I had actually been wondering when the
misadventures would start in such a long journey: Immediately on the first
plane? On the second, maybe? Perhaps even on the third or the fourth flight, or
maybe I could even get to my destination with no misadventures this time! Ha.
#1:
Not too surprisingly, the misadventures of the
trip started even before I left home: on trip eve I realize my (crucial) laptop
bag is ripping! It doesn't look like it can be sewn, as it will just rip even
more. The bag is quite new, but obviously I can't find the receipt. Anyway I
decide to try and show it at the shop where I bought it, as the train from
Évora to Lisbon is at 9 o'clock and that gives me a bit of time to drop by the
shopping centre beside Lisbon station before heading to the airport.
#2:
Flashback from the past: The last time I had
to take a plane, I also had to leave Évora on the 9 o'clock train. I was not
carrying much weight so I was walking to the station -- it's a
20-something-minute walk, so I was to leave the house at 8:30. Somehow in my
mind that was converted to the train leaving at 8:30, so I left the house at 8,
only to arrive there and wait at a deserted station for more than half an
hour... Sigh.
#3:
This time I was not going to make the same
stupid mistake, so I proudly set to leave the house at 8:30. And this time I
was carrying a bit more weight, so I decided to take a taxi, so I could actually
leave at 8:45.
As usual before long trips, there were lots of
little things to do before leaving, so it was 8:42 when I finally picked my
phone to call a taxi. Panic: I forgot that my old phone died with my contacts
list a while ago, and the taxi number was not in the new phone! I didn't even
remember to call information, or which the information number was; it only
occurred to me to check the internet, so I take my laptop out of the bag (very carefully so it doesn't rip even more), turn
it on, aaaahh!, there's no internet because I've unplugged the router already,
plug the router back in, wait for it to be ready, get on the internet, find the
number after 3 wrong links, and finally call a taxi. I ask the driver to rush
to the station, there's still time to catch the train; I get there 3-4 minutes
before departure, run up the stairs and down the other stairs (which are really
slippery after the rain, by the way) to the platform... But the train is closed
and the lights are off and there's no one in! Then I remember: shit! It's
Sunday! The train on Sunday is at 10, not at 9!!
So crap. One hour waiting at the station, plus
a 1:30 train ride. Fortunately still on time to catch the plane in Lisbon, but
not to drop by the shop and have them fix my bag. Harumph.
#4:
While on the train, I remember that I left 4
or 5 small tomatoes on my kitchen counter. They will look pretty when I arrive
back after 7 weeks... Why didn't I remember this while I was waiting at the
station and had so much time to go back? Harumph harumph.
#5:
At least the taxi driver who takes me from the station to the
airport is nice and talkative, takes a bit of my stress away, although I had
planned to take the bus to the airport (if I had arrived early as I had
thought), and the taxi leaves me with barely enough euros left for my trip back
to Évora. Anyway, luckily there's a pharmacy at the airport and I’m able to buy
some band-aids (or whatever these are called) for my bag. I could have been a
bag nurse, did an impeccable job, you can barely even notice something happened:
