top of page
Search

First leg via Iberia

  • Writer: balzaccom
    balzaccom
  • Jul 26, 2023
  • 2 min read

I was a little worried about my knees on this trip, so I decided to take along a hiking pole. This is traditional on the Camino, but those are tall, heavy, and made of wood. I went online and bought a five-piece collapsible pole from the dreaded Temu for under $10, shipping included.

I did not want to check my backpack, and this way I figured that if it got confiscated by TSA, it wouldn't hurt much, and I didn't want to risk the Leki pole I'd found in SEKI years ago.

TSA at SFO did hold me up to x-ray my backpack a second time, but then let me pass without a word, as did the airport security in Madrid. So far, so good.

And I dodged a bullet on the longest leg of my flight...my original seat was 12L, and as I approached it, i saw two little boys under the age of four sitting right behind it. Great. 9 hours of squealing, crying, and kicking the back of my seat.

Thats when the parents, who were traveling with FOUR kids under eight (and a young au pair) asked if I would be willing to switch seats, as one of them had been assigned a single seat on the far side of the plane. They hoped I wouldn't mind.

Done and done. From my new seat, and with earplugs in place, I barely heard any crying at all. I also slept for about six hours.

I even got through passport control in Madrid in time to try to get a seat on an earlier flight to Santiago, but no luck there. It was already overbooked.

Still, not a bad first day, and all going according to plan.


In the Madrid airport I had plenty of time to enjoy a chorizo sandwich, and note that bottle prices for wine were less than what your pay for a glass in the USA. About $12 for a DO Rueda, Rias Baixas, or Ribera del Duero. And yes, that's per bottle.


 
 
 

Recent Posts

See All
The Last Winter Report

The Pilewskis are leaving their winter grounds in Tuolumne Meadow and heading South for the summer...but posted one last report for us to...

 
 
 

Comments


© 2023 by Name of Site. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page