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Sent from Ibiza on Fri, 31 Mar 2006 

Lisbon, to Andalucia (Seville, Cordoba, Granada) to Denia.
Hello from Ibiza

Typing this from the Internet cafe about 40m further than
Mac Donald´s on the waterfront.  Taking the fast boat to
Mallorca at 8pm, there at 10pm.  Then ferry to Barcelona
and to Marseilles, France, so about done with Iberian
Peninsula.

1. LISBON to SPAIN.  There is a daily train to Madrid, only
one, at 10pm, arriving in Madrid at 9am or so.  (In reverse
direction, a train leaves Madrid at the same time, arriving
in Lisbon at the same time.)  I took the one to Madrid, BUT
got off at CACERE at 4:30am, waited for the connection to
MERIDA (south) at 6:30am, and connected to the train to
SEVILLE, Andalucia, arriving there in the afternoon.

a) TRACK Differences.  When you ride a train in Germany (or
even thru France), you barely notice you are on a train,
none of the usual clunk-clunk sounds associated with
trains, not of the jerking around.  The train seemingly
just glides.  Not so in Spain.  Never mind the clunk-clunk,
there is also the grinding and tortured sounds especially
around curves, sometimes as if the train is about to leave
the tracks.  Sleeping is difficult on the one Lisbon to
Madrid, and probably vice versa.

2. SEVILLE.  Is one of the largest cities in Spain.  It is
a scenic city divided by a river.  I selected only 2 spots
to visit there: CATHEDRAL & LA GIRALDA and ALCAZAR
(pronounced as Alkathar).  The Cathedral is the LARGEST in
the world, so imagine its monstrous size.  It is also very
ornate.  The Alcazar was the residence of Muslim and
Christian royalty.  All else I skipped, but of course
walking to them I also got to experience the mood and pulse
of the old town.

b) BUSES.  Train connections from Seville to Cordoba to
Granada to Denia on the >Mediterranean are not a
convenient.  So for all these, I used the bus, thus leaving
myself still 7 days of EURAIL travel for later and longer,
thus costlier, stretches.  The cost to Cordoba (1.5 hours)
was 8E, to Granada 13E (less than 3 hours), to Denia (7
hours) 31.54E, all by ALSINA GRAELS Company, except the
last by ALSA.

3. CORDOBA.  I stayed at the very-nicely situated HI Hostel
in Cordoba, right next to the exquisite MEZQUITA (the
Mosque, the place to enjoy of all in Cordoba, to which I
allocated 3 hours.

a) TAXI.  In all cases, to save time--and dragging my
luggage--I took a taxi from the bus station to the selected
site, did my thing, and took a taxi back to the station, IF
I did not stay there the night.  Buses and taxis are
cheaper in Spain than in Turkey or Mexico--and the meters
function fine.

4. GRANADA. The highlight here is the LA ALHAMBRA compound
of fortress, palace, exquisite patios, and elaborate
gardens.  This is actually a city within the city,
situated in rustic woods, northeast of the city.  I devoted
to it 5 hours and then returned to the bus station for the
9pm ALSA Bus to DENIA, arriving there at 4:40am, another
nite without sleep.

5. DENIA.  I came to Denia merely as a gateway to the
BALEARIC Islands, specifically to Ibiza.  The bus left me
in the middle of the city at a small square, with no one in
sight.  The street cleaners there put me on the right
direction to the port, but after that no one spoke English,
the police and taxi drivers gave WRONG info as to when
there is a ferry to Ibiza and from where, perhaps to make
me stay an extra day in Denia, I dont know.

a) DENIA CITY. Denia is a surprisingly attractive city
situated at the foothills of a steep mountain with sheer
rocks on top, surrounded by more distant mountains.  The
marina was full of sailboats.  (Actually, I liked Denia
more than Ibiza.)

b) HOSTAL. If you find yourself in Denia, perhaps
to reach Ibiza, as I did, there is a HOSTAL L'ANFORA at the
port, with simple room for 25E, up to 35E.

c) FERRY to IBIZA.  Leaves at 8am from an L-shaped pier
about 1.5km from the waterfront.  It is NOT the BALEARIC
Line but the ISCOMAR Line.  The crossing costs 30E and
takes 5 hours.   (There were only about 20 people on the
whole ship.)  But just as we arrived in Ibiza, I saw that a
2-hour fast ferry also approaching the docks.  So there
must be another line--almost twice the price--from Denia to
Ibiza.

d) To GET to FERRY. So if you find yourself in Denia early
in the morn, wait until about 7am, hope to find a taxi
(none for almost 2 hours for me), and tell the driver to
take you directly to Iscomar ticket office. The office is
about 200m near the ferry.  OR wait for the BALEARIC
Office to open at 8am or so and take their (fast?) ferry
later.  You do NOT need to take a taxi to this one.  It is
right at the port, with a huge sign up-front, right at the
small traffic circle there.

6. IBIZA & FORMENTERA.  Just before arriving in Ibiza, the
ferry passed near the western side of the smaller Island of
FORMENTERA, just a more or less flat piece of real estate
with rocky and some sand beaches.  It did not impress me
much, though I am sure it has a few attractive spots.

a) As far as Ibiza, well, it shows more of mountains and
hills and has a full marina, expensive hotels on the
waterfront, etc.  However, I found none of the pizazz of
Cyprus, Rhodes, Corfu, certainly not Capri, my favorite
Medit. island.  The place may be alive in summer, but was
more like sleepy when we arrived at 1 pm.

b) PARTY TOWNS... Lonely Planet describes Ibiza a "Party
Town."  Then again, it also describes SWAKOPF, Namibia as a
party town.  I thought the latter was more like a dead
town, the former sleepy.  I think what goes as a party town
is the locals and visitors gather at various taverns,
probably out of boredom for lack of anything else to do,
order lots of beer, and one hears loud music mixed with
chatter passing by. Party Town, my foot.  The authors
should see the partying at any fraternity at any univ. town
in USA on a Saturday night.

c) To MALLORCA.  Taking the fast ferry at 8pm (54E) for
about the same distance as from Denia to Ibiza, but 2.5
hours faster.

7. Palma, Majorca.  It was a good idea to leave Ibiza after
5 hours or so for Palma.  The latter is a large city with
more options, and the island too offers additional choices,
one a MUST-DO (below).

a) HOSTAL in PALMA, MAJORCA. Upon arrival at the port--the
ferry from Ibiza did at nearly 11pm--take a taxi (9E) and
say you want to go to HOSTAL RITZI.  It is at the cathedral
where you want to be in Palma.  The taxi will probably drop
you off at a very narrow passage to the right (there is
also one that goes straight ahead).  At the passage, look
about 10m ahead and see the sign for Hostal RITZI (or
RITZI) on the right side.  The hostal you want is the one
right next to it, name HOSTAL APUNTADORES with British
owners who can answer your questions.  The former closes
its gate at 10pm, the latter is open all night.  AND it has
spotless dorm rooms for 20E, all the way up to 65E for a
double with bath.  AND this is the best location for all
else in Palma.

b) In PALMA. The hostal is very near the cathedral.  So do
browse the latter and the fortress (PALAU de l'ALMUDAINA)
next to it.  Mac Donald's is at the end of the boulevard to
your left at the circle.  Ask the hostal people what else
they recommend for you to do, besides walking along the
waterfront, etc. (which, by the way, looks somewhat like
the strip in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.)

c) TOUR BUS.  The red city tourist bus stops right across
the circle where the taxi dropped you off, next to a HUGE
tree at the bottom of the cathedral.  The ticket costs 13E
and is valid for 24 hours.  BUT you may be better off
taking city BUS 1 to the airport and back, each way for
1.20E.  The tourist bus also stops at the fortress on top
of a hill, but overall you pay too much for what you can
see turning around narrow streets.  Ask the hostal desk
where you can get on Bus 1 from there.  Basically, you have
to walk towards the water, turn right at the boulevard
there, walk nearly 1km to where you see 4 windmills on a
hill to your right.  The bus stop is there at street level.

Actually, from where you get off the bus, cross the street
you came from, pass the school on your right, cross the
next street, turn left to circle the large building at the
corner, and walk to your right on the next big street to
Station Fran(ch)a. (Or take a taxi from the Maritime
Building--you will see taxis to your left--to HOSTAL
NUEVA.)  You may want to enjoy a paella at the
Restaurant NAVIA at the corner across--BUT ask for the
daily Menu for 12E, not the regular menu.

Bus 1 I mentioned above is the way to get to the port in
Palma, though it may be too long to walk to the bus station
dragging a bag too, in which case take a taxi to Building 3
at the Port where you get the BALEARIA ticket.  If by bus,
ask the bus driver to tell you when you reach PORT de
PALMA.  You will be across Building 2 there (which was
closed on Sunday). The BALEARIA ticket counter is at
Building 3 about 100m ahead.  The ticket on SLOW ferry to
Barcelona costs 54E.  And this is where you come to board
the ferry.  ISCOMAR Line operates from somewhere else.

d) Palma, TRAIN to SOLLER.  THIS IS a MUST-DO, as it will
be one of the highlights of your trip.  (It was one of the
most scenic train trips I have ever taken.) Soller is a
town near the Northwest shore of Majorca, with its own
port.  There are daily trains from the train station near
PLA(CH)A ESPANA, on the street next to the TERMINUS Cafe
there, keeping the Cafe to your right.  Do NOT walk the
500m or so along on that street to another train/bus
station for other excursions.  The station you want is
almost right at the corner, across from the Terminus Cafe. 
Round-trip ticket costs 14E, for the 45min one-way trip
thru very scenic landscape with rugged mountains (similar
to Coast Mountains of California) framing lush meadows
(with sheep grazing), fruit orchards, tiny settlements, and
several tunnels, one VERY LONG (3 km). The train from Palma
operate at 8am, 10:50am, 12:15pm, 13:30, 15:10, 19:30,
returns from Soller are at: 7am, 9:10am, 10:50am, 12:15pm,
14:00, 18:30, and 19:00.

e) 2 Other VERY scenic routes.  1) From Whitehorse, Yukon
to Skagway, So.East Alaska, thru the White Pass.  There is
also a train that operates this distance.  I rode the pass
by car to Skagway and then took the train too.  2) Many
roads on Hawaiian Islands, especially the Road to Hana on
Maui. 

f) To PORT of SOLLER.  Right where the narrow-gage train
drops you off in Soller, a tram will be waiting for you. 
The trip takes about 15 min for 3E each way.  There is a
quaint little village at the port.  The trams operate every
30 minutes each way from 7am to 8:30pm.

g) FERRY to BARCELONA.  There are NO ferries from Palma on
SUNDAYS.  Otherwise both BALEARIA and ISCOMAR lines have
one daily at 12:30pm, arriving in Barcelona after 8pm,
along the boulevard that leads to FRAN(CH)A Train
STATION--where I had arrived on Feb.22.  A bus will take
you from where the ship docked to the Maritime Office, an
ornate building about 200m from where the bus drops you. 
Walk to the building, turn left to cross the street to
center lane, turn right and walk about 20m to the bus stop.
 I think any bus from there will take you to near Station
Fran(ch)a (3rd stop), and so to the hostel NUEVO I had
mentioned.

Sirman