Back in Trabuco

The first flight from Blackpool airport was not the best of experiences, because of poorly organized and/or under staffing of Monarch Airways staff. What should have been a relaxing evening turned into a long wait to book onto the aircraft. The three women operating the booking procedure seemed incapable of completing one full booking without stopping and walking away from their desk to fetch something – pens, tape, or anything that gave them an excuse to walk away.

We had intended to eat before boarding, but despite being 5th in line, it took over an hour so the meal became a hastily eaten sandwich. Once on the plane, I was again disappointed to find that Monarch offered “extra leg room seats” at an extra cost of £15. This “extra” space is achieved at the expense of the other seating arrangements. The seats are so close together that it’s difficult to get a bag down on the floor. The seats are also poorly designed and by the end of the flight I was very uncomfortable.

Have you ever noticed how intolerant of other people you become waiting for your luggage at the carousel? Why don’t people keep small children away from the conveyor belt? I bet a few kids have sustained injury from heavy bags being swung off the belt. Maybe it me………..

The queues for car hire were long, but Ali had snuck ahead and gone straight through to the car desk, so that was not a problem. The car had been upgraded to a Focus, I haven’t had chance to check out the specification yet but it drives nicely.

We reached our Spanish home at around 2:30am local time, and anticipation and expectations of the recently completed building work were high. We were not disappointed. Once again our Spanish builder Anastasio has delivered.

What had been a muddy, overgrown piece of wasted hillside, is now an accessible, two tiered sun terrace, the lower of the two has complete privacy and complete sun sunshine, while the top terrace is shaded by overhanging pine trees and commands outstanding views of the village, valley and mountains. The work isn’t 100% complete, because the balustrade and hand rail of the steps is not yet in place, but apart from that the guys have worked a miracle to get this far in the limited time frame we provided. The skanky old bathroom has been replaced and the room re-tiled and a new shower, toilet and basin installed. Despite my best efforts I couldn’t persuade the water heaters to do what they were designed to do though. A job for later in the day I think.