I had made up my mind not to blog on travels because the the selection and editing of photos and text was stealing a huge amount of my time, from my pasttime -following news and current affairs - which I enjoy so much.
But a good friend nudged and taunted me, not to give up.
So here comes Portugal and later - Spain.
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Ever since the day, as a school boy, I stood on Kappad beach in Kozhikode ( formerly Calicut ) on the Malabar Cost of South- West India, where Vasco Da Gama landed in 1498, I was energized by the historic journey of Gama and wanted to see the other end - from where he set off - Lisbon in Portugal.
It remained unrealised for more than four decades.
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If you want to read on Gama's trip click the link below. Press play button on the map to see his route.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya/vasco.html
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Portugal situated on the western side of continental Europe
As has become a habit, I take a picture of the LCD console of my seat depicting the flight path. It is 12:30 pm local time, 2:30 pm in Dubai, and 4pm in India, my home. 12 hours after leaving Kochi we are about to begin the descend into Madrid. The captain has just called back all passengers to their seats and requested to switch off all electronics device. In 30 minutes we will be in the Spanish capital, located at the middle of the country.
Jessy and I, arrived in Madrid on the 3rd of August from Dubai, on a very hot afternoon. It is a family vacation in the planning for about 6 months. Our son flew in from New York via London and touched down about 30 minutes after we landed. We had fixed to meet at the airport's shuttle bus stop, that ply between terminals.
But we had a long line for passport control, which he hadn't and so we met inside the terminal.
To save a day we had planned to go straight to Barcelona, from where our sightseeing began. Generally we always take the local train from the airport to the the city center, because this gives a good first feel of the new country. But as the fare for three would not save a significant amount of Euros, we took the comfort of a taxi ride to Atocha, the main rail station in the city, to get on the Renfe AVE super-fast train to Barcelona.
Our train waiting on her track. It is not a magnetic levitation -runs on wheels.
Just couldn't resist a picture with the beauty.
Traveling on this super-fast train was part of the plan, though it was an expensive option. The first class would be about 180 Euro per person, compared to about 100 € for budget flight and about 60 by bus. But the standard class price for tourist class ranges from €120 - €140 - depending on when you purchase - cheaper if you book early. It is easy to buy on line with a credit card, from any where in the world. I bought online and printed our boarding-pass at home.
The GPS Test App is quite a handy tool to have if you like to know your position, heading and speed. This app is a free download but it has some limitations. If you pay $ 4.50 you could get the full version. I recommend it.
Inside the car the speedo-meter informs the passengers the velocity of the beast.
The train touched 306 km/hour in one stretch- the fastest speed I have ever traveled on land. Other than the speedo-meter inside the car, I had my Android App 'GPS Test' installed and tracked the speed and heading - something I always enjoy to do.
The train could touch 320 km/hour but a couple of week ago one such Renfe AVE had derailed due to pilot negligence and our train never traveled at 320.
You hardly feel the speed inside. In the sound-proofed and luxurious environment one can enjoy the grand view that pass you by.
AVE took us to Barcelona in 2 hour 45 min covering a distance of 504 kms.
The main advantages to a train journey is you have more opportunity to relax and enjoy. There's no need to be at the station hours before to check in. European trains are luxurious. Good leg space and opportunity to move around. My partner adore this. You can see the scenic countryside, on the day trains, plus you have the option of dining in the restaurant or snacking in the café bar and making a real experience of the journey. The trains are very punctual too.
But I wouldn't have complained if my train had arrived late, because my son pointed out that in Spain if it reaches 15 minutes late, you could get a full refund. But ours arrived in Barcelona dot on the appointed time.
Barcelona City
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Stay in Barcelona and trip to Andorra will be another story. So we jump 3 days to Lisbon. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the flight to Lisbon, we reached Barcelona Airport from the city by metro, which was close to our hotel near the famous Diagonal Road and FC Barcelona Football Stadium. Though we were here only for a couple of days we all took a liking for the city.
Our original idea was to take a day train to Lisbon, to see the country-side of both countries. But as the journey was about 12 hours with a transfer either in Seville or Madrid and thereby losing an entire day and more so, because the train fare was much steeper than the 1 hour Vueling Airline budget flight costing only 125 Euro per person - we decided to fly. We left BCN at 7:30 am and arrived in LIS by 8:25 am.
Consequently saved another full day for Lisbon.
Lisbon called locally as Lisboa, is Europe's second-oldest capital (after Athens, Greece - which I love to see one day). Lisbon was the home of the world's greatest explorers like Vasco da Gama, Magellan and Prince Henry the Navigator and so many others.
I am here because Gama was there.
Gama died while in India and was buried in St Francis Church in Fort Kochi in 1524. Inside the church you can still see
his original burial site marked with a marble stone.
his original burial site marked with a marble stone.
Later his body was taken to its final resting place inside St. Jeremiah Monastery, Lisbon, Portugal.
sorry to be a little late ....
490 years.
The sarcophagus inside the marvelous St. Jeremiah Monastery, Lisbon.Gama's final resting place.
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End Part 1- Arriving in Lisbon; In the Foot Steps of Gama.
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