Spanish Secrets: Almost The Midnight Express
Oh Mr Spanish Porter, what shall we do? We wanted to go to Santiago, now it seems as though we're going to Vigo too! Craig Briggs tells the story of an unwelcomed train journey.
Among our guests last summer were Melanie's dad Geoff and his wife Liz. They were travelling around Northern Spain on a two week coach tour, two nights of which were spent in the pilgrimage city of Santiago de Compostela.
Besides enjoying coach tours Geoff is a keen train enthusiast, so whilst visiting Santiago they decided to get a train to Ourense which is less than half an hour from us. We would meet them in the car and they would then spend the day with us. Everything went to plan and we had a lovely day together.
The return train left Orense at six and, being an express, they would be back in Santiago in an hour and a half, giving them time to tour the cathedral there before getting a taxi back to their hotel.
We drove them back to the station in Ourense and waited with them for the train which arrived on time. The train’s windows were heavily tinted glass, making it impossible for us to see them to wave goodbye. So we left them, happy that they would soon be back in Santiago.
How wrong could we be?
The following day Geoff phoned Melanie with what is now quite a funny story, but at the time it had been quite a terrifying for them. After we'd left them Geoff had become concerned with the delay in the train setting off. Having lowered a window and leant out, was put at ease by the sight of a new locomotive reversing down the track and coupling up to the carriages.
At the time he thought it strange that they would have removed some of the front carriages and then brought a new locomotive link up to the rear carriages - but after all this was Spain.
It wasn't until the ticket inspector seemed somewhat concerned but unable to convey those concerns in anything but his native tongue, of which Geoff and Liz's knowledge extends to please and thank you, that they themselves started to become concerned.
As neither party could communicate with the other the ticket inspector left returning a few minutes later with an English-speaking passenger who gave them the devastating news.
The train they had boarded in Ourense arrived as one train but was then split and left as two, the front part travelling north to Santiago and the rear section, which they were presently on, was travelling west to Vigo.
Don't panic!
The bearer of bad news went on to tell them that the inspector had radioed through to a train on route from Vigo to Santiago which would wait at a station where the two trains were most likely to cross paths and where they could switch trains without causing too much delay to other passengers.
Geoff did his best to calm Liz, whilst feeling pretty worried himself, but as promised at the appropriate station and on the opposite track the train to Santiago was waiting for them.
Speed was now the order of the day. The bounded off the Vigo-bound train ran along the platform, over the bridge then down the other platform. They boarded the waiting train in a state of exhaustion.
They finally arrived back in Santiago at eleven thirty, five and a half hours after setting off and arrived back at their hotel relieved and exhausted just before midnight.
email address
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