Rish's Holiday diary - part 1

For those of you not able to access me through Facebook, I have just come back from holiday in Spain. It was a bit of a mixed bag.

Day 1: Get on the bus, go to Birmingham airport. When we get there, two hours before the flight (as advised), the queues for check-in are mammoth. It turned out that the conveyor belts behind the check-in desks were broken. The airport had no contingency plan, so the poor check-in staff had to sit there smiling, until the belts worked again (which they did for about one out of every ten minutes). Obviously, no-one missed their flight as we were all in the same boat, but it was bit frustrating and absolutely astonishing that there was no contingency. The airport staff looked a bit hot and bothered, but the holidaymakers remained in surprisingly good spirits!

When we got to Murcia airport, I went to pick up the hire car - finding the collection point was not easy. I had a bit of trepidation about driving on "the other side" as I hadn't done it for about seven years - and that was in Canada, with big wide roads and in an automatic. This time, I was driving in a country with narrow streets, a different driving culture (the old "Latin temperament"), and most importantly, a gearstick on the other side to normal.

Actually, the main problem wasn't changing gear, or even trying to get in the passenger side by mistake (although the missus almost got in on the driver's side, which would be a disaster as she doesn't know how to drive) - it was simply that the Chevrolet Matiz (as pictured above) is like a tin-can with no steering! No reassuring clunk when you shut the door, more a light slap on metal on metal. It understeers horribly, even at very low speed. And it started to shake at 110km/h (about 70 mph). One of my colleagues says that her friends had one for a little while, and called it the "roller-skate". At least the air-con worked, as it was pretty warm out there...

Day 2: Our flat was very pleasant, and it was warm at night as well. On day 2, we shopped for some food and drink, and cleaned up the place (Spain can be dusty). A quiet, but pleasant day, where we sunbathed on the flat's roof terrace, explored the local area and cooked ourselves a chicken paella.

So far, so dull for you, dear reader - but read on...

Day 3: A little more exploring, and a bit more sunbathing. I popped out to the shops to buy some drinks, and left the missus sunbathing on the terrace. Later on, we were about to go out, so I went to grab the camera and my mobile phone. Oh, I must have left them somewhere else, or maybe the missus has moved them? She says that she didn't. The truth slowly dawned on me as I realised that the battery pack for the camera, which I had left charging, had also been unplugged and was missing, as was the missus' bag. I checked for any evidence, and found a footprint. The burglar must have waited until I went out, come upstairs, climbed over the railing and vaulted onto our balcony and into the living room. There they picked up whatever they could which was within snatching distance, and jumped back over, leaving dusty footprints on the balcony and on the railing. Bastardo.

It was Saturday, and we were advised by someone working in the complex that there was no point telling the police until Monday, as they would have an interpreter available then.

Day 4: We were not that upset, just annoyed. Things are, after all, replaceable, and at least our passports and tickets (locked up in another room) were safe. More importantly, the missus hadn't come across the burglar, as who knows what would have happened?

We bought a disposable camera, and I could live without my phone. We had already telephoned home to cancel my mobile and the missus' debit card. We decided to go to the beach, but unfortunately, as soon as we got there, the sun went in for the afternoon. Just our luck!

So we explored a bit, then went home and made dinner, where I promptly added a bit of flavour by slicing my thumb open while chopping vegetables. Luckily it didn't bleed too much and I had remembered to pack the first aid kit. Still, a perfect end to the perfect weekend...