465: The REAL Camino de Santiago de Compostela (Part I)

Day -1  (Sunday)

I simply hadn't realized that it was more then 1,000 km from Salou to get to the start point of the English way of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. I know now. It's Sunday morning and I'm on the very very slow stopping everywhere train to Madrid where I will overnight before catching an early train to speed me on my way to Ferrol, in Spain's Galicia province. I could have caught a faster train but it would have been much more expensive and you know what I'm like - look after the centimes and the Euros will look after themselves. Almost 8 hours on this train. 24 Euros 65 with my pensioner's discount Gold card. Imagine travelling on a train in UK for 8 hours for 24.65. I don't think so.

6 hours into the 8 hour train journey it started to rain. I wasn't expecting rain until Wednesday, in Galicia, I had just put on waterproof trousers and top over my T-shirt and shorts because I was finding the train air conditioning cold, but the rain was outside the train anyway and not inside. It's been a lovely journey passing through mountains and past orange trees and groves of olive bushes (not that I can tell one from the other). I'll be pleased to reach Madrid though, as my sandwiches and beer are finished.

I eventually arrived in Madrid (Chamartin station) and found not only the hotel but also a Burger King right on the station concourse. Some people reading this might call me a Philistine for my fast food predilection but you know what you're getting, it's reasonably cheap, and reasonably fast. And in (most of) Europe they sell beer in their fast food outlets - what's not to like.

Madrid: high-tech and high-rise

 Day 0 (Monday)

An early start, 7.15 a.m., from Chamartin station. A different ball-game today with 2 high-speed trains. Provided I can get shaved and showered and out the door in good time. It pays to understand how things work: if you turned up at 7.10 a.m. you'd probably miss the train because before you can get on high speed trains, at least in Spain, you have to have your luggage scanned and your ticket scanned. Equals 2 queues. The train whizzed along much faster than yesterday's but the restaurant car was not working and neither was the on-board wifi. Still, one can't have everything. Seats were allocated without regard for what we know as social distancing and a young lady came and plonked herself down beside me. I thought at first my luck was in but she promptly fell asleep. Her ticket was actually for the window seat but it's the early bird that catches the worm so she missed out.

I changed trains at Ourense for a 'semi-fast' train and arrived in A Coruña just before 1 p.m. There was an onward connection to Ferrol at 5.20 p.m. but I had the nous to go to the bus station where I discovered there was a bus leaving almost straight away for the short hop. In Ferrol the bus station seemed to be in the middle of nowhere - lots of buildings around but all shuttered. Siesta time. Luckily I found an open cafe, where the fare was much different to last night's BK. Can't get more Spanish than churros to dip in hot chocolate. The salami was a freebie. Not something I'd have picked but I couldn't really send it back, so I ate it! I'm now ensconsed in my hotel in Ferrol (Gran Hotel de Ferrol) and very nice it is too. I shall go and recce the start line and then I'm all ready to start the adventure tomorrow.