A couple of dummies

You who do not go gentle into that good night

There are few Spanish train routes as striking as the ride from Barcelona to Tarragona.

The rails delicately perch along the edge of the sea as it follows the Mediterranean for most of the route and, even with the occasional, spicy surprise of very naked men strolling around the sands near Sitges (year round), it’s incredibly relaxing.

The relaxation is key as once you turn in from Tarragona, heading towards the mountains, hinterlands, and Priorat, this strip through the county of Baix Camp is where all of the shit-hit fans lie in wait.

I don’t know the exact cause for the problems. Maybe it has something to do with Vila-Seca and Reus both being big track switching points. Trains are connected and disconnected as well as new crews swapping out the old. These are problems that could be readily dealt with of course, if the Spanish state train operator, Renfe didn’t thrive on not really caring if anything works.

There are however rare cracks in the fabric of time wherein amazingly, Renfe is not to blame.