colloquium

What lies at the bottom of the sea and shivers?

A nervous wreck.

What happens when you find out that you require a transit visum for London Heathrow the morning you fly to London and you cannot get one the same day?

Exactly.

Stupido.

So I can either wait a couple of days when I’m able to get a visa but lose my accommodation and €50 Tiësto Ticket (the entire reason why I’m here) or fork out the money and buy another ticket directly to a Schengen country to bypass London.

Rapido.

So after Etienne dropped me at the airport and stayed with me until I was relatively calm, I boarded a Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 to Frankfurt. Muchas gracias to Amy at Epsom Downs Flight Centre.

The flight was rather uneventful but the in-flight entertainment dating back to no personal screens and a couple of overhead monitors. Hannah Montana did not appeal to me so I tried to sleep – something I’m not very successful at 35000 feet above sea level.

But at least I can add Lufthansa and Frankfurt to my airlines and airport list.

Stopped over for a few hours there while trying to get in contact with United Airlines to save my ticket I didn’t get to use since London was no longer on my itinerary. That roaming phone call will probably be more expensive than the actual ticket. Anyway. I haven’t lost the ticket to London either. Must use it within one year.

Arrived in Madrid with a couple of hours before my flight to Ibiza. Tried to get hold of Mario, my friend in Madrid, but only reached his dad – also called Mario. Confusion prevails.

Stored my bags at the airport and decided to take the Metro to Retiro. It’s been almost 10 years since I last visited Madrid and I decided spending the time in Retiro will probably be a good idea. But in retrospect, don’t visit Retiro when you’re already sleep deprived.

So I went back to Barajas and checked myself in for Spanair’s 19:05 flight to Ibiza. Killed time eating (like I always do) and exploring boarding gates D and E.

Arrived at Ibiza a bit later than scheduled and took a taxi to Ses Fontanellas outside San Antonio (I could have waited for the bus but when you’ve been up for practically 36 hours minus the 3-4 hours sleep on the plane, the extra money for taking a taxi and being in bed 60 minutes earlier than with a bus, I think it’s totally worth it.

Took one of my ‘pink pills’ and woke up rather refreshed this morning.

Explored this side of San Antonio, came back for a swim and a quick afternoon nap. Went to San Antonio and came back with a taxi. For some bizarre reason the bus schedule and the actual bus have different opinions on the route and the number of stops. I practiced my Spanish on the taxi driver. I can proudly say that he understood all my questions although they must have been horribly wrong.

Back at the hotel I made it my mission to find internet access that is not limited to internet terminals €1 coins for 10 minutes.

Approached this dude outside a restaurant down the street and he explained that there is free wi-fi access all along this street – password 11111. So after cooling down in the pool and watching the sunset from the rocky beach (where bare feet should be banned) I set out to surf and send my parents an email with a couple of photos.

Now I’m typing this message back in my room, drinking caffeine free Coke Light (not available in all third world countries) and having the TV on in the background, showing ‘Pipi Calzaslargas.’ The money spent on making Pipi would have made a couple of orphaned, starving, HIV+ children in some African country very very happy.

I will post this tomorrow or the day after when I connect again.

Tomorrow is the big day. Tiësto Day.

Updates to follow.