Facebook Interaction with Backpackers

I know this post is just interrupting with the time line of my Backpacking experience but there is something very interesting that can be of Interest for all the Backpackers that are reading this BACKPACKERS DIARY. If you are part of the Social networking revolution specially talking about Facebook there is a new Facebook Application for Backpackers, and there is a very interesting Review of it in this Facebook Blog,

Check it out, and tell me what do you think. :-)

We woke up to Visit Madrid during day light!!

So after the long night, and early morning we decided to go for a walk in Madrid and visit some of the museums we were said that were interesting to visit.

First we walked through the "La Gran Via" where we checked all the amazing constructions at the sides of the roads, having a first insight of what was waiting for us during all our Backpacking around Europe.
Even now that I read my Backpacker Diary from Europe and I compared it to my Backpack Diary wrote on my Backpacking around Bolivia (South America), I can understand that the world is divided in several different worlds one totally different to the other, and there is beauty all around no matter where you go.

Then after La Gran Via we went to the Reina Sofia Museum, where we spend some hours looking art (that yet I do not understand), and that was pretty much all for the first day.

Alarms and Backpackers don't get along

Turn that off!!!! we are going to wake up all the people in the HOSTEL!!!

3:47 morninf time, I was sleeping like a baby, maybe even better after the whole crusaide with our backpacks and no place to go, while the alarm, yes the alarm starts to ring like crazy!!!. I jump from my bed, stepping on my backpack willing to defend all my belongings against the thread that activate the alarm.
I turn my head to my right just to see my cousin also ready to act, full throttle for our heart beats... I switch on the light!!!
WAAAAAAAAA

Nothing there, but the alarm was still shouting like crazy, everything was there our backpacks, our cloths, even my backpacker's diary... so what happened????, but please before we keep on looking arounf turn that annoying thing before we wake up all the people sleeping in this hostel.

My cousin and I, confused and annoyed, sit in our beds, give a fast check to our backpacks, nothing happened, false alarm (noisy one) but still our hearts and adrenaline are up high....

We look one to the other, and agreed. We rather get stolen than die of a heart attack, that thing really scared us both... more than necessary!! - the alarm looked similar to this one in the pic

So, no alarm for this backpackers, we better go to sleep. We have a whole new continent to discover starting from Spain..
Good night!, and sweet dreams with no alarms tied to our backpacks, this time if you want to steel us please don't scare us, just take the backpacks, and leave this new backpackers keep on sleeping.!!

First Insight, Backpackers Discovering Madrid

Backpackers... Let's go for a walk around the city

Yes, all set backpacks open, smiles in the faces and a a new city to be discovered. We got all our things in our "5" stars bedroom in the guest house, and we leave the place to go for a walk.

We go down the stairs that by then felt so easy because we weren't bringing our heavy backpacks on our backs, and life seemed to be just wonderful. We started walking through the Gran via Street finding ourselves for the first time with the real feeling that our backpacker's experience was starting at that right moment, with no worries about schedules, nor responsabilities but just the will to see what every corner, and every street had to offer to us while we walked sorrounded by the lights of the winter night.

We walked for around two hours, around the city, had dinner and return to our majestic guest House.

We got up the stairs and went to sleep... but first... yes as always fear appears again, and my cousin takes out his backpack and searches for something inside of it.

HERE IT IS!!, I ask what's that???, and alarm we plugged to the door and if somebody tries to get inside while we are sleeping we will be wake up!!.

WOW, that's amazing!!, we can use that during all our trip!!! with that we can go to sleep safe without the fear that somebody could steel our backpacks or stuff while we sleep.

Exactly he said....

All done, I write down on my backpacker diary "First night, the unexpected happened, we solve it!!, this backpacking thing really suit us!!

Hello Backpackers!! Welcome to my guest House

Backpackers, Finding their first Hostel!!

So we get in, we walk around some bricks and buckets full of fresh paint.... there is an elevator, we called, but apparently it doesn't work so we start going up through the stairs!!, three floors up with our huge BACKPACKS, that after a 14 hours plane, plus another 5 hours of research and walks around all MADRID, where the longest stairs in my life.

Hello, little boys, she said.. I am Sacha (in clear spanish but with strong russian accent), what can I do for you??...

We are looking for a place where to stay, that was obvious, to her reply that she only had two bedrooms left, both of them with showers, but only one.... with TOILET,,,, hahah Yes that's right we had a place where to take a shower but no place at all to do number one or two!!!. ( As you can see on this picture that didn't stop me to follow nature's call)!!

Anyway we had no option, how much is it??? O F$&^%k a rip off, but you know that when it's late, in a huge city like Madrid, you are just starting to feel what it is to be a backpacker, and no other option is thinkable, the price is reasonable!!!.

We split in two, me and my cousin David together in the non toilet bedroom, Diego and Ary in the luxurious other room.

Big backpacks are open, way too much for the time we would stay there, but in a way it was the feeling of arriving somewhere... excited? YES!! Our backpacker's adventure was starting succesfully!!

Backpackers arrived to the old Continent now Spain

BACKPACKING with no Direction

Wow, we got out of the plane, and there he was, my cousin waiting for us because his flight from the states arrived 5 hours before, so right in that moment I realized that we were far away by our own.
So after some happy greetings, laughing and hugs we started to discover the world of the adventurer travelers, by asking to the people how we could get to this hostel that we chose in our hostelling international guide.... So after some helpful and nice advisors we encouraged ourselves to go towards the subway that was supposed to take us close to that place.

We Changed some money before (back then there was no Euro, so we all traveled with US dollars, having to change money in each country) and we took the "Metro". We got to the station we got down, and again carrying our heavy backpacks we ask for directions again to one guy that was walking down the street, and he told us... "O no ese es un lugar lleno de yonkyes" meaning that in Spanish that the place where we were willing to go was full of drogadicts....

First crisis!!! What do we do??? Let's do a Backpacker’s meeting, let's put our bag down, grab our bible (hostel guide) and let's chose another place!!! Yes we can do that! Ok we agreed, we found another interesting place... by interesting I mean that the reviews were well written and we started heading to this new place... lunch time was about to finish and we didn't have time to stop until we found a place where to sleep for the night!!.

We got to the second place, we got up the stairs one floor that felt like a 20 floor because of the size of our backpacks, and there we were.

We ask for a place to stay!!! He laughs!!! We look one to the other we speak the language so we can all understand that this guy in the front desk is laughing at us, asking us how we even dare to go there without reservations!....and starting to imitate our Argentinean accent calling us "Boludos" - (Dumbas) Something we weren't expecting at all.

Another backpackers meeting, we all agreed let's take the subway for the last time straight to the center of Madrid where for sure we will find a place where to stay!!

Subway!!

There we are the four of us, our backpacks, and yet our energy and happiness besides the failures of our previous location plans.

We started walking towards "La Gran Via" (main avenue), looking around all the spots to find a place where to crash, and after one hour of no findings, the evening was coming and we started talking about what we would do if in another half an hour we would not succeed on finding a place...

Traveling on the night train to Portugal was the main option.
Returning to the train station and sleep there was the other one.

NONE OF THEM SOUNDED GOOD AT ALL. - I felt like missing home at that moment.

We kept looking for a place until we found next to an adults shop (where they sell toys) a building about to fall with a crappie sign that said rooms for rent.

We got in!

Backpacking To Europe first stop Spain

Wow, it seems to be like yesterday when back in 1999 me and my best three friends with 18 years back then said goodbye to our parents, lifted our backpacks and walked through the migrations line in the airport to the trip that would literally change our lives forever.


I remember that that was only the first time the three of us Ariel, Diego and I were going to visit Europe but also the first time we would travel abroad without our parents, having to ask them for a written permit to leave the country by ourselves.


We were sitting on the waiting room half excited half scared because from that moment on we knew that for the next two months we would have no one to take car about us by ourselves.


We got into the plane, and flew straight to Madrid, Spain... with our ISIC cards, our hostelling international membership cards (a total waste of money), some random guide for hostels around Europe, and of course our fake reporter's ID (a big money saver)