green boulders... towards the edge of the park there are even some old Moorish ruins.

This might actually make my top ten list of most beautiful gardens...

On along a busy boulevard, I get more of a feel for the fast paced business face of Madrid--something you lose sight of in the narrow alleys in the historical core . Then, what looks like another giant round Moorish castle... no... it's the Plaza de Toros, the temple of Spain's second most popular sport (after football, of course!)

Finally I connect with my Madrid-San Fernando hike done in 2011, officially completing my Madrid Superhike. There's still more of the city to explore, but I think I'll leave that for a follow up trip.

Conclusions of my Madrid Superhike.

This Superhike had its ups and downs. The heart of the city is quite majestic in its architecture... The all night walk around the city, mingling and playing music with the revelers was definitely a highlight... Also visiting Alcala, the home of Cervantes was inspiring. But getting from town to town via freeway was quite annoying--and most of the suburbs were not that interesting.

Still glad I honored this great city with a Superhike.