A Day Trip To Cordoba

It was a Thursday and a fine day, temperatures in Madrid ranging between 18 and 22o F, and the sun shining bright. We were booked on the 9.00am bus to Cordoba with return from Cordoba at 1.00am. The journey was expected to take 5 hours, hence we have only about 10 or 11 hours in Cordoba. It does not matter though as all along, and for many years, I had the intention to visit that big mosque that had been turned into a cathedral. That was all I wanted to see in Spain and all other visits and places of interests are just side visits in conjunction.

We left the apartment early to take the metro to the Estacion de Autobus as we expected a large office crowd during this morning peak period. True enough, the metro was crowded but we managed to arrive at the estacion on time. I did my usual past time while waiting, people watching and observed behaviors. As temperatures were warmer this morning the dresses got thinner lesser areas covered. The theme seems to be “more exposure is better”. I try not to ‘ogle’ but observe I did, trying not to be obvious at the same time. It appears as though the fairer creatures love to flaunt especially those who are well endowed in assets, ha ha. Main exposures for display seem to be the top and mid-reef assets, the bigger the bulge the lesser the coverage, phew…..

There were many like us, patiently waiting, and many others in a hurry. When they are in hurry and walking fast you can imagine how they walk….! There were announcements, but even if there were we would not have understood it. Just as it is in the apartment, we have the TV on but do not understand the dialog nor follow what goes on. The schedule and directional displays on large electronic boards for the busses and their destinations etc., were clear even if it was all in Espianol. Hence we had no difficulty locating our bus when the time came. We were lucky to have made reservations as the bus we took was full both directions.

The bus we took was very comfortable and spacious with a lot of leg room. The bus driver was disciplined, well dressed and formal, and stick to the rules and regulations. En route we noticed that the passengers were just as disciplined. I did not see anyone eating in the bus but most would have something to eat when the bus stopped at the rest area. I also noticed that the bus driver purchased his food and drink just like his passengers at the restaurant in the rest area, not like at home where bus drivers are catered for by the restaurants!!

The journey itself was a pleasant experience. We would have to pay four times more if we had taken the express train to Cordoba and would not have much opportunity to check out the sights along the way as the train would go very fast. By bus we could enjoy the scenery, especially when the bus negotiated through the mountain roads. The sight was beautiful. The wide expanse of farmland and vineyards along the way, the quaint little villages, the nicely designed haciendas, were all nice to view along the way. Typical Spanish designed homes were very obvious as we passed through these green fields and farmlands.

I was truly undecided on the type of transport to use to go to Cordoba whether to spend the money and go by train or save and go by bus but endure the long journey to and fro. In the end I think it was a decision well made as although the journey was long the end benefit in terms of food for sight was immense, and saved some money too.

On arrival at Cordoba station at 2.00pm we tried to get a map of the city and how to go to the Mezquita-Cathedral, the main attraction I was looking forward to visit. I was directed to the tourist information booth but found it closed between 2.00pm to 4.30pm. I had no choice but to ask around using my hands more than word of mouth but managed to get some directions. So off to the Mezquita we went……

MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Old City Apartments,
Madrid, España.