I didn’t tell anyone that everything I write about would be cheerful or limited to hardships that involve nothing worse than tiring train rides. I didn’t embark on this journey because I expected to find joy around every corner. As Javier said, “I go for the difference.”
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After a car-bus-taxi-train never showed-bus-train-taxi ride where pretty much everything that could go wrong did, I arrived in my lovely Bratislava hotel just before midnight on Friday. The journey would have been on my (mercifully short) list of worst travel days ever except that I met some wonderful Czechs on the train.
Imagine trying to get from Mill Valley to Tilden Park using public transportation and the bus ride ends on San Pablo Avenue so you have to walk the rest of the way and of course no one speaks English. That was what it was like to get to the “Bugacpuszta”, a traditional Hungarian horse show 30 miles from my hotel in Kecskemet, which is a little off the beaten track to begin with.
So…I had my fun with friends in Spain and Hungary. And now it’s just me. Time to make the transition from a tourist to a traveler. A vagabond. A nomad. A homeless person with no friends!
I arrived in Budapest late Tuesday. First impressions — gorgeous architecture, strong feeling of community, beautiful parks, great museums and lots of performing arts. Many of the downtown streets are lined with trees and busy sidewalk cafes, and there seems to be a thriving youth culture (which is on my official list of criteria for healthy cities).
I am hanging out for a few more days with Mags and Javier, this time in Malaga where Javier lives. Malaga is a popular resort town on the southern coast of Spain.
Thirty years ago, I visited the Spanish town of Cuenca and, at the time, I told myself I would return. So I did it, I made it back to Cuenca!
Madrid is more fun with friends. I spent the weekend exploring the city with Mags, who is from the Toronto area, and Javier, who lives in Malaga on the southern coast of Spain.
Camino Milagro 