To review, the missing luggages were mine - my suitcase and my golf bag. And no, I was not walking around Madrid for two days on the same set of clothes. Luckily, I had some dirty clothes in Tess's suitcase that we immediately sent out for laundry after we checked into our hotel.
Back to the airport. My suitcase came out but after the baggage carousel stopped running, my golf bag was nowhere to be found. I asked the ground crew that was feeding the carousel if they saw an "amarillo bolsa de golf" but was told that it may have been delivered to a different carousel. They said to wait 5-10 minutes and if it doesn't show up, it may not have made it on the flight. The wait was nerve-wracking.
I love that set of golf clubs. I've had it for a couple of years and we've played some memorable golf courses and set some record scores. I played this set for the first time on a trip to the Big Island where I was paired with an airline pilot on the first tee time of the morning. We had a common goal -- to play fast and get the round done before our wives were ready for the day's tourist activity.
This is the set that I took to Peru where I was chauffeured to the golf course by an elderly driver through Lima's rush hour traffic like a slalom, bent on making my tee time and cursing like a sailor. This is the set that introduced me to Tom, a Thai entrepreneur, at Danang Golf Course in Vietnam, who became a friend.
I was roused from my daydream by the carousel alarm. It delivered just one piece of luggage - an amarillo bolsa de golf. The most beautiful sight that morning. I peered into the feeder curtain and thanked the ground crew. They gave me a thumbs up; apparently they went hunting for my golf bag and they delivered. And the world was right again.
After dropping off our luggage at the hotel, Tess went shopping and I went on an important mission that I've planned before the trip to Spain: to trace and check out where Dr. Jose Rizal, Philippines' national hero, lived, dined out, went to school, and met with his fellow Filipino compatriots. I spent a few hours walking from one building to another and getting a feel of what it was like back in the late 19th century when he lived here. After this tour, I feel like I know him on a more intimate level I'm calling him Joe.
Sandwiched between two stores, on 13 Calle de Amor de Dios, is Joe's first residence when he first arrived in September 1882. Just more modern but the building is still intact.
Still in business, Viva Madrid is Joe and his friends' favorite restaurant.
This apartment on Calle Attocha is where La Solidaridad, the propaganda paper of the Filipinos, was printed.
Another place of residence for Joe.
Ateneo de Madrid on 21 Calle Prado, is still an exclusive club for men of "letters and science." This is where Joe regularly attended theatrical presentations, music and poetry recitals and book launchings.
Inside Ateneo de Madrid.
The final stop of my Rizal tour was at his monument on Avenida de las Filipinas. Built in 1996, it is a replica of the monument in Luneta, Philippines.
Last dinner in Madrid.
¡Adios, España!
