Madrid
Trip Start
Sep 03, 2007
1
210
220
Trip End
Jun 17, 2009
Madrid,
Madrid,
Spain and Canary Islands
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
We arrive at the airport at 4.30 and there are quite a few people about, all presumably leaving Athens before the national strike tomorrow. We'd left the usual three hours for international check-in for our 7.15 flight but no one arrives at the Iberia desk until 5.30. We checked in and asked for our bags to be checked through to our second destination at Malaga. Two countries and two flights for a luggage transfer - anyone taking bets on this with our track record?
There are no immigration checks but a very thorough security check, including inspecting the laptop, checking through my collection of pens and taking Norah's blood clotting injection and keeping it at the gate desk. This was a first, as all round the world we had just shown the injection syringe in a plastic bag and (maybe with a little explanation) been allowed to carry it through. Here they also took our water, where in Delhi and Dubai they hadn't - isn't standardization great?
The Airbus A321 was packed, with not much space between the seats. As we left Athens we climbed into cloud and rough turbulence, which lasted for a few minutes. Then it was a sunny flight above the clouds with a breakfast served on the way.
After three and three quarter hours we started a long descent through dense cloud, with some more turbulence on the way, until we glimpsed a very wet Madrid airport approach. There was a bit of jockeying about as the pilot juggled to keep the plane straight for landing and then huge amounts of spray as we touched down, followed by relieved applause in the cabin. As we taxied the rain was lashing down and we saw other aircraft throwing up great amounts of water as they took off and rapidly disappeared into the low cloud. Now it really feels as though we're getting nearer to home.
