Our Taxi Did Not Come !!!

After Cuenca, we were booked to catch a 6am bus to Toledo. Our apartment host booked the taxi for a 5.30am pick up. We waited till 5.38 before deciding to walk the 2.2km downhill to the bus station. Fortunately, we'd put our 4 suitcases into luggage lockers at Madrid Atocha Train Station and are traveling light with daypacks. We passed a pharmacy with a sign outside that showed current temperature, -2'C. Opps. We expected to go from taxi to bus to taxi and were not really layered for low temperatures. The half walk half run did very quickly warm us. We got to the front of the dark and closed bus office to see an oncoming bus. Whilst silently congratulating ourselves for just making the bus, (we were all too puffed to speak), we watched the bus pass us and turn the corner. What! We missed the bus! At 6am in deserted quiet streets, we were left standing in sub zero temperatures, and we missed the bus. The bus driver saw us and did not stop.

We need another plan. Grace tried to call the taxi company to price a taxi to Toledo. "No taxi go to Toledo. Taxi only to Cuenca." We needed another plan. We're needed to get out of the dark and quiet road. We needed to sit down and rethink, somewhere safe, and preferably warm. We walked back to the main road and found a bench to sit on across the road from a petrol station. Seat, safe, still freezing; 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

Eventually, the petrol station opened its doors, and Grace went across. The attendant called a taxi to take us to the train station. It was train to Madrid and then train to Toledo. We were not looking at getting to Toledo much before lunch time. The taxi arrived, and the driver agreed to take us to Toledo for €200. It was a 2 hour drive one way, and he'd have to return with an empty taxi. The reason we caught a 6am bus was that train tickets via Madrid would cost about €40 each. We tried the Chinese thing of bargaining on price, but very quickly agreed to €200. It was a wonderful ride. He was a great driver and we all had a nap on the way to Toledo. We were even delivered right to the doorstep of the cafe near our apartment so we could wait for our host in warmth and comfort. We happily paid his fare and gave him a small tip for coffee and cake (typical Spanish breakfast) before his drive back to Cuenca. He was really a nice man and seemed really pleased to have helped us.Read more