Planes, Taxis and Trains... to Malaga
Check-out of our Airbnb was simple. We tidied up, grabbed our luggage… left the keys on the counter and grabbed our luggage. Off to the Aerobus, which would take us back to the airport. Upon our arrival, we went through security and waited to find out what gate we would be assigned. That’s the funny thing about European airports, clearing security is quite fast and efficient. Expecting for the process to take longer, we were inside the terminal very quickly. It turned into a “hurry up and wait” because gates are not posted on the flight board until 40 minutes prior and you have to scurry to your gate. It could be close or it could be far…
First leg down… we landed in Madrid. Such an interesting airport. The best laid plans don’t always work out. We all paid for an extra cabin bag so we could quickly exit the airport and taxi to the train station. As we boarded, the gate agent took our friend’s bag and checked it in. When we got on the plane, we saw plenty of room for their bags but…it was too late. We would just have to hope they come off early and the traffic would be light on the way to the train station!
As luck would have it, the bags came off quickly. We walked outside the airport and jumped into a taxi. Showing the Spanish speaking driver a phone with the address on it, helped to communicate where we needed to be… and how quickly! We had a great driver, he got us safely to the terminal with plenty of time to spare! Just as in the airport, we had to wait until 30 minutes prior to find out on which track our train would arrive. While we waited, I watched the board… the others grabbed food (there was nothing really on my restrictive diet… so I got a candy bar).
As we rolled out of the station, our first view was a very populated section of Madrid. As far as the eye could see… buildings. Apartments, businesses, cars… high rises… spread out and up the hill in the distance.
Until we got out of the city of Madrid, we saw quite a bit of artistic graffiti. The walls all along the train track had colorful words, designs and drawings. This lasted until we got outside the city and into the more rural area. Last time we took the train to Malaga, it was along the ocean. This trip was the inland route.
Blooming trees, rolling green hills… beautiful scenery
As I prepared to write this blog, I planned on saying how much I love trains… then I realized, I love transportation. Road trips, trains, airplanes… moving from one location to another. Dueling Time Zones remains the perfect name for the blog to document our travels. Anyway, moving from place to place fills me with FOMO… obviously, it was not the same for my travel companions. It seems the gentle rocking and rumble of the train on the tracks… lulled them to sleep!
The fun part of train travel, is the different landscape we pass through. Passing interesting architecture, statues, rolling hills and agriculture. After seeing the ocean side, this was an interesting change. Spain has such a diverse landscape!
Adding to the beauty we saw on our way… was colorful. Fields of yellow was such a pop of color in a mostly green countryside. Spain is such a mixture of rural and urban, modern and historical. Getting closer to Malaga… can’t wait to arrive!
