Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Jan 17-18

It was a long trip from Portland , Oregon to Alicante, Spain.  Lyft from our downtown hotel to the airport, flights to Denver, then Frankfurt, then to Madrid.  The Madrid Metro from the airport to the train station during rush hour was an adventure in its own right: there are multiple lines and transfers, and in the middle of our trip a line was closed so we had to make a major detour.  Arrived at the train station late afternoon, then had to wait until 8 pm for a train to Alicante.  We finally made it to our hotel a bit after 11 pm, sleep deprived and with seriously bent circadian rhythms.

Dragged ourselves out of bed late morning and set out for our round of errands.  The local pilgrim office is open only 11-1 so that was our first stop.  We had a very nice visit with the men there, swapped stories of Caminos past, picked up credenciales, and scored some more information about this Camino.  Next stop was Vodaphone to get a local SIM card in the phone; now we're set up for calling (incl to the US but we haven't tried that yet) and more important data access.  

Our place, Hostal les Monges, is up that little street

We walked by the Basilica de Santa Maria de Alicante which is the starting point for this Camino and conveniently right around the corner from our little hotel.  

Ate an OK meal and went out to explore a bit around the city.  We are only a couple of blocks from the waterfront, and from the elevator (how convenient!) up to the Castillo Santa Barbara which sits high above Alicante.

Sunset from the Castillo.  We'll be walking roughly that-a-way.

Cute street decorations: