On foot or hitchhiking: the odyssey of getting home without trains during a blackout

BarcelonaFor many, returning home this Monday was a real ordeal. At various exits from Barcelona, ​​groups of people lined up and, as cars passed, raised their arms with signs indicating their destination: Cerdanyola, Vilassar de Mar, Mataró, Granollers, Cardedeu... The luckiest were rescued. Returning by public transport was practically impossible.Without trains and unable to communicate with family or friends, there weren't many alternatives. The intercity bus was completely overcrowded.

Martina Klein's Hitchhiking

One of the people who had to come up with an alternative plan to get home was model Martina Klein. The presenter explained in a conversation with ARA that she was at a meeting in the heart of Eixample when the blackout occurred. When she realized the power outage was longer than usual, she managed to contact her eldest son, but the connection was cut off before she could give him a specific address to meet him. "I still don't know how he did it, but an hour after the call was cut off, my son managed to find me and stood in front of the door of the office where I was," Klein explains, still surprised.

They both left their offices intending to go home, on the outskirts of Barcelona, ​​but the public transport they usually use had stopped running, so the only viable option was to find a taxi. "We also considered walking back, but it was more than four hours and we had to climb the Arrabassada," the presenter explains. Taking a taxi wasn't easy either: "There was no way: the traffic was chaotic and the few taxis that passed were occupied. Besides, we were starting to get into a hurry because we had to pick up our youngest daughter, who was at school in a town in the Vallès."

Unable to find any free taxis, Klein thought there might be a vehicle that could take them closer to their destination. "She saw one and asked the driver, Siraje, to stop," she explains excitedly, pointing out that there is humanity in the midst of despair.

The alternative of friendships

For Silvia, who also lives in Vallès, returning on foot at a good pace was more than four hours. Considering she was traveling with backpacks filled with schoolbooks and computers, it wasn't very feasible. They were fortunate that a colleague offered them her car. Leaving Barcelona wasn't easy because everything was quite congested and many traffic lights weren't working. They also struggled with gas: despite stopping at five gas stations, all of them had their pump lights off. The toll booth for the Vallvidrera Tunnels was working. Payments were possible by card, which surprised them, considering they were practically non-functional everywhere. For example, they couldn't buy tickets for public transport.

Without backup

Many residents walked to Fabra i Puig station to catch an intercity bus and return home. Sandra, who works at the Barcelona Design Museum and lives in Sabadell, walked from Plaça de les Glòries to Fabra i Puig to catch a bus: "I stood in the longest queue of my life, and up to three buses passed before I could get on. Today I also have to go to Barcelona, ​​let's see how it goes." On Tuesday, she found the Sabadell Renfe station closed and was hoping to catch a bus.

A group of teachers from a secondary school in Hostafrancs, who on Monday had been on guard until all the parents could pick up their children, also walked to Fabra i Puig in the hope of catching a bus that would take them back to Cerdanyola and Montcada i Reixac. There was a certain amount of frustration, and some who were waiting in line for a bus wondered where the backup buses were. "Where the hell are the reinforcements?! They're not here, and they're not expected," lamented a girl who was supposed to take a bus to Caldes de Montbui. Another, ironically, explained that as a Renfe rider, he was used to all kinds of hardships. María, who lives in Cardedeu, said that eventually her father would be rescued by car. "I've been lucky!" she asserted.

Marc, who lives in Sabadell, decided to take it easy. He walked to Sagrera, where a friend of his lives, and stayed for a drink. "When I saw the atmosphere and traffic were calmer, I went to Fabra i Puig to look for the bus and, without problems or queues, I got on and was home by 10 p.m.," he explains. Gemma, who lives in Hospitalet de Llobregat and works in Barcelona's Raval district, opted to sleep at a friend's house in the Gràcia neighborhood.

Getting to Barcelona wasn't easy this Tuesday morning either. The intercity buses were packed. Albert, waiting for the bus to Barcelona in Ripollet, saw how the driver had no intention of stopping and gestured with his arm for those waiting to be patient and get on the next bus. Many passengers opted to take the car.