Home Again, and the Final Wrap-Up

Home again, and I have to admit, I’m happy to be here. I did arrive home safe and sound several days ago, September 1st. The house was intact. A fair number of weeds had built a barrier around the place. I guess in my absence, they felt the place needed their protection. Thanks, but no thanks.

The trip this time was really great, but I think I’ve found my limit for being away. Not to say the trip wasn’t enjoyable. It was. But it began to feel as if I was repeating what I’d done the day before, just in a different location. Ending the trip in Menorca did put a bright light on the end of it. Menorca was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Moving on. I last wrote on Thursday afternoon, and I was sacrificing my siesta. Well, on Friday I sacrificed again, not to write, though, and the sacrifice was worth it. To start the day, Pepe, los ninos and I headed for an abandoned fort, Castell de Santa Agueda, dating back to the time of the Moorish conquest of Spain.

This one wasn’t one that had been rebuilt to look like the original. It had been left to the mercy of wind and rain, and looked the part. It sat atop the second highest peak on the island. Some view! The island is about 45 K by 20K at the widest. We could see at least 1/2 of it. Over the years, the area has been used for farming and grazing. The road to it had been paved with stones when the fort was built. A good bit of the road was still in good shape, as the farmers had maintained it over the years.

In the early afternoon, Magdalena and los ninos attended a birthday party. Pepe and I used the time to have a delicious meal in a local restaurant. This was a very Mediterranean meal, both in content and time. A bottle of wine, some delicious tapas, two dishes, squid, I believe, and peppers. Then the outstanding main course of monkfish. This was followed by desert, and Pepe didn’t do his part, so I had to finish both his and mine. Then coffee and a Menorcan after dinner drink. Quite a meal!

Then he took me to Ciutadella, the second largest city on the island. Ciutadella was, I believe, once the capital of Menorca, but Mao (Mahon), with the better harbor took over that function in more recent times. Ciutadella has the charm you would hope for in a Spanish city, bright, old, narrow streets, busy, flowers. I think you get the idea.

The rest of the time in Menorca wasn’t nearly as interesting; pack, sleep, eat breakfast, goodbyes, and a trip to the airport. The goodbyes were the best part.

The flights back home weren’t exciting. Menorca to Barcelona, Barcelona to London, and London to LA. I guess I should be thankful for that. My flight from London was late taking off, and we must have been fighting headwinds, because we were even later landing. We must have landed at the same time as several other intercontinental flights, because it took about an hour to get through customs.

Which reminds me. Europe isn’t as rigid on passport control as I’d anticipated. Once within the Scandinavian countries, they didn’t check my passport. They stamped it in Austria, on my day trip to Hungary, on entry to Denmark, and on my visit to Estonia. Leaving Estonia was the last time my passport was stamped. I expected it when I left Denmark for Spain, but neither country checked it. . And when I arrived in LA, they only looked at my passport. No entrance stamp. Sort of disappointing, as I’d hoped to be able to show off all the entry and exit stamps. Asi es la vida.

Found out that I did have a few problems with finance when I returned. I thought I’d done a good job making sure all my bills were covered. But I didn’t anticipate the registration renewal for one vehicle. I was gone long enough for the penalty to reach the maximum. Adding insult to injury, the highest penalty step started only 2 days before I returned. And the insurance expired on another vehicle. Forgot to put that one on the automatic payment schedule. That turned out OK, though. It was in the garage all the time, and I didn’t have to pay insurance for it for two months. The author, however, does not recommend the practice.

I often wrapped up my travelogues with some random thoughts and observations. Now that I’m home, I don’t seem to have any, though. Just good to be home again. Keep an eye on the blog. As time permits, I’ll add photos of places I think some of you may find interesting