A Long Train Ride to Somewhere, We Hope...

Bilbao, Spain

December 4, 2007

Another reason we crashed an extra night in Santiago de Compostela is because we knew we were in for another very long train ride to Bilbao. As I write this, I’m sitting on the train, the landscape flying by in the periphery; only six hours into an eleven hour day, that is, if all goes according to plan.

We each have a good book to keep us occupied, but we spent the first few hours of the trip simply enjoying the Spanish countryside as we snaked our way through mountains, along the banks of rivers, past foggy rust colored sleeping vineyards, and golden fields of recently harvested corn and wheat. We passed through several towns during our journey. Most of them small, unassuming; towns that wouldn’t look out of place in the Central Valley of California, the only distinguishing factor being the occasional road sign or advertisement in Spanish.

Luckily, this will be our last long travel day on a train. We’ll have a couple more short rides along the rails, following the northern coast of Spain to San Sebastian before heading further north and back into France. The train system in Europe makes it easy to get around, but who really wants to sit on any mode of transportation for too long? Especially when time is better spent wandering through cities like Santiago de Compostela, Porto, Sintra, or other countless memorable cities we had the opportunity to enjoy during our travels.