It has been a long and taxing 36 hours. I believe our last blog was posted from the Philadelphia airport one and a half days ago. The flight from Phi to Frankfurt went well, the food was good and I watched 3 movies while dozing in out of sleep. After we arrived in Frankfurt we got our first passport stamp of the trip… the first in my new book… and we were excited to begin our journey.
While going through security at Frankfurt we were shuffled along to the last baggage check. No one was in line so my ticket was scanned and I quickly proceeded through the baggage scan. After my things were cleared I turned around to find I was alone. I waited for Kait, but she never appeared; my heart sank, I was mortified, Kaitlin was gone. I went back out through the security checkpoint looked around, no Kait. I asked if anyone could tell me where my friend went and if there was anywhere they might have taken her, the answer was unanimous, we do not know where your friend is and no one would take her anywhere. Panicked I began looking around the airport, I returned to the checking station to ask security if they might have taken her anywhere, again the answer was no. Did someone steal her? Do these things happen to grown adults in airports? Are the security guards crooked, will they sell her into some sort of slave trade? I was in a foreign country, my best friend seemed to have vanished, I know she would not have walked off, she would have stayed where I last left her. Overwhelmed I went to sit at the terminal and wait, hoping she would arrive before the plane left, or just arrive period. Thankfully, having the sense needed to travel with a companion Kaitlin and I both went to wait at our gate. The adrenaline rush and then wash of relief when saw each other added to the fatigue of the trip, but we were together and I was so happy to know she was safe and be catching our flight to Madrid. Little did we know we just had a taste of what was to come over the next day.
While going through security at Frankfurt we were shuffled along to the last baggage check. No one was in line so my ticket was scanned and I quickly proceeded through the baggage scan. After my things were cleared I turned around to find I was alone. I waited for Kait, but she never appeared; my heart sank, I was mortified, Kaitlin was gone. I went back out through the security checkpoint looked around, no Kait. I asked if anyone could tell me where my friend went and if there was anywhere they might have taken her, the answer was unanimous, we do not know where your friend is and no one would take her anywhere. Panicked I began looking around the airport, I returned to the checking station to ask security if they might have taken her anywhere, again the answer was no. Did someone steal her? Do these things happen to grown adults in airports? Are the security guards crooked, will they sell her into some sort of slave trade? I was in a foreign country, my best friend seemed to have vanished, I know she would not have walked off, she would have stayed where I last left her. Overwhelmed I went to sit at the terminal and wait, hoping she would arrive before the plane left, or just arrive period. Thankfully, having the sense needed to travel with a companion Kaitlin and I both went to wait at our gate. The adrenaline rush and then wash of relief when saw each other added to the fatigue of the trip, but we were together and I was so happy to know she was safe and be catching our flight to Madrid. Little did we know we just had a taste of what was to come over the next day.
We arrived in Madrid around noon, collected Kaitlin’s bag, exchanged our USDs for Euros, bought a telephone card (which we cannot figure out how to use… how desperately we would need to hear some familiar voices in a few hours) and checked Kaitlin’s email. We were hoping to find the address of where we would be staying in her inbox, but there was nothing, which meant we would have to travel to where WYD (world youth day) registration was to find out our lodging situation. It was only a few subway stops away, but when we arrived registration was closed. People were inside, but no one else was allowed to enter. We stood in a crowd of 30 tired, hot, angry people, everyone was pushing, but we forced our way to the front of the line in 95 degree weather to try to find out where we are staying. Finally I am able to spark some interest from one of the volunteers; the older gentlemen seemed genuinely concerned that we did not know the address of where we were staying. He tells us to wait. We wait. And wait. Did I mention it is 95 degrees and we are standing on pavement with all of our bags for the 3 week trip? Finally he calls us over; one of us needs to go in, Kaitlin made the plans and is our WYD group leader so she went ahead while I stood guard of the bags. It seemed like she was gone forever while I roasted in the sun, but eventually she returned with an address. While she had been away, I covertly changed into a skirt, lathered up with sunscreen, swindled some water from volunteers and made myself a hobo home.
Being as we did not bring a watch, we have been living in the twilight zone where time is not always as it seems. We estimate about 3 hours have elapsed on this concrete desert.
Being as we did not bring a watch, we have been living in the twilight zone where time is not always as it seems. We estimate about 3 hours have elapsed on this concrete desert.
I was overheated, exhausted, dehydrated, starving and bright red by this point. Kaitlin was swollen, covered in hives and also dehydrated and hot. I am not sure you all get the picture of the agony Kaitlin and I were experiencing. Up until this point we spent 5 hours on a bus, 6 hour layover in Phi, 7 hours on plane, lost eachother in the airport, 3 hours on a plane, 3 hours waiting to find lodging in 95 degree weather without appropriate shelter and no rest.
Good stories always have a resolution and I promise you our story does, but not for several more hours. After finding out the adress for our lodging we returned to the subway and asked Informacion for which subways to take to get to the address (on a google map). Three jam-packed subways later (note there are a million people in Madrid for WYD and we are all headed to the same place) we realized that Informacion sent us to the wrong place. Insert mental breakdown here. Depleted we came up with a new game plan; head to Tribunal, the subway station that will connect us to our real lodging place.
Tribunal brought me back, I could appreciate the narrow cobblestone streets and decided despite everything working against us, I could fall in love with this city.
Kaitlin and I rested for a moment on this perfect street.
At Tribunal we found this nice little restaurant with outdoor seating and even though there are hundreds of people just meters away from us in the square, somehow this place was private and quiet and just what we needed after all the shoving and pushing on the last 5 subway rides. I ordered the anchovies with a tomato marinade and Kait and I both got mixed salads. The anchovies were amazing, here in Spain they are flavorful and much bigger than the canned anchovies I am used to in the states. We also enjoyed a nice glass of very sweet white wine. “Que vino llamas?” I asked and the amused and confused waitress. She understood only when I said moscato, "No, no moscato" she replied, "Ruedo".
After dinner we hopped back on the subway, took two more lines to get to our destination and then lugged our bags several blocks, before we arrived. It is locked, but two women were standing inside, they told us that they do not open until 10pm, but that it will be later because the person in charge will be late, 11-1130pm. This may seem like a simple statement but it was a good half hour and with the help of another couple translating that we finally understood this. It seems when you do not understand they begin speaking more quickly and they just keep going until they think you have understood; despacio is a word we need to add to our vocabulary. "Donde es otel?" I asked the ladies, they said no, of course they said no, no hotels, motels or hostels anywhere near there. With some sad faces a few weary tears they let us leave our bags inside until 10pm. The new plan was find water and telephones. We found telephones at the train station, so while Kait tried calling home I went out in search of agua.
The Train Station
I found two 1.5L bottles for 1.25 Euros… I was so happy! However when I got back to the train staion with my treasure Kait was distraught. We could not get our phone cards to work, we were exhausted and just wanted to rest and talk to someone familiar, but all our attempts up until then had been in vain.
Good stories always have a resolution and I promise you our story does, but not for several more hours. After finding out the adress for our lodging we returned to the subway and asked Informacion for which subways to take to get to the address (on a google map). Three jam-packed subways later (note there are a million people in Madrid for WYD and we are all headed to the same place) we realized that Informacion sent us to the wrong place. Insert mental breakdown here. Depleted we came up with a new game plan; head to Tribunal, the subway station that will connect us to our real lodging place.
Tribunal brought me back, I could appreciate the narrow cobblestone streets and decided despite everything working against us, I could fall in love with this city.
Kaitlin and I rested for a moment on this perfect street.
At Tribunal we found this nice little restaurant with outdoor seating and even though there are hundreds of people just meters away from us in the square, somehow this place was private and quiet and just what we needed after all the shoving and pushing on the last 5 subway rides. I ordered the anchovies with a tomato marinade and Kait and I both got mixed salads. The anchovies were amazing, here in Spain they are flavorful and much bigger than the canned anchovies I am used to in the states. We also enjoyed a nice glass of very sweet white wine. “Que vino llamas?” I asked and the amused and confused waitress. She understood only when I said moscato, "No, no moscato" she replied, "Ruedo".
After dinner we hopped back on the subway, took two more lines to get to our destination and then lugged our bags several blocks, before we arrived. It is locked, but two women were standing inside, they told us that they do not open until 10pm, but that it will be later because the person in charge will be late, 11-1130pm. This may seem like a simple statement but it was a good half hour and with the help of another couple translating that we finally understood this. It seems when you do not understand they begin speaking more quickly and they just keep going until they think you have understood; despacio is a word we need to add to our vocabulary. "Donde es otel?" I asked the ladies, they said no, of course they said no, no hotels, motels or hostels anywhere near there. With some sad faces a few weary tears they let us leave our bags inside until 10pm. The new plan was find water and telephones. We found telephones at the train station, so while Kait tried calling home I went out in search of agua.
I found two 1.5L bottles for 1.25 Euros… I was so happy! However when I got back to the train staion with my treasure Kait was distraught. We could not get our phone cards to work, we were exhausted and just wanted to rest and talk to someone familiar, but all our attempts up until then had been in vain.
We sat outside talking and hydrating until 10pm then retrieved our bags from the compassionate women and waited some more. Hundreds of WYD people kept passing us and entering into the facility next to ours. We were worried and tired but around 11:00 others began to wait at our entrance. By 11:30 our leader was still MIA and we were still waiting on the sidewalk, I went in search of a bano. I found a bano in a bar about two blocks from our lodging and felt obliged to sit and have a drink.
The owner, bartender and patrons were completely amused by me and enjoyed trying to talk to me. Jo, the owner was most enthusiastic and talked to me as though it was a sport. As I mentioned before, it seems that the Spanish believe if someone doesn’t understand speak more quickly and speak more. One of the patrons bought my drink and they were ready to give me another one on the house, but I had to get back before Kaitlin got worried. I left the place realizing that that was the happiest I had been since we left the States, so I got Kaitlin and we went back… of course at 11:45pm our leader still had not arrived with a key. We ate cured meat and drank cervesa and vino and chatted with the locals about sports and family… mostly Jo, the owner, spoke, while we tried to follow along. At 12:30 we went to the lodging, laid our sleeping bags on the hard floor and fell into a deep, much needed sleep.
Our lodging, our beds.
Saturday will be a better day.
1 comment:
In retrospect this day will be a great day as the years wear on
Post a Comment