First, the luggage fee and weight allowance are not the same as what we were informed by our travel agent back in the US (good ol' Expedia). It is actually more and less, respectively. You can save some fee if you pay online in advance. If you pay at the airport, it is quite a bit more. Scrambling at the check-in counter after waiting in a long line was not fun. (We will never take our gold premier status at United for granted again. :)
Checking in at the Madrid airport for our flight to Málaga.
Second, always check your boarding pass and luggage claim tags. We found out we were missing a claim tag in time but we failed to notice that I was on standby and had no assigned seat! The suspense of not knowing whether or not I can be on the flight until everyone else has been processed at the gate was torture! The other person on standby, a lady, wasn't ladylike anymore after she found out she was not on the flight! She used a word my grandma used (may she rest in peace) when she was pissed: lechè. And no, she didn't mean milk.
Boarding our jet-prop plane.
Third, a baggage tag does not guarantee your luggage will arrive at your destination. I wasn't bumped but two of our luggages were. After filling in the necessary form we were assured that they will be delivered that same day to the condo we would be staying. Wrong. That's when we were first made aware of another Spanish habit - the mañana kind. We got a call later that the luggage came in late and won't be delivered until the following day. Oh well, at least Tess has her clothes; if one of us has to go commando for a day, better be me, otherwise, I wouldn't hear the end of it!
Final approach into Málaga after a U-turn over the Mediterranean Sea.
Fourth, driving in Europe is all about the roundabouts, or as they call them in Spain - la rotunda. After we picked up our rental car, immediately after leaving the Málaga airport, I was introduced to the rotunda. The first one had six exits (salidas). The girlie voice in Google maps could not keep up with the Spanish names! Amazingly, I made my exit -- into another rotunda! I am not making it up. It reminded me of the roundabout scene in the European Vacation movie. I was ready to cry!
The view from our condo balcony. Worth all the hassle!
But amazingly, we made it to Caleta de Velez. And the world was right again. We met our property manager, Emma. She's fabulous. Our rental condo is amazing! It is right across the harbor and walking distance to everything. We walked 300 meters to a seafood restaurant on the harbor for lunch. Food was fantastic and the service was great! Spanish hospitality more than makes up for all the minor inconveniences about Spain.
Tess with Emma, the condo property manager.
Lunch at the harbor restaurant steps away from our rented condo.
Seafood, as fresh as you'll ever get.
