On my trip to Havana from Madrid, after completing the Portuguese Coastal Camino in July last year, I was forced to spend two unplanned days in Madrid.  Whilst upset initially, I was grateful for being able to spend the time in a city which I had only briefly met a year before. 

I had booked an early flight to Madrid from Santiago de Compostela, which would allow me to rush off to the MAC make-up desk in El Corte Ingles in the city centre, in search of more of my favourite lipstick pencils, before flying to Havana later that afternoon. 

I had slept for only 2 hours the previous night, the taxi taking me to the Santiago de Compostela airport at 5h00. Once again Ryanair was fantastic in allowing my Camino walking poles as a separate luggage item, without charge, as they did in 2018.

In Madrid a new Iberia staff member decided that I did not need to check in my small case, but I did want to, but he didn’t know how to do that. So I had to give my suitcase into baggage storage for a few hours, schlepping my backpack on my back, and carrying my puffer jacket, as I was not allowed to tie it around my case. I took a bus into Madrid city centre, walking to El Corte Ingles at 40 C heat, to buy the last of my lipsticks, lucky to find 10 in my colour there. This entitled me to 10% discount one can use in select departments, and I was determined to find something to spend it on. And I did, in the summer dress department, there being a Sale.

At each of the four El Corte Ingles stores I’d been to on the trip, I was given a VIP card, and entitled to a drink and a tapas, but they would not hear of it in Madrid, as I was not sent there by a hotel…. I explained to the manager how loyal I had been in shopping at five of their stores, and she relented. I need not have bothered, the tapas of two fish croquettes looking so unpresentable, that I only tried one of them. The waiter insisted that I had to sit at the bar counter, and not at a table in the restaurant, a first time in the five experiences. A really bad hair day with Spanish men ….

Gay pride was visible everywhere in Madrid, with banners and store window merchandise. And Greenpeace was demonstrating, with heavy police presence.

I checked in my little case, and then had to kiss my walking poles goodbye, literally and figuratively at security, Iberia not allowing them as extra luggage without charge. The security lady felt very sad for me, understanding that I had walked the Camino, but could not say it in English. Just before that she had been tough about a bracelet that set off the security alarm and made me take it off. The walking poles had been very supportive, literally and figuratively.

I spent a large part of the day at Madrid airport, checking in one bag, being asked about a visa for Havana, but my reply, as I understood it, was that I would get it at the airport in Havana. And the check-in person was happy with that answer. Iberia flies to Havana daily, so one would think that they would tell you what is required when you book with them. As I was in Spain when I booked the flight, all Iberia communication came to me in Spanish!

Then disaster struck. I was not allowed to fly to Havana without the Visa for Cuba. Instead of telling me to run to a travel agency in the airport building, so that I could get onto the flight, they told me to see Iberia ‘Customer ‘Services’, the most shocking abuse of this word. Another such person told me to go to the German embassy to buy it there! After asking various persons, I found the travel agency El Corte Viajes in the airport building, and bought the Visa for R1000. Ironically, I would have been able to fly visa-less had I had a South African passport, given our country’s relationship with Cuba! I saw a lady crying her eyes out during boarding, also not allowed to fly, and I’m sure we were not the only ones. I had been told by Abel Exposito, the owner of the BnB I was booked at to stay, and with whom I had made the booking directly, that I should get the Visa ‘at the airport’, without specifying that it should be at the departing airport, and not the arriving one, and without telling me where in the airport I would buy it!  This paragraph sounds quite calm as I write it months later, but at the time I was furious, the frustration with Iberia being so immense and their ‘Customer Service’ inefficiency. I will never fly this airline again. It was a Deja vu of flying Iberia to Nice in 2018, the whole flight having been cancelled due to a strike by French air staff! It was a repeat of the same boarding gate, same Customer Service inefficiency. They took no responsibility, but then they had paid for the hotel at least. 

After an hour wait, I finally got to see Iberia Customer Service, and the man spoke good English. I had to pay a penalty to rebook for a flight two days later, the flight for the next day being fully booked in Economy class. I had to pay to stay in a hotel in the city for two nights! None of this is the fault of or responsibility of Iberia, he said. If I wanted to fly the following day, my upgrade into Premium Economy would cost R17000 one way… after already paying R10000 for the non-flight one way. It was such an excessive charge that I had to accept that flying two days later, at a penalty of (only) €150, was a more affordable option. I felt very shaky and weary about heading to Havana after this traumatic experience.

I went back to El Corte Viajes, and the travel agent found a hotel for me for two nights. It was not great, more like a big apartment, but it had a mega aircon that blasted me with Arctic air during the night, so that I had to look for a blanket. It had a little kitchenette with a fridge. I found a fabulous health shop Faborit close by, so planned to go and write there the following day, and keep it healthy. 

As luck would have it, in this more than bad luck, I had my purchases at El Corte Inglis in my rucksack with me, given that my suitcase was on its way to Havana without me…:  a dress I got for free in their sale and because of my VIP discount, my favorite perfume and deodorant CKone, plus my nightdress. I received an emergency toothbrush/toothpaste set and comb from the hotel. 

I certainly walked a Camino day’s worth of steps in Madrid and its airport on that day. My Uber driver Javier wrote a message in Spanish, using the word ‘Camino’, and then repeated it in English as ‘On my way’. A cute connection. Being driven from the airport was such a luxury after this stressful day, no stress even to find the meeting point hidden in the airport building parking Block B, with very clear instructions by Uber of how to find it. Weirdly I had to register for Uber Spain with my passport number.

There was a reason for all of this. Sometimes travel has its downside. I relied on a piece of information out of Cuba, but it was not clearly communicated. But that is part of why I was going to Cuba, writing the travel side too, for those who want to travel there. And I had been feeling apprehensive about this part of the journey, just the day before. But then my fears were allayed.

I slept like a baby, 7 hours a very long night’s sleep for me. At one stage I had to look for blankets in the wardrobe, as the aircon spewed out arctic cold air in the middle of the night. A plus was that it was very quiet in the hotel, with double glazed windows. 

I had a war of words with the arrogant night manager of the hotel the previous evening, he refusing to help me get the aircon to work as he could not leave Reception unattended. By contrast, his lovely helpful daytime colleague Davide could not have been nicer the next morning, advising me to visit the magnificent Royal Palace and the beautiful Cathedral de la Alumenda, almost literally around the corner, and easy to get to by foot. 

In the palace, a rebuild completed in 1764 after a fire destroyed the first palace, it was difficult to photograph, as some of the lights in the rooms were so bright that they affected my photographs. So I took some ‘screen shots’ off the audio guide. I made up some of my money lost due to the saga of the previous day by getting an entrance reduction as a holder of an EU passport. The use of the audio part of the Castle guide, at an extra charge, was not explained to me, so I had to get help with the Samsung device three times. The security staff in each room are there for security, not to assist klutzes like I …… I lost count of the number of public rooms we were allowed to see, about 30 with the staircases and lobbies.

Right next door is the beautiful blue/grey Cathedral el de Almudena, with modern stained glass windows, and an interesting stripe effect on the ceiling. Above the altar we could climb up a staircase, to give praise to Mary and Jesus. Beautiful silverware added to the specialness.

With the easy directions of Davide, he not knowing my interest in food, I went to see the Mercado de San Miguel, which I thought was a fruit and vegetable market, but instead was a food market much like the TimeOut Market in Lisbon. What was different was that it was at least half the size, and that each stand had its own branding, there being less commonality between the stalls compared to Lisbon. I saw some amazing food presentation, but the light reflected badly, affecting photographs. It was jam-packed, not a seat to be had between the stalls, but I found a perch. A Dutch tourist came to sit next to me, not initially getting that I could understand her in Nederlands.  

Near the Market was a pharmacy, and I found what I needed for the flight the next day, the little 100ml bottles into which I could decant my perfume, which I had bought at duty-free the day before.. A huge relief! 

I followed Davide’s instructions for how to get back to El Corte Ingles, only to visit their fabulous supermarket, the best I’ve ever been to, and had an orange juice, to cope with the 36C heat, and to take a break, at a Crusto mini cafeteria inside their store. The WiFi comes on immediately and automatically at any of the El Corte Ingles stores 

I found my way back to the hotel, all guided by a paper map… mission for the day having been accomplished.

My heart sank as I arrived and checked-in at the hotel the previous day, seeing a sign referring to their renovations, and boy were they renovating, banging and banging the next afternoon.

I loved the San Miguel Food Market so much that I went back there later that afternoon. It was not quite so busy, and it was better to photograph the beautiful food. I shared a table with Sydneyites Katherine and Geoff, and could not believe their story about actor Geoffrey Rush getting caught up in the #MeToo campaign, making him very low-key in the past two years. I had not heard the accusation against him.

On my way back to the hotel I popped in at every tourist shop, deciding that I need a fan. Wow, they range in price from €2,50 – €4, for the same designs. I had seen a polka dot black and white one elsewhere but it was broken and too expensive, until I found my perfect one elsewhere, matching my shirt exactly.

At 23h00 it was still 32C. I was lusting after a second beer, feeling dehydrated. I boldly walked into the next door 5 star VP Plaza España Hotel, at which I tried to check in the previous day when the Uber driver mistakenly dropped me off there, with a fabulous Guest Relations Manager Samuel Vela, who thought I am cute, and giving me VIP service. Sadly I was not booked into this hotel. He took me to their Ginkgo Sky Bar on the 12th floor, which is vibey, with live music, and happy people. The Barman said I can drink any beer I like, as long as it’s a Mahou, the beer of Madrid. Thunder rolled in the distance, followed by rain drops. It was a lovely ending to my two unplanned days in Madrid.

 

The chapter about my two unplanned days in Madrid is in my new book ‘SwitchBitch: My Journey of travelling Solo, step by step’, the third Book in my Transformation Trilogy, which was published at the end of December 2019. Books are available from me, as well as on Amazon Kindle: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/bookshelf?language=en_US

 

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein Instagram: @Chrissy_Ulmenstein