I don’t know where to begin. The 25-hour trip from Nelspruit, South Africa, to Barcelona, Spain, was fraught with some issues, most of which we couldn’t control, but all of which turned out fine in the end. Travel isn’t always seamless and easy, nor is the lifestyle we’ve chosen for ourselves over the past almost 13 years.

Then again, we often hear about major house repairs, storm damage, and frustrating home ownership challenges that we never face “living in the world with the utmost of freedom,” but not always the utmost of convenience.

Right now, Tuesday at 8:30 am, I am situated on a comfy sofa in the living room/lounge room of our apartment in Sant Marti, Spain. Now I understand even more why we prefer to rent single-family houses over apartments. This style of living isn’t compatible with our preferences. As you read along today, you’ll see what we mean.

As for the trip, I won’t bore you with the endless details. The major distraction was the massive storm that hit Nelspruit shortly before takeoff from the small airport in Mpumalanga, the first such storm we’d seen in South Africa since arriving last March. Our flight was delayed for over an hour, but fortunately, we waited at the gate, rather than on the tarmac, as is often the case for many travelers.

By the time we were ready to board, we had to walk in the dark, right into the remnants of the storm, and up the tiny staircase to the Airlink plane. It was the first time since we began visiting South Africa in 2013 that we had ever flown out of Nelspruit (MQP) in the dark of night, albeit in a storm.

Much to our surprise, the flight was only a little turbulent, and we touched down in Johannesburg with 45 minutes remaining until our connecting flight on Qatar Airways. We had yet to go through security and immigration. By the kin of our teeth, we made the connecting flight.

All the while, we were texting back and forth with Gehard, who kept checking for our possible options in case we missed the connecting flights. In all of our years of world travel, we’d never missed a flight. Gerhard, after years of working for Alaska Airlines, we couldn’t have added a better ally to support us through the process. Thanks, Gergard! Yes, we are savvy enough to have done this ourselves, but it was comforting to have our dear friend helping us, since he, too, was familiar with the route, having visited Marloth Park for years.

The three flights were fine overall. We both managed to nod off a little during the two longer flights, feeling tired but relatively fine until bedtime last night, after we had a chance to do some unpacking.

However, the biggest issue of all was gaining access to this apartment using a keyless Bluetooth entry system. It wasn’t due to our having problems figuring out how to open the two doors with the app. It was nearly impossible to determine which door was the actual access to the apartment, given the misleading and ambiguous numbers outside the property. There were doors everywhere.

After a 30-minute phone call to Capital One Travel to obtain the property manager’s phone number, the call was frustrating because it wouldn’t go through on my phone, despite my efforts. A kindly young college student,  Carlos made the call for us and spoke to the woman from the management company in Spanish. She spoke some English but ended up yelling at Carlos and  at me.

After over an hour, we finally managed to get the correct doors open and walked into a huge surprise. There were 30 (Tom counted) slippery ceramic tile steps to get to the apartment. Initially, the listing explained it was only a few steps. Had we known this, we would never have rented this place. It is hazardous for me to go up and down the stairs.

Tom and I agreed, much to our frustration, that we won’t be going out that much while here, when it is so difficult for me to manage the uneven steps.

The kindly young man, Carlos, helped Tom bring up all of our heavy bags to the apartment while I hung onto the railing, attempting to make my way up. We offered him a generous tip for all his assistance, and when he refused, we insisted that he take it. Carlos is going to return and help us when it’s time to bring the bags down once again on October 27, the day we board the ship. We exchanged WhatsApp numbers, and this morning, I saw a message from him with a list of all the best restaurants in the area.

As for the apartment, here are the issues;

• No hot water (reported to management) in the shower and sinks
• The drain plug in the bathroom sink won’t open, and therefore, we can’t use it. (also reported this today)
• The bed pillows are as hard as rocks. (The bed and duvet are comfortable).
• The kitchen is poorly supplied
• The stovetop is convection and confusing to turn on. It’s a European-style we’d only used once in the past in Dubai. We sent Gerhard a photo, and he sent us directions.
• No air conditioning in the bedroom (only in the living/lounge room)
• In order for Tom to get to his side of the bed, he has to crawl over the bed since a desk, attached to the wall, blocks the way, in order to allow the closet door to be opened. Both bedrooms are very cramped, more than we’ve seen in the past.
• The bathroom is tiny with no towel bars or a toilet paper holder.

Otherwise, the apartment is fine, modern, clean, and well-maintained with a minimalist decor.

So it goes. We will be here for another 41 days. In any case, we’ll strive to make the best of it. This morning, I placed a grocery order that is scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning. We’ve decided to order takeaway as much as possible, only cooking two to three evenings a week.

That’s it for today, folks. We hope you are all doing well. And…thank you for traveling along with us.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 15, 2015: