31
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m
no edit summary
Spain consists of 17 administrative units called ''Comunidades Autónomas''. Some of these administrative units also represent historical nations that vary in traditions, culture, gastronomy and even language. Although all citizens of Spain speak Spanish and are politically recognised as Spaniards, you will be more liked by locals – especially in the nationalistic Basque country and Catalunya – if you learn the basic distinctive features of each region (i.e don't expect sevillanas and bullfighting in Girona, and don't be surprised if you see bagpipes and celtic-like stuff in Santiago de Compostela!).
In Spain, hitching isn’t a very common concept and mostly done by foreigners. However, the thumb will be understood. An effective best method can be ask people directly whenever possible, e.g. in service stations, even if your Spanish is very poor. The Spanish phrase ''vas a... ?'' ‘are you going to...?’ is a good starting point. Because Spain is a touristic country, at some large service stations you can find drivers from all over Europe, who are more likely to take you than the local people. However, this strategy is not advised in the far south of Spain (Andalucia), as service stations there tend to be deserted and sometimes off of the main road. Generally, there are petrol stations every 20-30 km, often in a so-called "via de servicio", along with a hotel or a restaurant. This means that each and every one of those petrol stations has less traffic. Most people who travel certain roads regularly will know (or pretend to know!) the good spots where a lot of traffic passes through (e.g. truck stops, or nice restaurants). Try not to get stuck in places off the main road (in a village, or an industrial zone), but ask your driver if s/he knows a place with lots of people.
Even if you hitchhike alone or in groups of two, be prepared to make much fewer kilometres per day than in e.g. Germany or France. Waiting times of over an hour are common, and 500–700 km a day may prove a real challenge. The first time you hitchhike in Spain, it might be a good idea to only plan for 300 km a day. If you do master some Spanish, however, and if you carefully stick to service stations asking people, hitching can be easy and fun - even in Spain.
During the "the siesta" (from 14:00 to 17:00), there tends to be less traffic. In the summer, the sun can be very powerful at this time of day, so it may be best to avoid standing on the road during the siesta hours.
As hitch-hiking is not a very common concept in Spain, many Spanish people travel via blablacar. If you want to get out of big cities (Madrid, Barcelona) you might have to pay 3-5 Euros to get to a hitch-hiking spot. In this case, consider finding a short ride just out of the city to a nearby small town, with blablacar. The driver can drop you directly on a service station on the motorway, and you might not have to walk around in the Spanish summer heat.
[[File:Espana.jpg|thumb|left|[[User:Amylin|Amylin]] hitching to Spain from [[Portugal]].]]
<li>'''It is ''impossible'' to travel hitchhiking in Spain'''.
<p>''Truth'': While it is definitely harder to catch a ride in Spain than in Germany, it is not impossible if done smartly. Actually, in many areas in the countryside or the north of Spain where there are very few means of public transportation, hitchhiking is done frequently by locals who need to take rides from town to town (Galicia and its messy bus network is a great example of this). However, many old Spaniards believe that hitchhiking culture died in the 70s, and there is a lot of fear around, because of some cases of theft or rape when hitching. To get a ride in Spain you will need to put more effort and think tactical: '''hide the hippy clothes in your backpack and look clean, smile, know a few Spanish words, be polite, be familiar with the Spanish hoursand always try to hitch from a service station.'''</p></li>
<li>'''Spanish people will rob you'''.
