Nerja to Malaga (Overnight) then Gatwick (Overnight)….. finally Madeira Park, BC
Categories Spain 2017.....walking, driving, training, buses, Spain 2024, 2017October 31, 2017
The morning ritual continues: pack, eat, and walk to the bus station. It was sunny and warm, but now we are short-timers, as the trip is drawing to a close…
All goes smoothly and we arrive in Malaga. The hotel is fine and very well located ……so another walkabout, we are however starting to wind down. We do manage to find the energy/interest to munch on some tapas at the Mercado Central Atarazanas…
afterwards visiting this rather cool market where some of the vendors were in the Halloween spirit…
…and leisurely check out some of the other sights……including the nicely done cruise ship port…
Tomorrow we fly to Gatwick so we need to repack everything to comply with security and airline regulations (there are several bottles coming home with us as well)…
… Found a great place for dinner but when we got there we were told they were full up >> next slot 21:30 > no thanks, anyways found another place which was quite good ….it was fun walking through the streets and watching all the Halloweeners racing about, got us to thinking what Andre was up to !!! At the resto we sat between 2 tables of witches speaking in Russian >>> seemed rather strange but fun, especially when they started posing for selfie pics…
A pleasant evening and as a final hurrah picked up some cream filled mini donuts which we greedily scoffed on the street.
November 1, 2017
Morning dawns and we head out early to pick up the shuttle to the airport as we have heard that the Malaga airport is notorious for lengthy line-ups. A 30 minute drive (7 Euros) and we are in the queue…
… all goes relatively well {the new normal: paying for everything (yes, even coffee or tea) save for a tepid small glass of water grudgingly provided, but only when requested} and our British Airways flight arrives on time at Gatwick South Terminal……customs, immigration etc. is a no brainer and we take the shuttle to the North Terminal where the Premier Inn is located within a short walk…..final packing and with lassitude taking over we opt for dinner at the Inn…..actually they talked us into a 2 course dinner with wine & all you can eat breakfast package (58 Sterling) which we felt was actually ok, as restos here are outrageously priced and we needed to eat…
November 2, 2017
Good nights rest ….the Premier Inn’s beds are truly comfortable but the Wi-Fi was doo doo > I had hoped to finish up the blog but the pic upload was not exactly virtually > bummer. Anyway, good breakfast (I think I also ate the equivalent of lunch), reverse our way to the South Terminal, check-in with Air Transat > yes, we get to fly the world’s worst airline > DO NOT BE TEMPTED BY THE PRICE, and if you are tall or merely largish you will endure many hours of torture…their seats have to be the narrowest and the cushioning non existent > buttocks beware !!!. >>> if I ever become King I will have the engineers who were responsible spend the rest of their lives flying in those seats. Anyways, we are checked in, have bought lunch/dinner to go at Marks and Spencer and are just waiting for the gate announcement when we learn we are delayed 1.5 hours, hmmm, what fun, but the Wi-Fi is quite good and some work is accomplished. Board the plane and the middle seat is free, a large man approaches staring with purpose at the seat but continues down the aisle >>>WHEW!!! Doors close and we are good to go, the plane taxies out and, STOPS > pilot announces we are being taken to a remote area, as the right engine does not seem right …..fast forward 2.5 hours and everyone seems happy with said engine and we take off 4 hours late >> 1 cup of free water during this time and no other comp….anyways, the engine stays on and we reach Vancouver just in time to catch the last ferry home…..BAGGED!!!
A great trip which we had almost given up on, safely concluded, a few lowlights but tons of highlights and memories……soon we will have access to CNN, FOX, MSNBC and all the rest and we will be able to feast on the next installments of that addictive U.S. reality show: Make America Great Again featuring Donald Dicktaitor !!!
Till we meet again…..happy trails………