The Train to San Sebastian 5/18/08

I got up in the morning to the sounds of, what seemed like hundreds of people shuffling around the dormroom. They were all packing and getting ready, and making as much noise as they possibly could doing so. Still half asleep, I lifted my head and took a gander around the room. I seemed to be the only one still in bed, and it looked as if everyone else was leaving in one huge exodus. Its always a bad experience to get up early, and get ready to leave from a dorm room. I thank God for night trains because I don't have to get up with the crazy crowd of individuals, stressing and hurrying to catch their train. I waited till the carvival was over, and then got up and readied myself for breakfast. As I enjoyed the wonderful feast which this hostel provided, I wondered what I should do today. I had until 4pm to hang around Lisbon before my train would leave from the station, and factured in that it might take me about an hour to actually get to me train. So leaving at around 3pm would be just fine.

After breakfast, I did some blogging and finished putting up my pictures. I went out walking around the main square, avoiding the hoards of people trying to sell me drugs. I've had more people try to sell me drugs in the two days I've been in Lisbon than ever in all my life. I sat on a bench in the square for 15 minutes and had 4 different people aproach me with weed and cocaine. When the 4th guy walked up to me and pulled out his stash, I lost my patience, looked up at him and said "look buddy, I already told 3 of your friends no. Get the hell outta here!" No one else approached me after that. I came back to the hostel, and watched Uncle Buck on an American movie channel, and then went off walking again in the other direction.

This side of town, I've always liked a little better. It's much more of the picturesque Portugal, with the pretty houses and neighborhoods, white gazebos wrapped in blooming vines, and gorgeous views of the ocean. I wandered aroud the cliffside cafes and leaned over a railing with a view of tugboats in the harbor and the big famous bridge in the distance. I thought about what little time I have left here before I'll have to get going back home; back to reality. I don't really want to end this trip. I still feel like there's so much to learn and see, which I won't have time for. Calls like yesterday make me miss a lot of things about home, though. I miss my family, and friends I left in California. I miss the Pacific Ocean and sitting out on the deck of the beach house watching the stars. I've seen those same stars from the other side of the world, and I wonder how that will change my perception when I see them in a couple weeks. I looked around now at where I was now, and felt proud of how far I'd come, not even just as a traveler, but as a person; as a man. I gained some insite into what kind of person I am. I've seen my relationships with people expand from across the globe. I still don't have a lot of answers to many of my questions, and I wish I had more time to figure them out. This trip has so far exceeded my expectations. I knew it would be an adventure, I didn't know to what extent.

I wandered back to the hostel just in time to check out and put together my things. I made the long hike to the trainstation, carrying the load of my backpack which seems to have gotten heavier since I last lifted it. I walked into the station and found my train there on platform #2. I was early, as I like to be when catching a train, and carried my things into my assigned car. I had an assigned seat as well, but I couldn't figure out where the seat number was located on the ticket which was written in Portugese. I decided I'd just find an open seat somewhere and sit down, then if someone wanted to sit there I'd move. I found an open compartment, and chose a seat next to the window and waited for the train to begin moving. Shortly after I'd sat down, an elderly couple came in and sat across from me. They seemed confused as to the arrangement of seat numbers as well, but I offered up my seat, and then motioned for me to sit down. They spoke portugese, but also some kind of Italian. I couldn't understand any of it though. We tried to communicate to eachother using a mixture of Spanish, English, Italian, and sign language. Throughout one of those languages we were bound to understand something. With some difficulty, I told them a little about my journey, and they told me that they were originally born in Portugal, but live now in Florence, Italy. On the cover sleeve of my ticket was a map of Europe, and so I routed out my course on the map with my pen. The train began moving, and the ticket taker eventually came by to collect. I handed him my ticket and he told me I was in the wrong seat. He made me move to the compartment next door, which I was actually ok with because it was empty and I could stretch out and perhaps get some sleep. I layed sprawled out on the seats, and slept for about an hour before we stopped at the magical stop which flooded my compartment with people. Everyone seated my my compartment were guys around their early 30s it seemed. That might have made the trip a lot of fun to talk and get to know them, but half of them were already tipsy, bringing onboard their own large stash of beer, and the other half were just as loud and obnoxious sober, as the rest of them were drunk. As I sat there staring out the window, the rest of my cabin liqured themselves into a stuper. One man across from me began trying to communicate with me. If he looked like anyone it was George Clooney. He had the same haircut and bone structure, but with at least 5 times the vanity. You could tell by proud, half sagging smile that he thought very highly of himself. He beconed my attention and mumbled something which would be cohearent even if I could understand the language. "He wants to buy you a drink," the one who could speak english said. "Sure, why not?" I wasn't going to turn down a free beer, especially in this situation. A little alcohol might help me relax enough to get some sleep tonight. I walked, while the other half of us stumbled to the onboard bar, and he bought us two beers. It was really cheap quality beer, but I didn't really care. throughout the night, the grou of them actually bought me 2 beers, and then I just layed low in the corner so that I wouldn't have to explain to them why I didn't want another one and be "jolly" like them.

Periodically throughout the night, the one who spoke english would burst out singing whatever was playing on his headphones. At one point, I kicked him and made a shushing motion with my hand. He looked at me with drunked distain and then preceded to sing even louder. It was like riding a 14 hour trainride with 6 four year olds. I didn't get any sleep