In case you missed it: Part 1

In transit, from the Denver airport, then back to the Denver airport, then across the Atlantic to Frankfurt, Germany, we’ve taken almost no pictures. No question we’re exhausted, quite demoralized and wondering what’s next. And when you’re wondering why the hell you ever decided to sell your home and migrate to Spain, nothing is picturesque.

We do learn, however, that if you want a lodging that accomodates pets, Best Western is your friend.

Now, at least settled for another night, we have to find a PetSmart where we can buy a soft carrier for Man Ray, our smaller, more skittish tuxedo cat.

On Tuesday we return to the Denver aiport with a rental Hyundai Santa Fe, aware of the irony that we’ll leave another Santa Fe behind us. The Lufthansa ticket counter manager, who can’t possibly be as old as 30, has the personality of wet cardboard. She blithely informs us that we are confimed on the same flight as the day before. Two pets in the luggage hold and one on board. But.

They had to change planes for this flight. Business class has half as many seats. We’ll be on the waitlist for Business, but we’re definitely booked for Economy. We greet this news by pulling out even more of our hair.

There has to be a silver lining here, eh? Sure, we made the flight. The pets made the flight. We actually got a bulkead row with lots of leg room. In Economy. Man Ray had plenty of space in which to hide in his quite confining carrier.

And we slept. First we enjoyed a lovely coach-class meal, then we had an unremarkable night of dozing and sleeping and tossing and turning. And then we were in Frankfurt. Where we learned that the flight had arrived late and we’d missed our connection to Madrid. The madness was not done with us yet.

We found our way to Lufthansa customer service. Our carry-on companion Man Ray was curled up in ball in the back of his carrier, so he’s no good company for the moment or any help at all with the Germans.

It’s mid-day Wednesday, December 4. Our AirBnb in Cordoba was expecting us today. But short of teleportation we weren’t going to Spain just yet. The next plane to Madrid is early evening and will get in at 10pm. We’re asking ourselves quite earnestly: do we want Ella and Sami to sit with cargo for a few hours then get shoved back under another plane so we can all rent yet another van to take our million kilos of stuff to an as-yet-unbooked hotel in Madrid in the dark?

Stay tuned for part 3… escape from Frankfurt