PART 1:
So Friday night was off to a good start, Alicia, Katya, Anoushka and I had met up in a gorgeous part of the city called Plaza de Santa Ana to have a general chit-chat and a cocktail or two. We ended up at an amazing Hawaiian bar where we ordered some lovely drinks that came in ridiculously cool glasses with the longest straws known to man peeking out of them. We were soon adorned with lays, cocktail umbrellas and flowers, and of course took the opportunity to snap a photo or two.
2am rolled around, and we decided to call it a night, and although Katya could walk home, Anoushka, Alicia and I had to head to the main bus station to catch a bus home (as the metro closes at 1.30am here in Madrid). These night buses run as replacement of the metro, and stop at many of the stops around the city. I had yet to be on one, so Ali got her phone out and looked up which number I would have to get on, and we headed to the bus station. 2.20am - I'm on a bustling night bus departing La Plaza de Cibeles, close to the centre of the city. I kept a sharp eye on which stop is up next, as I wanted to get home ASAP - hrmm, wishful thinking, eh? I recognised where I was for about 5-10 minutes, and I waited for my stop to show up, as it should only take 15 minutes or so, but it never arrived. I'm sure that at one point, we were fairly close to my area, but obviously not close enough because I didn't recognise anything. We kept going further north, and as I knew that it said it would stop close to my flat, I just sat there and watched as the bus emptied. My initial thought was that it would continue to to north, then circle back down past my stop. Unfortunately, that never happened. At about 3.30am, the last other person gets off the bus, the bus driver turns the engine off and comes over to me to tell me that this is the end of the line. Having looked at Google Maps just minutes ago to see where we were, I knew how far away from home I was. He looks at me, and I burst into tears. I am in the middle of nowhere at 3.30am, I have 1% battery left on my phone, only 10 euros on me, and I have no idea what to do. He looked at me, concerned, and asks where I'm supposed to be going. I answered, and he looks back with a surprised expression, telling me how far away we are and asking if anyone can come and pick me up. Panic mode - I began to full-on sob (as there was no one to pick me up) and after about 5 minutes of horribly broken Spanish and confusion, he told me that I could stay on the bus and ride it back to the centre. I sat on this bus for another 10 minutes, sobbing to myself, until he started the bus back up again. It was now about 3.45am, I was exhausted, panicked and absolutely terrified, yet I knew that it would be at least another hour until I would start to recognise my surroundings again. I swear my iPhone knew that I needed it, because I managed to call Ali with it, and check Google Maps every 10 or so minutes until I was home. Ali looked up the route again, and we worked out that my stop is on the Montecarmelo --> Plaza de Cibeles route, not the other way round. It turns out that the stops are different on the reverse route (hence why my stop never arrived...) and at 4.30am, about 2 hours after originally intended, I got off the bus at my stop and walked the 5 minutes home. The whole experience was really terrifying, mainly because of the combination of factors - middle of the night, different language, no escape plan, and so, so far away from my flat. So how wrong did I go? Let's take a look...
What the journey should've been...
What it ended up being...
Now don't let Google Maps fool you, it may have taken 34 minutes by car, with a direct route and no traffic - but no, I was on a bus. The bus departed La Plaza de Cibeles at around 2.15am, and I didn't get home until gone 4.30am. A journey that should have taken no longer than 20 minutes ended up taking over 2 hours, and notice the grey area in the top right corner of the maps? That's the international airport... yeah, that's how far out of the centre the bus went.
I collapsed into bed at about 4.45am, fell asleep as I hit the pillow, and thanked God that the worst was behind me, and I was safe back in my bed. Little did I know whet the next day had in store for me...
I collapsed into bed at about 4.45am, fell asleep as I hit the pillow, and thanked God that the worst was behind me, and I was safe back in my bed. Little did I know whet the next day had in store for me...
The next part will be up in a day or two!
Isobel x
