Missy - Santiago to Barcelona

 

Today was an adventure.  

5 o’clock in the morning saw us in the street waiting shivering for our Taxi. No one was up and moving. Also no taxi appeared. I forced Kiernan into my rain jacket and decided that if it didn’t come by 5:30 I was going to try to call another cab. 

5:30 came and I started googling Santiago taxi companies. None of them were open. Our flight was at 6:45. 

One company asked for lots of details to be sent via WhatsApp. We had an alburge do things this way as well. I don’t have WhatsApp and could only understand about 3/4 of the things they were asking. I pulled out the big guns and called Mary my beloved and Spanish speaking and awake stepmom. Happily she has WhatsApp. 

We started walking to places we had seen cabs. It was 6 o’clock. 

I was feeling half desperate half hopeless. The airport was 9 k away. I paid for flex tickets but could only flex 2 hours from the flight. 

It was a 2 hour walk or a 13 min taxi ride. 

We started to see lots of taxis but you have to call to reserve in Santiago. 

We got about 25 min down the road when Mary called to say she had found someone and sent them to where we had been before we started walking. 

She called them back with our new location and at 6:30 the cab got us. 

We made it to the airport. 

We missed our flight. 

They don’t have a ticket counter there “please call this number”. The number informed us that they don’t open until 9. 

I looked online. No more direct flight s to Barcelona today on this airline. We could get an Irish flight for 1200 each or book again for the next morning at 6:45. 

I really wanted out of Santiago. I checked the train schedule. There were a few seats left from Santiago to Barcelona at 8:30. 

We ran to the taxi stand and got the only cab there. I bought the train tickets on my phone as we drove over. 

We got to the train station at 8 and we’re on our way ontime for our 13 hour cross country train ride. 

Neither of us had eaten or drunk yet so I grabbed some chocolate and chips and a Camino patch at the station. The ticket had one transfer, at an hour in. I slept the entire hour. 

We got off the train and we’re directed to a bus. 

This was the same station where we had the Mario Kart driver to Sarria. 

The bus drove off and crossed the bridge to Sarria. I felt like we were in groundhogs day. 

ride. 

We passed Sarria and went to another train station about 40 minutes away. We got on a big train and sat down across from a very cool Spanish guy with excellent English. 

We broke open the chocolate and settled in for a long old ride. 

Our great Spanish guy was named Sebastian. He’s part of a Camino organization and every new feature we rode by he had something interesting to tell us about it. 

He saw us on the Camino and remembered us as a group of 5 or 6. He said everywhere he looks this year he sees Americans and that they are all smiling. 

He had a bad fall in an Alburge only 2 days from the end. Something in his leg cracked (turned out to be a ligament not a bone) so he’s now unexpectedly off to home. 

We really lucked out having him as a seat mate. 

After 11 hours of complete tour of northern Spain we arrived in Barcelona.

It was 9 at night  Our first pay toilet was encountered  

We went to a very heavily attended taxi stand got a cab and drove to our hotel.

At the hotel I learned that my reservation was for tomorrow, because of course it was  

I added a day to my reservation and learns that the pool would be opened for another half hour and that breakfast service starts at 7:30.

Barcelona is a city city. We saw lots of traffic and lots of people and I felt very not Camino.

Kiernan still has an upset stomach but he really likes our hotel.

Tomorrow I will take him to the beach.