I slept like crap. I think Michelle did as well. When the 5:30 AM alarm sounded we both bolted like we were at a race. The front desk had only a security guard who asked for a few minutes to call an agent. They are a little puzzled to our checkout date. I think they were confused by our being in a larger group checking out tomorrow.
Whatever the case we were soon outside ordering and waiting for a Bolt. It was strange the Bolt licence plate I ordered was not what showed up. He knew my name so that was comforting. The drive to the Train station seemed really really long. We had actually walked much of this? Wow
We arrived at the train station super early. Even the washroom was not open. There were not signs of signs for a bus. When we went through security some yellow shirted people offered very confusing information about the bus. We turned around to our starting point and found a not busy Renfe customer service station.
A very helpful agent saw out ticket and printed for us boarding pass for out entire journey. He explained all connection points, the Bus, the regional train in Madrid and the final train to San Sebastian. We were a little confused at first and found no help outside where the busses were to be. We decided to take the plunge on a Starbucks Caffeine hit, use their bathroom and figure out what was in front of us. One more walk to the same Renfe station I discovered he had explained the entire journey to us. The boarding pass we printed also included the bar codes needed for the regional train. Yay. Out at the front of the station, signs and queue lines for our 7:45 Busses to Madrid were being built. I explained to Michelle we were on track when a kind lady at Starbucks heard our conversation and spoke up. She was from England, currently in Spain with her Dad looking for a home in England. Super helpful she was explaining this bus was only to bypass some landslide damage. After only 1 hour, we would soon be on the highspeed train.
Finally with more research I learned that in February 2026, Storm Leonardo caused the collapse of a 300 M retaining wall. The Málaga to Antequera-Santa Ana train route currently required a bus bypass.
We arrived so early at the train station the staff and signs for this bus bypass were not yet in place. After our Starbucks visit the signs and busses were ready to roll. I counted at least 4 busses. We got on the second and watched the beautiful land go by.
Once in Antequera-Santa Ana the rest of the trip was easy and fast. Madrid was super awesome. Finding the proper process to print our ticket from the Combinado Cercanías was impossible to figure out.
Thankfully once we figured out which C train to take, our boarding pass could be used to get to that station.
Tempted we were to spend time in Madrid if only we could store our heavy bags. We found nothing, even a washroom. In fact we had to walk for 12-15 minutes to get to the High Speed Train station. Once we found this station we learned we could not pass security until 60 minutes before our train.
Yay we had an hour to kill but honestly nowhere to go. At least we found a place to chill and grab some ok priced grub.
We noticed on our Trains departure notice wording that looked scary. Sadly we could not take a pic or film it with out cameras as the LED light looked funny. We both spent time typing the wording manually to learn to train to Irun was regional due to work Our ticket was to San Sebastian only I thought. We were to manually take a ticket to Irun so we had no worries.
The Train to San Sebastian was awesome. There was a nice woman with a baby girl having to deal with seating a few times. I think she booked a single seat in front of us. Her baby needed the second at times which I think conflicted with another passenger. There was a bit of confusion a rep needed to assist with. Eventually the baby lady was in front of us and then behind us to our right. Sometime into out journey she was running forward with a barfing baby. We helped the best we could with cleanup. This poor mom struggled with cleanup off the barfy floor while leaving her baby sitting by herself. I certainly said yes when she asked if I could watch her. All it would take is one hard brake and this kid would be a bashed face. I busted out buddy for entertainment and it seemed to bring the kid out of barf zone. Mom kept buddy until she could get it back away. 5 hours is a long time to travel with a little kid solo. I totally understand why she panicked looking for her lost cigarette before jumping off the train.
It was only a few more stops before San Sebastian. The high speed train is not so fast in these little towns. We are able to see the very high rivers, many abandoned huge factories and very very green lands from the rains they receive. Once in San Sebastian we jumped off our train only to be confused where to go next. Thankfully the staff indicated the Train to Irun was soon to be on the same track we stopped at. I took the time to pull out Buddy and asked Michelle to help with a pose. With so little sleep, buddy fell onto the ground and down upon the tracks. A nice Mexican girl saw out plight and mentioned the Train staff were really kind and could help. Certain this was. We indicated we had lost a very sentimental friend and within minutes a pickup stick rescued him for more adventures
Our Mexican friend loved our Canadian pin and reciprocated with a 50 Pesos bill. Not needed but Tim will love it. The train was soon under our feet and so too was Irun. I would have loved a Bolt or Taxi but there were not to be found. A 45 minute walk to our Airbnb home was easy after our 12 hours journey. We were only 10 minutes late of our estimate. Our host was welcoming at almost 10 PM. Water awaited soon to be enhanced by tangerines. 2 cats to pet as well as a gentle dog. This place will do. What a day
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