Our trip started with the news our flight was delayed and our connecting flight was rescheduled. We were dropped off at the airport in Seattle by our friends Sandi and Patrick after spending two nights at their home. As we are Mazatlan friends it was almost like being home again.
Our Air France flight was comfortable and we had a good flight, the in-flight service was excellent with no charge for wine/beer and good food at no charge. There was also no charge for pillows, blankets, movies, TV, etc. Our flight took us over Hudson Bay, over the southern tip of Greenland, south of Iceland, over the British Isles and into Paris. Our flight made such good time that we arrived in Paris at a time we would have been able to make the original connecting flight, but alas we had changed our Spain transportation arrangements to fit the new flight schedule, so spent close to four hours in Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport. This airport is torn up and you walk a long way to get anywhere and often you feel like you are walking in circles. We did enjoy a good sandwich and desert at a reasonable price for an airport and it was actually tasty.
Our flight between Paris and Malaga, Spain was the exact opposite of our flight from Seattle to Paris. When it was the time to load the plane, most of the people were waiting by the gate, but four airline staff were visiting and having a good time, but didn't let us know why we weren't being called as scheduled. Finally about 20 minutes after we were to be called, an open boarding call was held and 150 or so people all squeezed in to board in no partcular order. The plane was an older 737 with knee room that would have been very comfortable for a Munchkin and there were several children in various stages of distress. The cabin service was so slow that we were finally served over halfway into the flight and we were in row 12. I imagine many weren't served. Also, there was nothing free on this flight; we asked for two waters and got two small bottles of water that cost a total of $6.00. Cokes and coffee were $3.75 apiece and there were no free pretzels or peanuts. We were relieved when we reached Malaga and were able to leave this plane. It was Air Europa. I would advise anyone to avoid this airline.
Malaga, Spain airport was great. The customs people didn't have us fill out any forms or even check our passports. Our shuttle driver was waiting for us with our names on a card held up. He took all of our luggage and took us to a roomy van which we were the only passengers. He drive us the 30 plus miles to our bungalow and took all our bags for over two blocks as that was as close as he could park. I gave him seven more Euros more that our fare and he started to protest that our fare was only the amount. We let him know this was a propina, (tip), for his extra service above and beyond. He smiled and was grateful and appeared surprised. There are few Americans here, there are mostly German and English tourists and I guess they aren't as generous.
The men we rented our bungalow from were here to greet us. Arthur and Christopher, originally from Seattle. They showed us our place and gave us helpful hints. Our bungalow is small, but comfortable, just off the promenade that runs in front of the water. Our beach is no more as the sand was washed away in a storm, but about two blocks up the promenade are sand beaches which we will make use of.
The stairs leading down to our bungalow.
Right in front of our bungalow.
Our first night we were tired, but went out and had a wonderful German Meal. The food was good and the price was reasonable. We went to bed around 9:30 Spain time after hardly any sleep the night before. We slept well and woke up about 8:30 the next morning. Eleven good hours of sleep. Janice was full of energy and went for a power walk. After breakfast we took a leisurely walk around Torrox. We checked out the grocery stores which had amazingly good prices with many items even less than we pay in Mexico. The wine we buy in Mexico sell for $ .81 a liter and there is beer for $3.00 a six pack. We are learning to do the math on euros to dollars. One store had a large bottle of extra virgin olive oil for $1.35. We then stopped at a wonderful tapas bar for lunch. We had a total of eight different tapas, (appetizers) two glasses of white wine and two glasses of beer for around $18.00 US. For Tapas and wine the prices are better than Mazatlan, so way better than the US and Canada. We should enjoy this as in July we will be in Ireland which has much higher prices. One thing we have noticed is that the Spanish are not nearly as open and friendly as our Mexican friends. We have had some nice interaction with some English people.
Tomorrow we are going to arrange some tours. We know we are going to sign up to go to Grenada for a day to see the Alhambra. We have found out there is a tour to Cordoba where we stay overnight and Flamenco dancers from all over Spain come and dance on the streets of Cordoba. These are supposed to be some of the most famous dancers in Spain and they perform this one evening for free. We will also see about travel to Morocco.
As more things happen, we will bring you up to date. La vida es buena!
No comments:
Post a Comment