By train from Granada to San Sebastian

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Up Early

We had enjoyed a great trip, Paris, San Sebastian, Seville and Granada. Now it was time for us to turn our faces toward Prague and the cold and dampness of Central Europe. The first leg of our return trip, Granada to San Sebastian, will cover 695 kilometers or 431 miles by rail across Spain via Madrid.

To the Train

We got up early as we needed to be ready to go to the train station as soon as we had eaten our breakfast. Fortunately a city bus ran from near our hotel to a stop close to the train station. The desk clerk told us to count the stops and get off at the seventh stop. If necessary we could have walked to the station since we had walked from the station to our hotel on our arrival. It was only a mile or so between the hotel and the train station and certainly we could handle that distance, even in the chilly morning air.

We must have just missed a bus as our wait was about eight or nine minutes. By the time the bus arrived the cold was seeping in through our winter coats making the appearance of the bus appreciated. Though there were others already on the bus both of us found a seat. I believe we missed a stop and actually got off at the 8^th stop, but it was not a problem as we both knew the direction from the stop to the station. The sun was casting beautiful colors into the sky over the Sierra Nevada mountains to the east and I snapped several photos. The snow clad mountains were beautiful and dominated the view to the east of Granada.

We arrived at the station with thirty minutes to spare. If there was ever any doubt that Granada attracts tourists, the station would have dispelled this mistaken idea. It was packed with travelers waiting for the early morning train to Madrid. We joined the queue to wait for the security station to open. Unlike the Czech Republic, France, Germany or other countries we have visited in Europe, Spain has a security check before a person is allowed to go to the train. It is similar to that in airports, an x-ray machine and a look-you-over check by agents. Unlike an airport we did not have to take our shoes off.

Soon we were on the train in our assigned seats. The Sierra Nevada mountains were visible. The sky was turning from a purple dawn to day. A small plastic container holding a set of ear buds lay on each seat. Movies are shown on monitors on long trips on Spanish trains. There is a jack on each seat to plug in the ear buds. Fortunately the ear buds also fit the jack on our I-pods. Nancy and I had downloaded several audio books from our hometown public library to listen to as we traveled. It is a great service. By the end of our trip we had a great many of these ear buds since we were given new ones each time we changed trains both going and coming. They have come in handy for Bill as he ruined his good ones we bought just before we left the USA and with this ready supply there is no sense in buying a new pair here.

Soon the train pulled out of the station and we were on our way, first to Madrid, where we were to transfer stations and trains and then on to San Sebastian. I had made a reservation at the Hotel Terminus, the same hotel we stayed at on our way to Seville. It's that comfy little hotel right on the station platform so it is an extremely convenient hotel for the person traveling by rail.

The beautiful Spanish countryside rolled past and again I was struck by the miles of olive trees. I recalled how I had decided previously I could not call them olive groves, but rather olive forests. I do not know what percentage of the world crop of olives is grown in Spain, but surely it is considerable.

Transfer in Madrid

Transferring from one station to another in Madrid is not difficult. There are frequent commuter trains between the stations. Like our trip south, we used the handy ticket dispensers which only required us to punch in the code on our train tickets to get a transfer. Excellent system!

We bought some lunch at the north station. There was a nice selection on the menu and we were in no hurry as the layover was two hours. After a leisurely lunch we still had time to sit in the waiting room for the boarding of our train. An electronic board give the platform number about twenty minutes before the time of departure.

Why Did We Stop?

Soon we were on the train and in a few minutes the train pulled away and we were saying goodbye to Madrid. All went smoothly for several hours. Then the train slowed and stopped … in the middle of nowhere, out in the country, no village or town in sight. And there we sat, and sat and sat. Trains passed us going both directions, but still we sat. Several announcements were made over the intercom and that is how we learned that the locomotive had developed an electrical problem. A locomotive that runs on electricity that has developed an electrical problem is not going anywhere. Thus we were going nowhere until a new locomotive was brought out from wherever the nearest rail yard was that had an engine that could be used.

This was not the greatest news I had even received as on the regular schedule we were scheduled to arrive in San Sebastian a bit after 9:00 p.m. . A wait of over two hours and now we were looking at arriving there about midnight. But in time we were on our way again. It was far different from a trip about 10 years ago when we were on a train when the entire electric grid in that part of China went dead. All trains in both directions were stalled for 8 full hours. It was night time and we were able to sleep though the night while the train just sat and sat. The next day when electricity was restored we pulled into stations along the way where people had sat up ALL night long waiting for our train to arrive. We had been the lucky ones to be in sleeping cars on the train instead of sitting on hard benches in a station.

Where is our food?

By the time we were on our way again it was dark. Soon the car attendant appeared carrying trays of hot food. This was a surprise as I had not expected to be fed a meal. The attendant served a number of people, the cart was now empty and she disappeared not to return.

“I wonder why others were given a meal and we weren’t,” I said to Nancy.

“No idea,” she replied. We then decided that perhaps these people had known to order a meal ahead of time. We sort of kicked ourselves for not knowing and not ordering. Since the train had been delayed, we realized we were quite hungry and our snacks were all gone.

Before long the train pulled into what looked like a fair sized town and stopped. Quite a few people exited the train and we were on our way again.

It all becomes clear

In a few minutes the attendant appeared with her cart loaded with hot meals. This time she gave Nancy and me a much nicer meal than the small portions the people had gotten who had just left the train. Now it became clear. The smaller amount food was first served to those who were to get off the train in a short time. Those of us who had several hours left were served second. The food was quite acceptable in fact it was quite delicious. We were in the first class section of the train since only first class tickets were available when we bought them. It seems for a long train trip it is worth paying a little extra for the luxury of a good meal served at your seat!

Why such a large church

Sometimes a photographer gets lucky and the photograph is an example of this. I have found that it is difficult to get a good pictures from a moving train or bus. On rare occasions this has not been true and the photograph of this church, glowing in the setting sun is an example.

The train was rolling along, this was before we had the long wait. I was watching the countryside slide past when I saw this large church sitting alone on the plain. Beyond the church there was a small village, but it was at least a mile beyond the church. There was nothing near and I wondered, "Why in the world was such a large church built in such a lonesome location? What was going on that made them think such a large church was needed?"

I will never know the answer. I would not have been surprised if the church had been small. I have seen small churches sitting in lonely places in many countries, but this was anything but a small church. If I were Robert Frost I might write a poem about "The Church Unseen," unseen in the sense that Nancy and I would never see the interior of this church though we would like to see and explore it. One of the joys of travel is discoveries such as this. One of the disappointments of travel is not being able to see everything.

Finally

I had calculated what time we would arrive in San Sebastian. My initial calculation was off as the train ran faster than normal and twenty to thirty minutes of the delay were erased. To say that I was happy to arrive was an understatement. We were both tired and though the train the next day to Paris did not leave until about ten in the morning, still we had to be up and ready.

We walked the few steps to the hotel and checked in, thankful to be there. We were soon fast asleep on very comfortable beds.

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Photos

Snow capped Sierra Nevada mountains
Train shot

Olives grove with house
What would it be like to live here?

Church in Spain from the train
Glowing in the setting sunlight.