FROM PARIS TO PAMPLONA

michelleperram

Aug 30

SPOILER ALERT: Despite the story you are about to read, I was not really stressed out over the events of today

Paris to Hendaye, France

Hendaye, France to Irun, Spain via metro, 2 stops, 3€ 20 extra for the tickets

Irun to Vitoria, girl at the station told us to get off at the second stop and switch to the train to Pamplona. Our ticket is for Vitoria and then the next ticket is for Pamplona.

The train stops in Brinkola which according to the map on the train is the end of the line. THE END OF THE LINE! As if it's Gandolf shouting, "You shall not pass!" We are totally at a loss because everyone on the train has dispersed and the train station looks like a bombed out building from WWII when I spot two guys wearing green shirts get out of the last car. I watch them and notice they get into the first car. They must work for the train company. I run into the car and…they're not there . Luckily they are in the engineers room and they tell me not to worry. We're going back to Irun but they tell us to get off at Zumarraga where we can get a train to Pamplona. Yes!

The train goes to Zumarraga in the opposite direction of Vitoria. Here we talk to someone at the station who speaks no English and my Spanish barely extends beyond ordering a cafe con leche. He says to get back on the train (still going in the opposite direction, get off at Araia and take the train to Pamplona. Great! Our ticket doesn't say that but he says not to worry and I trust him.

Zumarraga to Araia, the conductor herds us to the very back of the train because this train is actually going to Madrid and it's going to separate and we don't want to be on the wrong end of that. We'll get the train to pamplona there.

Araia to Pamplona, as we approach Araia the conductor suddenly yells for everyone to stay on the train. There's no train to Pamplona there so we're going to Vitoria. Does this seem familiar?

Vitoria to Pamplona, the conductor hustles us off the train and says to go quickly to platform one where we are to run at a brick wall which will magically transport us to platform 9 3/4…no wrong story. I go into the train station to make sure this train will go to Pamplona. I can't understand the ticket agent so I keep saying Pamplona and he responds DE LIE. It's like a bad game of Marco Polo. Finally the guy next to him intervenes and says DELAYED! We saunter to the platform and the ticket agent comes running out to tell us the train is not delayed it's about to leave! We manage to board and before the door closes I yell to another agent, "Pamplona?" and he responds "si". This train is headed to Barcelona. I hope it stops in Pamplona .

Arrival at the train station in Pamplona at 6:00 pm. We are 30 minutes late but amazingly we have made it to Pamplona in what must be the most convoluted route. What an adventure!