Spain

After a long haul I arrived at the Madrid airport yesterday after experiencing all the usual airport and travel experiences, of both the exciting and forgettable kind. Its always difficult to find 25 hours in the air thrilling! Sure beats walking all the way and who cares if the fog at London delayed the flight to Madrid by three hours!
My major predicted issue was getting a taxi to take the bike at the Madrid airport. Being late in the evening I knew a taxi was my only option. To enable this to occur I packed my bike prior to the trip to make the smallest package and then slipped this into the large bike box. The smaller package was completed by wrapping it in the ample plastic from a large bag used to protect new double bed mattresses prior to purchase. It worked! A line of at least 100 people waiting for taxis at the airport were processed by a mass of cabs within 15 minutes and when I rolled up at the front of the line with my luggage the rank coordinator selected a suitable cab - in my case it turned out to be one for wheelchairs - everything just fitted and off we went on a very fast trip, (120km/hr), to my son's apartment. It was then great to complete the night with a few beers and a good chat at the local bar/restaurant. We also grieved the non-arrival of the package containing my bike panniers/clothes travel gear etc. Not for long as it meant I didn't have to lug it in the taxi and it was delivered today!