Spagna
Bandiera Spagna Spagna
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| Informazioni | |
| Lingua: | Spagnolo, Catalano, Basco, Galiziano |
| Capitale: | Madrid |
| Abitanti: | 47.000.000 |
| Moneta: | Euro |
| Autostoppabilità: | |
| Maggiori informazioni: | Hitchbase |
| Incontra altri autostoppisti su Trustroots o BeWelcome | |
La Spagna è un membro dell'Unione Europea e aderisce al Trattato di Schengen.
La Spagna possiede 17 regioni chiamate Comunidades Autónomas. Alcune di queste godono di maggiore autonomia come la Catalogna e i Paesi Baschi, e possiedono anche altre lingue ufficiali assieme allo spagnolo. In alcune regioni, come Catalogna Paesi Baschi e Galizia è molto apprezzato dalla gente nativa se gli approcciate nelle loro rispettive lingue madri e quindi catalano, basco e galiziano.
Fare autostop in Spagna non è molto comune fare autostop e la maggior parte di chi lo fa spesso e gente straniera. Tuttavia se vi mettete con il pollice alzato lungo la strada verranno capite le vostre intenzioni. Un ottimo metodo per trovare un passaggio è quello di chiedere passaggi e magari provare a comunicare in spagnolo. "vas a..." vai a e un ottimo inizio. Poiché la nazione è altamente frequentata da turisti non sarà difficile trovare guidatori di altri paesi europei, i quali magari possiedono una maggiore familiarità con l'autostop. Questa strategia non funziona spesso in Andalusia dove le stazioni di servizio sono spesso deserte e spesso situate fuori dalle strada principali.
Anche se fai autostop da solo o in gruppi di due, preparati a coprire meno km di quanto tu sia abituato in altre nazioni come Germania, Francia e altri paesi dove è più semplice fare autostop. Le attese possono superare i 60 minuti e fare 500- 700 km in un giorno può essere una grande sfida. Più fattibile percorrere 300km al giorno.
Durante la "siesta" (dalle14:00 alle 17:00), solitamente c'è meno traffico. Durante i periodi estivi, questa fascia oraria può essere molto calda e quindi è doveroso evitare di esporsi troppo al sole e portare molta acqua con sè.
Passare il confine
Quando entrate nel paese dalla Francia dovreste cercare un passaggio diretto o quasi per la vostra destinazione. Sulla costa mediterranea, ottimo per questo, è La Jonquera uno dei parcheggi per camion più grande d'Europa. Potete trovare camion diretti in diverse parti d'Europa, poichè la Spagna è un grande esportatore di prodotti agricoli. Nella costa Atlantica un altro grande parcheggio per camionisti si trova vicino a Irun.
Se arrivate via traghetto dall' Africa dovreste provare a trovare un passaggio al porto. Ci sono molte famiglie provenienti dal Marocco, che tornano da visite famigliari, e potete vedere molte targhe di diversi paesi europei.
Road network
The north of Spain has a well developed system of Autopistas. Autopistas are very similar to French autoroutes, and so similar rules can be applied when hitchhiking. Autopistas have two or more lanes in each direction, accessed after passing through a peaje (tollgate) and have large rest stops along the way.
When hitching at peajes, usually people have great success, and can obtain long distance rides, even at night time. Usually the police and motorway staff do not interfere, but some stricter police may request that you leave. It is important to note that large peaje sections are usually split by a concrete wall; 2 or 3 lanes for cars, on the inside, and another 2 or 3 lanes for buses and trucks on the outside. The concrete walls usually carry on some distance after the peaje, and end once the vehicles are travelling too fast to stop. It is up to the hitchhiker to decide which lanes to take, however sticking to the outside and waiting for a truck may attract less attention from the authorities than standing further inside waiting for a car.
When hitching long distances it is a good idea to stick to large peaje sections or rest stops. Bring water and food, since these áreas de servicio are expensive. It should be noted that hitching at small peaje sections, on motorway exits, is not recommended, as often there is one peaje for both directions, automatically ruling out many vehicles as possible rides.
In the south of Spain, the motorways are smaller and the petrol stations are usually further away from the road. It is best to be patient at these places. Be careful when people promise you to drop you off at a "very busy" petrol station, as it might turn out to be deserted. It is better in these cases to find direct lifts from one town to another (use a sign when thumbing).
Lingua
As mentioned above, the Comunidades are not only administrative districts; many of the regions have their own culture, language and some even are reluctant about considering themselves as a part of Spain. For example the dominating language in Catalonia is Catalan, so be aware of that. Nevertheless, everyone speaks castellano (Spanish).
Aside from Spanish, other recognised spoken languages are Galician, Basque, Catalan, Aranese, Astur-leonese and Aragonese. Only the first three are legally official and have a considerable number of speakers. But don't panic! Everybody speaks perfect Spanish and won't feel uncomfortable talking to you. Younger Spaniards will easily understand you in English as well. Obviously big co-official languages like Basque, Catalan and Galician are widely used in their respective regions, and learning a handful of words or at least showing your interest in local languages may make the driver loosen up.
Also, you will find that some Catalan, Basque and Galician cities can appear in signs and maps with two names: one in its local language form and the other in Spanish. For instance: Donostia (in Basque) is also known as San Sebastián (in Spanish), Lleida (in Catalan) is Lérida (in Spanish), Rianxo (in Galician) is Rianjo (in Spanish) etc. Whatever your map says and whichever language you are speaking —even if you are speaking in Spanish— , hitchwiki encourages you to use the local language form better than the Spanish one if possible, also in your sign, in order to not mess with politics. Spaniards all across Spain understand both forms.
Note: Although the signs on the road and other kinds of key information (i.e: restaurant menus) are translated into Spanish in bilingual territories, you will definitely need help in small towns and non-touristy places in the Basque Country and Catalonia, especially because Basque is an isolated language that does not resemble anything you have heard before. In case of doubt, ask the locals. In Spanish Disculpe, ¿qué signfica... (Excuse me, what does ... mean?) works fine everywhere. Mariam , who does not speak Basque, walked from a small town following a sign in Basque that she thought would guide her to the next town and ended up in a recycling plant.
Spanish for the Hitchhiker
The Spanish phrase ¡Hola! Vas a... ? (Hello, are you going to... ?) with a wide smile is an excellent starting point. Remember most Spaniards actually meet the stereotype of being loud and friendly, but aren't used to see hitchhikers on the road. Therefore, you'd better be extra familiar and polite by saying things like "¡Gracias, buen viaje!" (Thank you, have a nice trip!) after your driver drops you off or when they make excuses to not pick you up (this way they will think twice the next time they bump into a hitchhiker). Check the Spanish section in the phrasebook for more basic words.
In Spanish there are only five vowel sounds and, conversely to French or English, you should pronounce all the letters that you read as an independent sound. So say phonetically with a clear distinction of each sound "autopista" [ aw to 'pis ta ] (motorway), not ottopista, or otpist . Other difficulties that foreigners usually face:
The letter Ñ as in España and "mañana" (morning or tomorrow), which is the equivalent of the Portuguese digraph NH and Catalan NY. If you struggle with it just pronounce it as an N and an I like when you say "Estonia" — it is not the actual sound, but it will work for a tourist. The digraph "LL" as in "calle" (¨street) and "valle" (valley) is pronounced in most places as a strong "y". You would say "ka-yeh" and "ba-yeh". The digraph "CH" is always pronounced as in church in English.
There are other tricky sounds like the Z and C, the double RR... but you can get away with these brief tips pretty well. Spanish is easy!
Dove dormire
Wild camping and Bivouacking
It is legal to wild camp for free in Spain as long as you camp when the sun sets and leave early in the morning. This is called pernoctation and the forest guards will not bother you if you explain that you know what you are doing. Remember that lighting a fire is forbid in most of the Spanish regions.
If you go to Spain during the summer months (June-August) it will be warm enough in the night to bivouac (sleep outdoors without a tent). However, it is recommended to take a thick sleeping bag because temperatures can drop to 10 celsius degrees in the north, the meseta, and hilly areas. Although it might seem very bohemian and romantic, avoid sleeping in a beach. Especially if it is populated by drunk people and guiris (Spanish despective word for stereotypical north-European tourists that come to Spain for cheap alcohol and street sex). Chances are you will get stolen by pickpockets who go to those beaches to take advantage of the wealthy, drunk guiris.
Centri sociali
Sebbene molte centri sociali siano stati sgomberati, in Spagna c'è una forte presenza di centri sociali. E' molto semplice trovare un posto dove stare e passare la notte. Centro sociale in spagnolo viene tradotto con "casa ocupada" o più comune sentire parlare di "ocupa".
Hostels and Pensions
There are plenty of backpacker's hostels in big and not-so-big cities in Spain that you will find online through sites like www.hostelworld.com . A cheap hostel you can find online might cost between 10 and 20 euros depending on the season and the region (Basque Country, Catalonia and Madrid are usually more expensive than the rest of the country).
Now, here is the little secret that Spaniards know and you don't, A vast majority of cheap pensiones do not appear on the internet and you will hardly find any information on google or tourism offices. This is probably because the owner of the "pension" or hostel might be an old lady that rents a room in some kind of not very legal way. Pensiones can vary in cost and luxury, depending on the number of stars you find under the "P" sign. The best thing to do is to go to the city hall and ask for the yellow pages book Páginas amarillas, call the pensions and ask for the price. You will need to speak Spanish here, or find someone that can speak Spanish for you because most old ladies do not speak English. It is a good idea to ask the locals if they know a cheap place to stay, or even ask so to other pension owners.
Pilgrim hostels (Camino de Santiago)
Camino de Santiago is a legendary long hiking pilgrimage trail that can be started from almost anywhere in Europe. It ends in Santiago de Compostela, a beautiful city in the heart of Galicia. Obviously, this trail reaches its highest fame rate in Spain, where it is known by everyone and is even part of folklore. Nowadays, pilgrims that go to Santiago are backpackers from all around the world with varied reasons for walking (some religious, some for fun etc). There is a broad net of albergues de peregrinos (pilgrim hostels) all around Spain for the pilgrims to spend the night after a day of walking. Those are undoubtedly the cheapest accommodation in the country. The price can vary from 5 to 10 euros and even some religious centres offer it for free or the will.
In most cases, to use the pilgrim albergues you will need to prove that you are a pilgrim with a credencial, a passport with the stamps of the towns that the pilgrim has passed by in his journey. You can get your credencial in any church/city hall through which the Camino passes. Lately, people do the Camino in many different ways and directions, Some even by car. So do not be shy about asking the albergue owners for a bed or help. If you are friendly, they will be too.
Maps
From any tourist-info around country, you can find good roadmap of the region and/or the autonomous area for free of charge.
Cities
- Algeciras
- Alicante
- Badajoz
- Barcelona, the capital of Catalunya
- Bilbao
- Burgos
- Ceuta
- Cordoba
- Donostia-San Sebastián
- Granada
- Madrid, the capital
- Malaga
- Oviedo
- Salamanca
- Santander
- Santiago de Compostela
- Sevilla
- Valencia
- Vigo
- Zaragoza
More Pictures
- 2002 Dec Hitch hiking in Catalonia SPAIN.jpg
Hitch-hiking in Catalonia. December 2002.
Robino hitching from Valencia to Granada.
- 2002-03 Trying to hitchhike in Murcia to Sevilla.jpg
2002 trip from Berlin to Cádiz. It took only one day from Berlin to Barcelona but three days to get from Murcia to Cádiz. South of Spain: Very difficult to hitchhike. But the flowers did help!
