Saturday, April 23, 2011 | Toledo

AT THE TRAIN station, waiting for my 12:25 train back to Madrid, where I will hop on another train to Seville. It is a beautiful sunny morning. No rain in sight, although some ominous-looking clouds loom in the distance. For the thousands of tourists who remain, and for the hundreds more who just arrived by train, I hope the rain stays away. Maybe they’ll get to see some pageantry tonight.

I have no idea what awaits me in Sevilla. I have done no research about it. I will read my guidebook and other material on the train. Whatever it is, I know it’s going to be good. Unless it’s more rain.

I feel a bit of sadness at leaving Toledo, but that’s not unusual for me. Being a homebody, I always feel a degree of reluctance to leave any place that has been a home for me, even if just for a day or two. But I think it’s more than that: it’s a reluctance to leave a comfort zone and a fear of the unknown, of what lies beyond. The domesticated nature in me wants to know, if it’s so good here, why leave? Why explore new horizons? Why take on new challenges? I have yet to have a real bad experience in any of my travels, so my fear of the unknown is not really based on reality, but there it is, sitting on my shoulder and nibbling at my earlobe.