Log Eighty Eight – And Now for Something Completely Different

18 June 2023

After a three and half year hiatus it was time to get back into some adventurous travel. A random invitation back in April to go sailing and we had the opportunity we couldn’t ignore. A brand new yacht and the chance to sail in the Mediterranean with some very good friends, who could say no.

We left Sydney on 12 June for a 30 hour transit to Dubai and on to Barcelona. An overnight stay in Barcelona and a short flight to Palma on the island of Mallorca to where we met our friends and their new yacht.

Thirty hours of flying and we realised we were out of practice with international travel. However we were open to new insights which included:

• You know you are out of practice when you find yourself staring at the Arrivals board when you looking for your departing flight number.

• You know you are getting older when you notice all the faces in the inflight magazine are so much younger than you.

• Do not expect to have an easy time travelling if you don’t have a smart phone. Everything is electronic and without a smart phone you might just as well go home.

• The high point of international flights is you still get to check in with a real person.
• It’s now a smart option to put a tracking device in your bags so you can keep an eye on where they are and to be sure they are at your destination airport.

• Your carry on bags are getting heavier because now all your devices with lithium ion batteries have to be carried with you. It’s amazing how many Li-ion devices we all own.

• Grey hair sometimes means you get to avoid long queues. We were in a line of maybe 200 people all waiting to get though immigration. Suddenly the retractable belt was opened and we were ushered to the EU passport control and within a minute we were heading for the baggage carousel. We could feel the stares of all those still patiently waiting to be processed. Happy days!

We arrived in Palma and after a bit of searching we found the boat that would be our home for the next 2 weeks. It was now time to explore Palma unpack our bags and chill out, at least until we are under sail.

More to come as we explore the Balearic Islands.