On Sunday morning, I headed to the train station about 7 a.m. (My train wasn't leaving until 8:25, but I had been unable to find out where I needed to catch it the night before - no one spoke English well enough to explain it to me!) The streets were full of young people who were still out from the night before. They were gathered in the street talking in groups, or heading into Bocadillaries to get something to eat
At the station I finally found someone who could help me - she wrote the word "Cercanias" on a slip of paper and told me to go left then right. Following her directions I finally found an area marked with the slanted C logo - Cercanias are regional trains connecting Madrid with suburban areas all the way south to Malaga. Told to "go to the middle" I joined a group of people assembled in front of a gate. As I was asking the man in front of me if he was catching the same train (he didn't understand a word I said), the man in front of him turned around and said, in English, that he was waiting for the same train. He was a Scottish tourist heading to Granada for a holiday. Twenty minutes before the train was to depart, they opened the gate and directed us to the correct platform.
The train was very comfortable - I had a single seat right by a large picture window - and the views as we traveled south were breathtaking. This ride on the train was one of the highlights of the trip.
The six hour ride passed very quickly, but as we neared Granada, I began to get anxious to arrive. When we finally did get there, and I met Claire on the platform I would hardly speak I was so happy to see her! My eyes were full of tears.
At the station I finally found someone who could help me - she wrote the word "Cercanias" on a slip of paper and told me to go left then right. Following her directions I finally found an area marked with the slanted C logo - Cercanias are regional trains connecting Madrid with suburban areas all the way south to Malaga. Told to "go to the middle" I joined a group of people assembled in front of a gate. As I was asking the man in front of me if he was catching the same train (he didn't understand a word I said), the man in front of him turned around and said, in English, that he was waiting for the same train. He was a Scottish tourist heading to Granada for a holiday. Twenty minutes before the train was to depart, they opened the gate and directed us to the correct platform.
The train was very comfortable - I had a single seat right by a large picture window - and the views as we traveled south were breathtaking. This ride on the train was one of the highlights of the trip.
We passed hundreds of acres of
olive trees. I also noticed clusters of 1,2 or more cars parked in the middle of no-where. A little further on, I saw a group of 3 men carrying rifles! A little further, yet, I saw a similar group who also had hunting dogs with them. That's when I realized it must be hunting season in Spain.
The terrain changed from fairly flat, around Madrid, to very hilly (see photo at olive tree link, above) and finally to mountainous - crossing the sierra morenas. As we approached Granada, we could see the Sierra Nevada rising in the distance, dusted with snow.
The six hour ride passed very quickly, but as we neared Granada, I began to get anxious to arrive. When we finally did get there, and I met Claire on the platform I would hardly speak I was so happy to see her! My eyes were full of tears.
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