We were happy to be at the airport and looked forward to returning home. We were greeted by a young woman before we reached the Delta counter. She asked to see our passports and asked us a few questions. She asked how we had traveled to Spain. We replied we walked from St. Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela, Spain and then took a plane to Madrid. Perhaps she didn't like our answer ...
She took our passports to the Delta counter, returned and gave them back to us. I noticed they had a small square with a number on it stuck on the back which I thought was odd but I didn't say anything.
We cleared the main security/baggage checkpoint area with no problem. Our bodies set off no alarms and our backpacks scanned just fine. We walked to our gate and expected to take a seat and wait to board the plane. However, the gate area was roped off. A security agent asked for our passports and informed us we had been chosen for a random security check which was mandatory. We were escorted to a side area and given a complete body pat down (my first). Then our backpacks were passed through another x-ray scan. Next the agent emptied the backpack -- taking everything out piece by piece and laying it to the side. Then the empty backpacks were run through the x-ray scanner -- incredible!.
After my empty backpack was scanned, the agent began to STUFF things back into my pack haphazardly. I said "NO" rather forcefully. He did not speak English and called over the woman agent who had done the pat down on me; she spoke English. I told her my pack had to be arranged properly/balanced so I could carry it and I needed to repack it myself. She gave me permission. So I picked up the three bins and moved to the side and repacked. WHEW!
Somewhere in the process my Patagonia Houdini wind jacket, a favorite piece of hiking gear was lost (it was with me 400 miles on the Appalachian Trail and 480+ miles on the Camino and was in great condition). There will be no more pics of me in my bright chartreuse jacket. Suffice it to say, we won't be in any hurry to pass through the Madrid airport again anytime soon. A side note - it appeared that mainly Americans were chosen for the random security check at the gate. Didn't make sense to me. Americans returning home -- a threat? So, if you travel to Madrid and end up with a small number stuck on the back of your passport, prepare yourself.
As I type this entry, I am reminded of the times I have experienced a wonderful retreat or a very special church conference weekend and upon returning home, there is an immediate "welcome back to reality" that tries to take away the peaceful or other spiritual benefits of the weekend. I suppose the scrutiny at the airport was our welcome back to reality before we even boarded the plane to return home. I must admit my patience was severely tested.
Once on the plane, our flight home was uneventful. It was good to be home. We said a prayer of thanksgiving.
(NOTE ABOUT TREKKING POLES): We flew on Delta from Atlanta to Brussels and trekking poles were allowed to be taken in our backpacks. On our return flight on Delta from Madrid to Atlanta, our trekking poles were allowed to be carried onboard in our backpacks.
On Ryanair from Charelois to Biarritz we could keep our trekking poles stowed in our backpacks and we carried them onboard.
On completion of the hike we flew again on Ryanair from Santiago to Madrid; on this Ryanair flight our trekking poles were NOT allowed in carry-on luggage (i.e. backpacks). For no charge they wrapped our poles together with tape and they went in checked luggage. They arrived safely in Madrid and were among the first articles to come off the plane. Same airline but different policies...go figure.
P.S. -- we have the travel bug. If you'd like to take a look at where we've been since the Camino, please click on the blogs linked below.
In 2015 we went back to Europe and hiked Tour du Mont Blanc (I'm still working on that blog and hope to finish it before the end of March).
Space A Adventure #1 (on military planes) to Hawaii begins a new mode of travel for us. Presently we are planning a trip to Italy.
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