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Spain by Train
Well, that was a long night on the train. I didn't sleep particularly
well, despite having paid for a sleeping compartment (which, I later
realized, defeated my purpose of travelling overnight to save money on
accomodations...oh well). Around 5:55 AM I arrived in Port Bou, Spain. I
thought I only had an hour or so to wait for the next train heading
towards Lisbon, but when I inquired I was told that train was full and the
next one wasn't until 9:30. So I had some time to kill.
And boy do I wish I had had more. I ventured out in to this small little
town (which wasn't even on my map, which increased the sense of adventure)
and was not dissapointed. Even from the pavilion of the train station the
view was incredible: two mountain tops and between them lots of little
homes and shops extending down towards a beautiful coast, where the sun
was just beginning to rise as I looked out.
I walked quickly (good morning exercise when you're carrying a pack) down
through the quiet town to the water and found a concrete platform that
extended out in to the water. I was literally the only one around, with
glimmering water in front of me and a beautiful town and mountains behind
me. I lay down and just soaked it in (albeit with gloves on, it was a bit
chilly).
Just when I was starting to think that maybe I should stay in this place
for a day or two before continuing, and as I was getting out all kinds of
papers and postcards to write, it started raining, a clear sign that my
place was in the train station waiting for the next train out. The view
held my attention for a bit longer, then I found myself drinking coffee
with an hour to go.
That evening (a beautiful Spanish coastline, 2 movies in Spanish on the
train with no subtitles, and a bag of potato chips later), I found myself
in Madrid, Spain. I had also considered staying here for a while, but by
now I had spent well over 17 hours travelling and I was just sort of
anxious to get to Lison. In any case, after a delicious dish of spiced
meatballs at the train station restaurant (which I'm sure was an accurate
and full representation of Spanish cuisine...), I ventured out in to the
city during my 2 hour layover. I was guided by the search for an Internet
access place, but upon being directed to several different streets and
finally the 4th floor of an office building by several kindly
english-speaking locals, I gave up and just wandered. It felt like all
the other big cities I'd been in recently, just in a different language,
and so I decided it would be okay if I headed out and left Madrid behind
me.
Back on the subway, back to the train station, back on the train.
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