Friday, September 04, 2015

Our train to Bordeaux-St. Jean...

The train to St. Jean


... was 5 minutes delayed, then it became 20, then 50. Oh no! We couldn't afford to be late because we still had to transfer trains to Bayonne and from there, get on the train that would take us to the bus to St. Jean. I know, I got confused myself. :D



They were making announcements about what to do, where to go and what's the next stop, but of course we couldn't understand any of these. Good thing there was a kind lady who translated for us what the train manager said and every other announcement that was made in connection with our next destination. She even guided us to our next platform. It turns out that she just walked a week to Santiago, but she didn't have the time to finish it yet. All she asked in return was that we think of her when we get to Santiago. I swear, angels abound.


The pilgrim's credential
The train to St. Jean was literally bursting at the seams. The train manager decided to get a bus that would take some of the pilgrims directly to St. Jean Pied de Port. We were given a choice to stay on board or wait for the bus. We picked the bus since it would take us directly to St. Jean, with no stops. What they didn't mention was that there was no bus yet. It took about 55 minutes before we actually were able to leave the train station. When we got to the bus terminal in St. Jean, we sprinted to the pilgrims' center to get our credentials before it closed. There was a queue, of course. When we got our 'passports,' they gave us suggestions of albergues to stay. All, and I mean all of them, were full! We even went to some they didn't recommend. No, we didn't make a reservation. We foolishly assumed that since summer was over, there would be room enough. Big mistake! So there we were, getting on 9pm, out in the cold, drizzling rain with our bags, including the one we'll be sending ahead to Santiago, with no place to stay.

It was getting late and we were cold, hungry, tired and starting to get desperate. Good thing we saw hotels on the main street. So, Anj started asking around while I stayed with the bags. We took the cheapest room we could find since we'd only be there the next 11 hours. Finally, we were able to breathe in relief, warm up, wash up, make the final arrangements for our bags to be picked up and look for a place to eat. Which was not easy either since most of the restaurants were starting to close. But, thankfully, we found one. Did I mention how much I love how cheap everything is in comparison to Paris? :D In any  case, it was a satisfying meal, at a price that Paris can't beat.

No comments:

Post a Comment