Sunday 28 April 2024
Travel to Madrid and Zamora

After agonizing over planning and packing for what seemed like far too long, the time to actually start this journey to Spain had arrived. First a flight to Madrid, meet with my brother-in-law Ron and his friend Dan, then a train ride to Zamora where we will start the walk on Thursday the second of May.

I walked about a kilometer (3/4 of a mile) to a shopping center Avis location and picked up a car I had reserved for the drive to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Then I drove home and loaded the car with my backpack and a small bag (a tripod bag) to hold my hiking poles since they are not allowed in carry-on luggage and must be checked. Here I am in front of my house with my luggage about to load the car and leave for LAX and then Spain.

Being a Sunday, I joined many, many other travelers on Interstate 5 going north to Los Angeles. It has been a long time since I drove north on a Sunday afternoon, and while heavy northbound traffic is normal for a Sunday afternoon, this was far worse than I remember. I got to the Avis location near LAX in about 2 and a half hours, including refueling the car. The bus ride from Avis to the actual airport was faster than some recent times, so I was checking in at the Iberia Airline counters almost three hours before the flight time. Security also went faster than I expected, so I was soon at Gate 153 in the LAX International terminal with more than 2 hours before boarding.

After a little while, I saw the airplane ready to be boarded, an Airbus A350-900:

The flight from Los Angeles left more than 45 minutes late. The pilot said that despite the late departure, we were expected to land in Madrid on time. This meant that the 11-and-a-half-hour flight would only be about 11 hours. Still a very long overnight flight. We left Los Angeles at about 6:30 PM on Sunday and were due to arrive in Madrid at 1:50 PM on Monday afternoon. I am seldom able to sleep on long flights, so I watched a few forgettable movies and kept hoping the time would pass faster. Making the flight worse, it was not a smooth flight. There were long stretches of turbulence, some shorter very turbulent stretches, and many long (60 minutes or more) stretches of turbulence bad enough to keep the seat belt sign lit. The time for the descent and landing finally came, and after deboarding, getting through immigration (passport control), and collecting my checked bag, I took a taxi to the AirBnB where Ron and Dan were waiting. After I got a shower and changed clothes, we went out for dinner. We spent the evening getting to know one another and talking about what we might expect on the pilgrimage walk.

Tuesday 30 April 2024
Madrid to Zamora

Ron figured out that the Metro (subway) line at the stop near the AirBnB did go to the Madrid Charmatín train station. We decided to go to the train station early and have a mid-morning snack there before our train left at 11:20 for Zamora. Here is Dan descending into the Metro Bilbao subway stop (Ron is ahead of Dan with the orange backpack).

The cost was 4.60 Euros for the trip to Charmatín. The subway train on which we rode is older, but clean and fast. Here is a photo of the train on which we traveled from Bilbao to Charmatín:

The subway route we were on was deep underground. Coming up the escalators, we passed two other subway levels before getting to the ground level of the train station. Here is a photo of me in front of the large Charmatín train station:

Inside, there is security, not as stringent as at airports, but they do X-ray and scrutinize all baggage. Both Ron and I had to go to a secondary check to have our pocket knives looked at to make sure they were small enough to be allowed.

We sat down for a small meal – I had cafe con leche (coffee with steamed milk), freshly squeezed orange juice, and a ham and brie bocadillo (sandwich on a baguette). The ham in central Spain is very good. The pigs eat the acorns that drop from the trees where they live, and it is said that enhances the flavor.

After eating, we posed for a photo of all three of us using the timer on Ron’s phone:

Then we made our way down to platform 15 where the train bound for Vigo was waiting. This train also stops at Zamora, Ourense, and Santiago de Compostela. Here is the train and also Jim and Dan about to enter coach 5:

During much of the 80-minute ride from Madrid Charmatín to Zamora the train moved along at 180-200 kilometers per hour (112-124 mph), and at times got up to 248 kph (154 mph). We arrived in Zamora and walked about 20 minutes to the hotel where we will stay for two nights.

In about 40 hours, we start the 420-kilometer (260-mile) pilgrimage walk from Zamora to Santiago de Compostela.

Next: A full day in Zamora