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Published: August 26th 2019
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We left our house in Simpsonville around 8am, heading to Joint Base Charleston. The flight to Rota Spain was still scheduled for roll call at 1510 (that’s 3:10 pm for non-military folks) and still showed 52 seats firm. We arrived at the passenger terminal before noon, and all was well. Actually, we were Ejust about the only folks there at that time. After checking in, we went to the commissary and exchange to find something to eat for lunch, and pass some time. I ended up getting some fresh sushi and Manoli got a dish of seafood salad. We ate our lunch in the food court (the only food place open was a Subway), then headed back to the terminal. When they called roll call, only 7 passengers were present, including the two of us! At that point we were sure we were going, so I unloaded the luggage and moved the car to the long-term parking lot.
At that point, we were told that checkin would be at 5:10pm and takeoff at 9:10pm. 5:10 came and went, and finally around 6pm we were called to go thru the scanners and wait in the waiting room. Surprisingly, we didn’t have
wait long before boarding the bus to take us to the plane, a C-17. I guess I should have known things were going to well. After sitting on the bus for 5 or 10 minutes they were told to return to the terminal. I didn’t hear why, but we only waited 15 or 20 minutes before reboarding the bus, and this time we got on the plane. The yo-yo continued as we were told we’d have wait a while before takeoff. I think they said something about the weather. Anyways, 30 minutes or so later we were on our way to Spain.
Since there were so few of us on board, and no cargo (yep, a cargo plane with no cargo!), I guess I can tell you a bit about the other passengers. There were 2 other couples, one of which was apparently pretty new to flying Space A, and the other pretty experienced since they brought inflatable mattresses, one for each, with a battery-powered pump! There was a young wounded veteran with a messed up leg and a companion dog, and a fairly old guy (80?) who flew to and volunteered at USOs around the world. The old
guy had soooo many stories to tell. When we finally got to cruising altitude, they handed out our box (or bag in this case) lunches. For about $5.50 we got a bottle of water, a can of soda, two PB&J sandwiches, and 2 or 3 treats. Not bad for the money. By the time we finished our food, we were both tired and sleepy. Manoli got comfortable in two of the fold-down seats and I got out my new self-inflating pad that I’d bought just for the trip, grabbed my Go Anywhere My Pillow, and - down on the floor, falling asleep quickly and for about 5 hours of the 8th our flight. Military Space A flights let you sleep on the deck or even use a hammock!
Just after 11am Spain time, we landed at the Rota Naval Base in Spain. They had finally finished the new food court (it only took 2 years or so!), so we had coffees at the Dunking Donuts, called my brother-in-law’s wife Consuela, called a taxi to take us to the front gate, and away we went.
I had been planning on walking the camino from Lisbon, but my wife didn’t
want to be away from home that long (25 days plus however long it would take us to catch a flight back), so I decided to walk from Porto instead, which should only take 10 days or so, and maybe add on a couples days to Finisterre. When we got to my brother-in-law’s house in Chipiona, I figured out my new trip, bought a bus ticket from nearby Jerez de la Frontera direct to Porto tomorrow, and reserved a bed in the Cats Hostel for 2 nights. I’ll write my next blog from there.
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Doc
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Looking forward to your posts
Well, you're off again, 10 days on foot, that's a pretty long hike. But knowing you, you have it all well planned, with some contingencies - just in case. Tell Manoli we say hello and to enjoy her visit with family. Look forward to you next post. Doc