Day 9 and Day 10

Day 9 Saturday 30 June Barcelona to Mijas Costa

In the morning we got up and when we were all sorted we packed our bits and pieces into our over-night bags.  We then made our way to the Windjammer for our final breakfast on-board.  At the time that your batch has been assigned you gather in one of the lounges, in our case we were batch 18 and we had to meet in the Sphinx lounge by 07:45 so once breakfast was over we made our way to the Sphinx lounge.  Right on time at 07:45 our batch number was called and we were lead down to the gangway.  We walked into the terminal building by 07:50 and our suitcases were going round the carousel within 5 minutes. 

We were ready to leave the terminal building within 15 minutes of our batch being called, so disembarkation was a lot quicker than we had expected and consequently we had a bit of a hang-around before our transfer was due to pick us up.  Unfortunately our transfer was a little late, we ended up phoning to find out what the problem was.  Thankfully he did eventually arrive and we made it to the station in plenty of time for our train.

The Spanish rail system is excellent.  Given the choice I will always train rather than plane in Spain (heaven’s, I missed my vocation, I should clearly have been a poet!) Our train left perfectly on time, with minimal fuss.  We had a lovely trip from Barcelona to Malaga, apart from a couple of noisy kids… how do we always manage to get landed with a noisy brat?! Thankfully that particular family left the train after a couple of stops. The train was very comfortable and we enjoyed relaxing and watching the world go by.  They showed a couple of movies during the journey, but I didn’t watch either of them.  Instead, as there was a plug point at each seat, I plugged my lap-top in and went through all the photos we have taken so far.  

Once the movies had ended a map came up on the screens and you could see the route we had taken, how far we were from our destination, the speed we were going at etc.  We reached 300km/h at one point, but thankfully it didn’t feel nearly that fast.  I couldn’t believe how quickly the 5 hour train journey went, in no time at all we were arriving at Malaga station. 

This time our transfer was there waiting for us and within about half an hour of arriving at Malaga we were being off-loaded at Club La Costa in Mijas-Costa.  We spent the rest of the after-noon getting settled in our unit, unpacking and stocking up on some groceries.

 The view from our balcony

We had an early dinner at one of the on-site restaurants and then headed to bed for an early night.

Day 10 - 1 July Sunday Mijas-Costa

We had a very relaxed morning, getting up quite late and doing a quick load of washing. 

We had breakfast on the verandah before heading to the beach, armed with our two lilos.  We had a lovely time on the beach.  The water was VERY cold, much colder than last year this time, but it wasn’t a problem once you were on the lilo.   Sooo relaxing!

Lunch was a laid-back affair, also out on the verandah: bocadillos (the Spanish version of baguettes), cold meats, olives, cheese and tomatoes with a great big bottle of beer.  Lovely!

After all that work a siesta was necessary J

We ordered Chinese food for supper, from a local restaurant offering a delivery service.  It was very nice, except for the bit where I forgot to order rice to have with my Sweet and Sour Chicken!