How to travel from northern Spain to Madrid

My flight home from Spain leaves Madrid Barajas International Airport (MAD) on 11:00 am October 7. My plan is to walk east to west from St. Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees to Fromista in northern Spain. Why Fromista? I'm excited to experience Fromista's Iglesia (Church) San Martin. I've heard that it is an extraordinary example of Romanesque architecture, and it's famous for the 315 stone-sculpted figures encircling the church's exterior. But once my pilgrimage ends in Fromista, I need to hurry to Madrid for that flight.

On the map, I can see a railroad line going through Fromista - a small town. Unfortunately http://www.renfe.es/ , the official website for Spain's train system tells me there is no ticket available from Fromista to Madrid. Thanks to one of my favorite guides, Rick Steves, I read about a remarkable German website that gives exacting details of train schedules for all over Europe. This page takes you to Spanish trains: http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en. I can see the schedule for this leg of my trip, but unfortunately the site does not allow me to buy tickets online. Maybe that route is seasonal. None of the on-line bus (coach) companies serve the Fromista region. Pre-planning transportation out of this very remote area is becoming a frustrating knot.

Plan B

Burgos, Spain is a university town with many daily trains to Madrid. It is a three-day walk east of Fromista. That means I will have to end my pilgrimage three days earlier than I anticipated. I'm really disappointed in this outcome until I convert the kilometers into miles that I will walk from St. Jean Pied de Port to Burgos. 194.3 miles - I think that is enough! I don't need to hurry my trip to see the 315 stone-sculpted figures at the church in Fromista. But who's counting? I bet I will have seen more than enough Romanesque exteriors by the time I arrive in Burgos. I'll let you know.