A MAD-GIG journey
Well, that's one way to describe a trip! I was amused when I noticed the bag tags applied to our luggage at the airport last night. I'd have guessed the MAD for Madrid, but GIG? That one came as a surprise (one for the Trivia fans) and together, they made for a fun combination.
We had a cruise booked for January this year but Arthur's arrival meant we wanted to be at home around that time. We did a bit of a switch to a later date, replacing the Panama Canal itinerary with Rio to Lisbon. Actually, it turned out quite well and we found ourselves more excited by the replacement journey than the original one which we'd mainly chosen for the new ship operating that route.
Our late booking meant that we couldn't get direct flights. Not only that, but we needed to fly a day early too. No matter. It's easy to transfer in Madrid, the main problem being that the flight leaves at 0620! We stayed overnight at the Sofitel though, setting our alarms at 0400 this morning and making our way over to the terminal around 0430 when the security opens.
Except things don't quite happen when they are supposed to happen, do they? By the time they had got their act together and were ready to begin overseeing the self service boarding pass scanning, quite a queue had formed, making the process slow and creating irritation amongst the crowd. Same for the bag scanning, With only a couple of lines open, the backlog created by late opening meant they started work in a frenzy. Why? Why not advertise an 0500 start but be ready and open at 0445?
Oh well. we made it through, discovering along the way that our flight would leave the C terminal - a shuttle ride away. And yes, the first shuttle didn't leave till 0500.
Once over in the C Terminal, everything was closed. Opening time 0530. My usual duty free perfume-buying habit was scuppered it seemed - until a rattle of those shutters around 0515 revealed a couple of women getting the registers up and running. “Yes, we'll take your money” they laughed when I asked if I could make a purchase. My kind of people!!
Boarding was prompt, though yes, of course the machines weren't working properly and needed time to wake up as well. Dear me, boarding an early morning flight isn't the easiest of things to do.
But we were simply happy to be on our way, escaping the weather here and hopefully heading for sunshine.
Our flight left slightly late but caught up and we landed in Madrid on schedule. I'd had a small panic because, buying my perfume in a bit of a hurry, I had forgotten to say that Madrid wasn't my final destination and feared I might fall foul of the “no liquids in hand baggage” rule when checking in for the next leg of our journey. Thankfully, the delightful BA flight attendant had a spare plastic bag, my 100ml of perfume was within the limit and we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. It went through the scan without ado and I breathed again!
We've transferred flights in Madrid previously and recalled it as a smooth and efficient process. Same again here, though following the mandatory route through the duty free shop in a parade of people offered the bonus of being able to spot a sign for the lounge. Had we time for a coffee? We sure did! After that little comfort stop we continued down to the gate; the last one at the end of a long walk.
Boarding here was smooth and trouble free and sitting on the plane waiting to depart gave me a glimpse of one of those little details I enjoy: each gate has a sign with the grid reference on it! Our gate was one degree and thirty seconds west of the next one! And yes, we did wonder if a What3Words reference might be a little easier these days?
And relax…
Leaving Madrid, I smiled at the profile of the terminal building which won several prestigious architectural awards when it opened.
For now though, it was time to sit back and enjoy the next ten hours! Iberia service was excellent, our seats were comfortable and we wanted for nothing. Oh, and we added another amusing safety video to our collection. A few zzzzs (after that early start) and a couple of films (Barbie and Priscilla) made those hours fly.
When our meal was served, a detail I'd noticed in the menu became clear. Amongst the listings of food and drink was mention of Velasquez. Why? Here's the answer!
I was interested to see the route we'd take across the Atlantic, imagining a straight crossing more or less all over water. Not a bit of it. Yes, a straight line, but once again, my geography isn't quite as accurate as I think.
Once underway, I explored the wifi (wiffy in Spanish 😊) and confirmed that yes, it's a free service in the business cabin, enabling me to have a quick Whatsapp catch up with Arthur and his Daddy 🥰 somewhere off the coast of Guinea-Bissau,
A little before schedule, we were making our descent to Rio. Early evening here, the light was just fading and the mist (referred to those of us from the East Riding as “sea roke”) created an ethereal view.
We are here. Let the fun begin!
