Madridman and all,

You make good points on the Rick Steves and state department mailing list. While in Madrid, old city area, a couple of weeks ago, we did notice plenty of police and some were speaking with people and inspecting some type of documents.

Today, just outside Segovia, there was a roadside checkpoint setup. I thought no big deal because I've seen one most every day since driving out of Madrid. However, this time there were four policemen checking the cars/directing traffic and then two more, one with a shotgun, the other with a tactical machine gun. This got my full attention, but they just waved me on. NOt sure what they're looking for but they are serious about it.

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