In order to reach Cádiz, I had to take one commuter train to Madrid Atocha. There, I either needed a high-speed train directly to Cádiz, or a connection via Seville. I chose this last option, because it was less than half the price round trip. The train company RENFE has three types of trains: the commuter trains Cercanías, the long distance system and the medium distance system, and I had to use all three.

Since I worked until the early afternoon, I bought a ticket for the 18:00 AVE (long distance and high speed). In order to be covered by the train company’s delay coverage, my Cercanías train to get to Madrid had to arrive an hour before departure, so at 17:00. The 16:00 train got there at 16:59, and I did not want to get caught in a technicality if there was a problem, so the aim was taking the 15:30 train. In the end, I was able to get on the 15:00 one, which left at around 15:20…

When I bought the ticket, I was issued a QR code which should have allowed me in and out of the commuter train systems as well as the long- and medium-distance ones. However, it just would not work. At first I thought because maybe it was a tad too early, but it turns out… It just did not work on either station – it did not let me either in or out the commuter train system. During the train rides, I had to take care of the process to check in online and get the codes to access the hotel and the room. It was a one-star hotel, the only thing I had found at a reasonable price for three nights that allowed me to check in late – the last train was due to arrive at 22:28. Since they did not have a physical reception, everything was done electronically.

After I talked to someone to let me out in Madrid Atocha, I went for ice-cream outside the station, and a sandwich to go so I could have dinner on the train or after arrival. Then, I went back to check out a magazine shop and buy the September numbers of National Geographic and Muy Interesante, both of which talked about dinosaurs, and there went my idea to be productive during actual travelling time. It turned out all right though, because in three out of the four long rides I ended up seating backwards, which means I get motion-sick if I look at a screen for too long.

After going through security into the AVE boarding area, I tried to find out how to connect with the final train, and I was told that there would be “someone waiting for me to take me to the other train”. I was highly sceptical of this, so once in the AVE I tried again. Once more I was told that there would be someone waiting to signal “connections”.

Guess what? There was nobody. However, I managed to easily find the correct track and my seat with a few minutes to spare – fortunately, I was travelling light. It is possible that the train waited for passengers that were coming from the AVE, but I made it without a problem – I wish I could say without stress. I had however checked online in my hotel, and if I missed the second train, the company would take responsibility, so worst case scenario was having to sleep in Seville on RENFE’s dime, and getting to Cádiz the next morning.

Fortunately though, there were no hiccups. When I finally arrived in Cádiz, about 15 minutes late, I walked towards the hotel, which was less than fifteen minutes on foot. It was around 23:00 when I walked into the room, so the whole trip took about eight hours.

The hotel was a refurbished traditional house built around a patio. The lift – which I used just twice – was just big enough for one person and you had to keep your finger on the button or it would stop. The walls in the common area were covered with azulejo ceramic tiles. The code reader in the main doors reacted quickly. However, it took me a couple of tries to get the code reader at the room working. There were two steps at the room that would threaten my safety if I got distracted – just before and after the door.

The room was bigger than expected for a one-star hotel, it looked reasonably clean, and it had enough sockets. There was a table, which was a little wobbly but did not fall during my stay there, and a small fridge which would be very handy.

What would a normal person do? Eat their sandwich, have a shower and go to bed, right? I did have the sandwich, but almost immediately I went out again. I had to say hello to the Atlantic Ocean. I was closer to the harbour, but instead I crossed the whole city centre until I reached the promenade Paseo del Vendaval, thus called because the little bit of the Atlantic in front of the town is called Mar del Vendaval (Sea of the Gale). The weather was not hot, but humid, and my long sleeves got a bit stuck to my skin. I had forgotten that sensation. I also had a weird feeling of familiarity. A lot of things had changed, but the layout of the town was still the same, so I sort-of knew where I was, though nothing was exactly what I remembered…

I walked along the promenade and reached the cathedral Catedral de la Santa Cruz, where I hung out a little. Then headed out for the square where the town hall Casa Consistorial stands. It was way past midnight, so I thought I should head back to the hotel. This time I had no problem making either pin code work, and took the stairs to get to my room on the third floor – it was good exercise after so long crammed in a train. I then finally took my shower and went to sleep.