A history of luxury: the Transcantábrico
George Mortimer Pullman he dropped out of school at 14, went to Chicago and, while making coffins, he thought of innovative ideas . He ended up redesigning the chicago sewer remembering his father moving buildings during a flood of one of the great lakes, Erie. He made fame and money, but on their honeymoon trip through upstate New York, Pullman couldn't sleep a wink at how awkward he was. So he imagined a more comfortable sleeping car.
The first of these sleeping cars left the factory in 1864 . With the doubts of little acceptance and failure, one of his first trips was to carry the body of assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.
Then, fame did not stop growing . So much so that Pullman lost his mind. Such was his megalomania that he ended up founding his own city ; a city that ruled as a authoritarian chieftain , like a police state -it did not allow meetings or the press and even had security guards who went to houses to check everything- and ended with a violent strike It didn't stop until his death.
A luxury and panoramic train: Transcantábrico
Nevertheless, Pullman sleeping cars continued to be produced . They came to cross the pond, and in the UK it was Leeds Forge the company in charge of making them. Five of these cars arrived in our country to promote the line ** Bilbao - San Sebastián **.
It was 1929 and luxury and pleasant trips were the order of the day for the wealthier classes: three of the cars had a small bar, the waiters attended to the traveler in the seat itself and the crockery that was on the train was ordered from the same company that made the one for the Titanic: the Elkington Co.Ltd., birmingham english house . Such was the taste for the exquisite that when the train stopped, it was the service that went down first to clean the floor.
What does all this have to do with the Transcantábrico? Well, everything. Because the railway company went into decline over time, and the road and car improvements they made the train trip relegated to the background. Y four of those old luxury Pullman sleeping cars became what we know today as the Transcantábrico Grand Luxury .
A luxury and panoramic train: Transcantábrico
restored and modified so that in each car there is two suites to take off his hat. Wood all over, huge bed, Hydromassage shower, personal computer and all kinds of attention.
In the coach-lounge the sofas are authentic Louis XVI , and in the whole train you travel between the styles art nouveau and art deco , reminiscent of Tamara de Lempicka's paintings, Tiffany lamps, those crazy parties where she smoked with a cigarette holder and cocktails were served by waiters in jackets and we all wanted to know who was mr gatsby before a world war sent everything to hell. To those moments in which the important thing was to live in the moment and not worry about the mobile.
Transcantábrico Grand Luxury
When in 1983 a team from the Feve company thought of this idea, they did not imagine that it would become something so big. The first test trip was ** La Robla -Cistierna-León**, and the first trip with passengers was ** León - Ferrol **. Over time, the demand grew until the Transcantábrico became two. The Classic and the Great Luxury.
They do almost the same route: The Great Luxury arrives in San Sebastiá n while the classic goes to Leon once arrives in bilbao . On the other hand, the Clásico offers the option of trips of fewer days ** (5 days and 4 nights or 4 days and 3 nights) ** in addition to the trip of 8 days and 7 nights.
This train is for those who enjoy the contemplative life. Does not go faster than 45 km per hour and stops at night at the station so you can sleep soundly or visit the city at night. While in the station you can enjoy in your own way: make the scheduled trip, stay on the train or make the visit to your liking.
Landscape between Ribadeo and Viveiro from the Transcantábrico
You will leave San Sebastián (or León if you have chosen to travel in the Clásico) to travel through the lands that bathe the Cantabrian to Bilbao and stare at Puppy , a West Highland White Terrier, the work of Jeff Koons in the Guggenheim Museum.
This tiny Scottish dog of about 12.4 meters high and 16 tons of weight it is alive on the outside thanks to that skin made of flowers and it is hard on the inside, due to its steel structure, He has been patiently observing the city at his feet for two decades.
You will follow the north coast route to Ferrol , passing through incredible places such as the Picos de Europa, the incredible La Hermida Gorge , a set of gorges in the m andara acizo with infinite walls (some of the most vertical exceed 600 meters), the spectacular reproduction of Altamira , the cathedral of cave art from the Upper Paleolithic (we are talking about big words: they are paintings made more than 35 thousand years ago), Caprice , one of the few works that Gaudí did outside of Catalonia, the port of Luarca or the beach of the Cathedrals in Ribadeo . And in Ferrol you can go to Santiago de Compostela by bus, or stay to see this part of the Rías Altas.
The Transcantábrico: Shall we get on?
Dates for next year are now open. From April to October. You can find all the information about the trip on their website for the classic, for the Grand Luxury; the price exceeds 5000 euros per person.