Resting in Spain

Day 38
I couldn’t get the pedals off my bike last night. I went down to reception and asked if they had an adjustable spanner….in the end I had to say wrench…I can now speak fluent American. It took me ages to get to sleep and then I woke up really early today…God I’m knackered but really excited. I just want to get going. I finally had a guy from the hotel turn up at eight o’clock this morning and managed to get my bike packed away. I’m worried that it may be overweight, by a considerable and dread to think what they will charge me.
I went for some breakfast on Broadway, just down the road and it was quite nice really, I had a smoothy and a breakfast biscuit. I can’t really get used to the American food….it’s Ok but a little unusual. I can’t wait to dip some toast into my tea at home…weird and disgusting I know but I love it.
The taxi came and we managed to get the large box onto the back seat, it was a really large Lincoln Continental.
As we drove to the JFK Airport the driver was constantly on his phone and he even wrote something in a book…it seems the norm here…. but I felt a little uncomfortable. He was speaking in Spanish but he didn‘t know I was fluent-io….however he must have used a dialect I wasn’t familiar with because I couldn’t understand him.
I arrived early at the airport and I need to get my E-ticket but the Air Lingus desk wasn’t going to be open for a few hours….I went off to buy some really overpriced food and drink and something to read. I found out that you could check in on using a computer, which conveniently situated near the Air Lingus desk, a great idea and so simple. I know that Marsha tried to get me upgraded, bless her, but they wouldn’t do it on the phone. I didn’t get an upgrade but I had a row of seats to myself, which was either lucky or they gave me a sort of upgrade. Whatever I was it was appreciated. My baggage was not overweight, which was surprising. I think that the weight allowance must be considerably higher than my previous flight. The plane journey from America to Dublin was the best I’ve experienced, great stuff.
It was raining in Dublin….really nice to see, strange I know but I felt that I was close to home. I had to wait for two hours for the transfer to Malaga and I feet a little bit sad about going away from home again but it’s only temporary.
The flight to Malaga was relatively quick. The time changes were a little confusing. I know it shouldn’t be but I suppose that’s how the brain works…interesting. My bike was ‘dumped’ near the baggage conveyor belt and I was a little worried that there may have been something broken…the box looked battered. Brian, my friend and work colleague met me at the airport along with Joe, Sue and Jeff’s son, who is a fluent Spanish speaker….good to meet a fellow linguist….io.
I’d been awake for quite a number of hours but I was buzzing by the time we had driven to Granada, not far from where Sue and Jeff live. It’s a small village called Niguelas and very beautiful. I was staying at a villa, which had been rented by Lisa and her family. It was very nice of them to accommodate me…I continue to meet really nice people on both side of the Atlantic, amazing. We had a BBQ, some nice cold beer and great conservation…it doesn’t get better than that. A short walk into the local village, where we stopped at a quaint taverna for ‘refreshment’ then back to the villa to sleep. I found it really hard to get to sleep my mind was racing. I was thinking about all the people I have met on my journey, wondering what they were doing and wondering if it had all been a dream. I eventually drifted off into a blissful sleep. I hadn’t even unpacked my bike…I will do that tomorrow.