I was up early today to go to Torre Pacheco to catch a train to Madrid for an overnight stay.
Train to Madrid.
I had set my alarm for 5 am but woke around 3:30 am. Unable to get back to sleep I got up and showered before packing my washbag into my suitcase.
I took my tablets for the day, Checked I had all my paperwork for the journey and waited til 6 am to go outside with my case. Pat was waiting, and after collecting me, he drove to Torre Pacheco and dropped me off outside the train station at about 6:20 am. I was the only person there, and it was unmanned and cold. Luckily, the waiting room was unlocked, and I went inside and told Pat I would be fine and to go.
As I sat there, I looked at the train arrivals board, and it said that the next train was 9:15 am. Mine was supposed to be at 6:56 am. As I wondered about the board, two other Spanish couples arrived and sat in the waiting room. This relieved some of the worry, as I figured local Spanish would know if the train wasn't coming. I also knew we had to leave the train at Murcia to go to Albacete on a coach because of train works on the rails. As I stood at the door, a coach arrived. I showed the driver my ticket, and he said that the coach was taking us from Torre Pacheco to Albacete. I liked this idea as it meant one less change on the journey.
As I started to walk outside towards the coach, one of the Spanish men took my suitcase from me and put it on the coach for me. It was very kind of him and showed me that politeness in Spain towards people with disabilities is much better than in the UK. I sat in the front seat and we were soon driving away from the station. I took my Kindle out of my bag to read, and as I moved to get comfortable, I somehow pushed a hidden stop request sign. The driver luckily ignored the sign and continued.
We travelled through Balsicas, Murcia, Archena, Cheza, and Hellin before arriving at Albacete. We picked up people at every stop, including eight Spanish ladies who all looked great in their tight denim jeans and cowboy hats on their way for a hen party in Madrid. As I got off the coach at Albacete, I was met by a lady asking if I was Alan. I told her I was and she collected my case from the coach and walked me through the train terminal, through security to my platform, where she found me a seat. As the train pulled in, she called me, showed me to my seat on the train and put my suitcase in the luggage rack behind me. This was so much easier than it would have been, struggling to find the right platform and queuing to get through the station alone. Thank you for the tip, Lottie. It was certainly appreciated.
When we arrived in Madrid, I got off the train and again took the disabled lift down to the exit, which saved queuing to climb the stairs or use the escalator. As I went outside, I saw a Burger King restaurant and went in for something to eat and drink. I ordered a bacon burger with onion rings and a lemon Fanta. It didn't look very appetising or warm when it arrived, but it filled a hole in my stomach. In Los Alcazares, I could have got a 3-course Menu del Dia and a beer for the €12.50 it cost me.
I looked at directions on my phone and went outside the train station to the Cabify pick-up point. I ordered a lift when I got there, and the driver picked me up in about 10 minutes. We drove through Madrid to the small hostel I was staying in overnight, and he dropped me off and gave me a carton of water to drink. I do like the Cabify app. It gets you reasonable cheap fares with good inbuilt security.
I went inside Hostel Viky, and the helpful man on the desk soon had me checked in. He also arranged my free lift to the airport tomorrow at 4 am. He offered to store my case in the office as I had to go up two flights of stairs to my room, but I took it with me to put clean clothes on for my long day in the air tomorrow. The room was small but clean, had everything I needed and was a lot nicer than the ones I had stayed in on previous trips to other cities.
I sat on the bed and checked the time. It was about 2 pm. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, it was 5:45 pm. I felt better for the sleep but decided I wouldn't go out for food as I wasn't hungry. I went to the Arsenal website to follow the Wolves vs Arsenal game.
After listening to the commentary of the game, which Arsenal won 2-0, I went to sleep. I hoped I would wake up in time for my lift to the airport in the morning.