Gatwick to Leon Spain.

On the drive to the airport there are a number of road works that reduce the motorway to one lane and finally cause the closure of the M25. How grateful we were it was early hours of the morning, as negotiating the diversion would have been a nightmare in daylight hours. Once in the vicinity of the airport we make for the massive longstay carpark and the bus that will take us to the terminal.  Firstly we wonder if we will ever find our car again after the holiday, and secondly we are surprised at how many people were waiting for the transfer bus at 3:30 am.

The airport was packed and we queued for the DIY luggage drop. Having managed that challenge we wondered whether the packing dilema would be overtaken by the prospect of no luggage when we arrive. Feeling sightly concerned that we would have to cycle in our travelling gear we went to security.

Although there were long queues, they moved efficently and we found ourselves in duty free at 4:30. We treated ourselves to two duty free exorbitantly priced bottles of water. Then its time to look for the lounges which my bank account kindly gives us access to. The problem was that it had been so long since we travelled that the bank had changed providers. So there I am, standing  in the corridor downloading the new app and trying to remember the password. Despite the stress of my compatriot ‘tutting’ I cracked the system and we were able to spend a restful hour in the lounge with an early breakfast. We were impresed with EasyJet and arrived in Santiago Compostela at 10am local time ready to meet the rest of the cycling group.

We were loaded onto a mini bus for a 3 hour drive to Leon which is where we will start our cycling adventure.

We were noticing how hilly the terrain was with trepedation. Then on a long 1:5 hill the bus got slower and slower eventually creaping off the motoway slip road. The driver anounced his turbo had gone and after calling to find out if any mechanics were on board he told us it would need resetting. As this vehicle was not built before 1970 I kept quiet. We all got off and 5mins later got back on and, fortunately, it had sorted itself out. Probably a better result than if I had touched it.

We arrived at the hotel but rooms were not ready so we adjourned to a local bar to sit in the sun with beer, nuts and olives. On returning to the hotel a large good humoured Spanish stag party was checking in but allowed us in front to get our key.

After sorting out tomorrow’s atire we set off to explore the old town taking in an ice cream and Aqua Con gas enroute. We are due to meet our guide at the Cathedral for a visit followed by dinner. Our stomachs are not sure which meal this should be now.