My first, proper long holiday since Berlin last summer and what a start! Two hours delay in Singapore due to some mechanical failure, followed by problems with the door when we finally reached Heathrow which means walking down the narrow steps from the plane’s upper deck (where I was) to the lower deck lugging all the bleeding equipment. And because of the delay, we hit possibly the busiest time at immigration - there must surely be 500 people before me in the queue! To top it off, the weather in London had turned cold as soon as I touched down so my wardrobe which mainly consists of tank tops and short skirts looked very pathetic. Anyhoo, I had two lovely, if slightly hectic, days in London climaxing in a slightly tacky but fun bar in Fulham with a dangerous two-for-one cocktail deals and champagne on special price the night before flying off to Spain. I got up crazy early on the 29th in anticipation of the Royal Doo Daa wreaking havoc on public transport. By the time I got to Victoria at 6.20, there are already mother-daughter pairs in full make up and fascinators (google it for those who don’t know what this is) with union jacks in their hands. I also saw a man on the platform in East Croydon wearing a union jack cape. Was too sleepy (and partially still drunk) to take a picture but now I’m kicking myself. Anyhoo, got to airport crazy early and finally reached Madrid after a 15-minute check in because the girl at the counter had no idea how to pronounce Myanmar, let alone know where it is. She was very sweet nevertheless and apologetic, saying ‘I’m not very well travelled’ after I told her Burma used to be a British colony. From Madrid we did a 2.5 hour drive up to Ages, a small village about 25km from Burgos, the main town in the province and the seat of government during the Franco regime. Oh yes. Karen and Andy, my two lovely friends who bought a wreck a few years ago in the village, came to pick me up. It’s a very lush area - due to incessant rain - and apparently Burgos is also the windiest place in Spain! (The natural kind, not the other one) Karen, whom I studied with in Bournemouth some 6 years ago and knew how easily I get cold and miserable, thought it was a hoot that I’d got to Burgos when the weather was like 12 degrees! But their wreck is now lovingly turned into a charming, eclectic little house with lots of cute trinkets (reflecting their stints in Ethiopia and Serbia and trips to all over the world) and best of all, has a bathroom with heated floors! Heaven! The village has about a few dozen houses, not all of them occupied, and two cafes and has about 20 people in winter and about 200 in summer, according to Karen. There’s also a very picturesque church with a massive nest next to the bell tower for a pair of beautiful storks. The evening of Day 1 was spent catching up and enjoying Andy’s delicious grilled butternut squash with goat’s cheese and roasted summer veggies. And the massive chocolate Easter egg I got as a present in London. Day 2 started grey and cloudy but at least the wind wasn’t so cutting like the day before. After a slow start we headed off to a beautiful little mountain top village of Oberneja del Castillano (bet I got that name wrong) with stunning view of the gorges and crags and a stunning waterfall of vibrantly green water. Weather was very variable but the views and the company (Andy, Karen and their friend Anja, an old hand at MSF who’s worked in Somalia, East Timor and Zimbabwe just to name a few) more than made up for it. We had a delicious lunch - my grilled pork fed on acorns was divine! - before a massive thunderstorm threatened our plans. But we soldiered on, back to Burgos, a sizeable town with a pretty, pedestrianised area for the old town. Like everywhere else in Spain, the cathedral here is massive and the facade impressive and the town is bustling. Just a few decades ago, this was the seat of Franco. The people are still quite conservative but not unfriendly, although Andy and I had fun trying to decide who could be a spanish equivalent of a Daily Mail reader… We had thick, creamy hot chocolate with ridiculous amount of cream on top before heading back to Ages (pronounced arrr-hes). Day 3 I’m heading back to Madrid but this time staying the night! Thin Lei Win Humanitarian Correspondent South East and East Asia Reuters AlertNet & TrustLaw