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June 12 - Seville
What an effort. If you have the chance, go and look on a map and see exactly how far away Lagos is from Seville. Done that? Not too far right? Took us 8 1/2 HOURS to get there today. We left the apartment at 8am and I got to my youth hostel at 6.45 (Spain is 1 hour ahead of Portugal otherwise it would have been 9 1/2 hours).
What a long, hot, tiring day.
We got on the 8.20am train, the slow train which clatters along the coast to the Portuguese border and we arrived there at 11.45. Turns out there is a river between Portugal and Spain - who woulda thought? We had to catch a ferry across which left at 12.20 or we could have waited for the bus which left at 16.50 (no thanks!)
I grabbed a ham and cheese toastie at the shop while waiting for the ferry (the only food I would eat whilst travelling) and we jumped on the boat for a 10 min ferry ride. Once we got to Spain and wound our watches forward we tried to find the bus station. There are no trains on the Spanish side this close to the boarder and so a bus was our only option.
It was like a darn comedy movie. All conversations were in Spanish but between us we had the basics. Bus station in Spanish is ´autobus estacion´ so 'Where is the bus station?' becomes '¿Donde este autobus estacion?' which was easy enough but the answers we got ranged from 2km to 30m away.... none of them were correct in the end.
We asked at the ferry stop and he said go to the end of the street and turn left. We got to the end and asked another guy, he said 2nd left and walk for 2km. We walked another 2 blocks and asked another girl, she said around the corner and on the right about 30m away. 100m later we asked another man, he said straight on this street for about 100m. Probably 500m later we found it. Then again maybe it was 100m but felt like 500m because of my backpack. It had taken us about 20 minutes to walk there, in the hot hot hot sun... we were so sweaty and stinky.
The bus had left 10 minutes before we got there. The next bus was in 1 1/2 hours. The bus went to Huelva and then onto Seville. We had the option of getting off at Huelva and then switching to a train, but none of us felt like lugging our bags around trying to FIND the train station and figured that if it wasn't too expensive we would just stay on the bus all the way into Seville (only E10 to go to Seville, so we did).
After an uneventful bus trip (I dozed) we arrived in Seville. The Swedish contingent were staying in a differetn part of town and decided to take a taxi there as there are no metros in Seville, only buses. Meanwhile, hayfever struck again. I never got it in Australia, or Japan but set foot in Spain and I can't stop sneezing. I was fine in Portugal but as soon as I got on that ferry I could feel my nose going funny. I'm ok inside (air conditioning) but outside... I needed to find a pharmacy and buy some more tablets.
The lady at the information counter was so rude! There were 2 ladies, 1 on the phone and 1 helping people, but her instructions on how to get to the youth hostel were 'bus 6, over there.. next'. Excuse me? Over where? She then clarified by saying 'down stiars, across the street' so I went down the stairs and across the street but I couldn't find any bus stop... (I did find a pharmacy though). So I went back to the information counter except by now my nose was dripping and my eyes were running (it totally looked like I had been crying) - maybe that worked in my fvaour - and the 2nd lady was off teh phone and she was much nicer. I followed her directions, and was able to find my bus and ask the driver to tell me when we got to the stop the lady had written down.
I made it to the hostel in 1 piece...just. And my hostel sux.
It's a HI hostel which often means that it's large (this one has 377 beds) and is like a labyrinth, which is ok. The rooms are good but of course my room had no number on it and when I couldn't find it, the guy looked at me like I was an idiot or something worse. He explained that there is only 1 key per room (ok) and so I went out for dinner. When I came back and asked for the key I was totally unable to unlock my door. The lock just WOULD NOT turn and the handle seemed to keep going around... it didn't stop. So I went back down and after finally finishing talking on the phone to his girlfriend (just guessing...but it WASN'T a business call) he came with me and treated me like a 3 year old as he gave me instructions on how to manage the lock - the handle is useless, as it is just a handle, with no catch or anything... what is the point?
You are unable to open the door from the outside without the key. So if my roommate was sleeping and I came home drunk at 4am (could happen... LOL) I have to knock and hope that he/she isn't a heavy sleeper. How silly is that. Other hostels have only 1 key per room but at least if someone is in the room, you can open the door from the outside and at least try not to wake them up. When I actually got inside, I stepped in a huge puddle of water. I told the guy as he was still standing beside me, and he handed me a mop. LOVELY!
The hostel is designed with doors in a long hallway. Behind the doors are 3 more doors in a U-shape. 1 bathroom, 2 bedrooms. The bathroom was across from my room and when you have a shower, the drain doesn't drain quickly and the water floods across the floor, into our room. The staff know this, but don't care and that's why there is a mop. I didn't pay money to a) walk around in the dark trying to find my room, b) be treated like a child when the lock sticks and c) clean up the bathroom every time someone has a shower because I don't want to get wet feet when I get out of bed!
June 13 - Seville
After looking at my guidebook, I realised that there isn't too much to see and do in Seville. I thought that being a major city there would be more to keep me busy, but not really. They have a cathedral, which costs E7.50, so I gave it a miss. Can't figure out what could be worth that much that I haven't seen in heaps of other places. There is a castle, or more precisely castle walls, which cost E5, so again, not going in. I got some photos of the outside of both of these places and then just wandered around the town and spent some time relaxing in a park (in the shade). My guide book mentions this museum dedicted to the discovery of the Americas that has been undergoing renovations since 2003 and is due to open to the public in early 2006. The book says, and I quote, 'be prepared to be blown away by displays of original letters and maps outlining the discovery of the Americas and also exhibits on what life was like in the colonies'. I figured I had nothing else to do and it sounded kind of interesting.
I found the building, went through the metal detector and found out it was free - YEAH! The security guard led me inside and said 'here'. I asked 'start here?' She said 'here only' and turned and walked away. I turned around and found myself in a small room about the size of a living/dining room combined with photocopies of maps and letters mounted on the walls. That's it. Blown away - baloney - more like it. I can only assume that it is still undergoing refurbishment and isn't quite up to being fully open to the public (at least I hope that is the case).
SO I walked down to Plaza de Espanha, which I'm not sure what it is, or why it was built, but it was kinda pretty. It's a big semi-circle of buildings clad in azulejo (ceramic tiles) with a big fountain in the middle. There is supposed to be a canal but it was dry... I guess Seville is on water restrictions too. Seville is inland and so hot. They have temperature gauges everywhere and even at 6.30 it was still in the mid 30's.
Last night I had found a good quality but very cheap Chinese restaurant, I got 2 courses and drinks for about E8, so I went back again tonight. Back at the hostel, my roommate had just got back from flamenco and said it was wonderful. She gave me information about where to go as I want to go tomorrow night.
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