One day, four countries?

When I got up this morning (country #1) the weather looked threatening. In fact, the moment I got on the ferry it started to rain, and pretty soon it became a downpour. I stayed on deck under a cover that looked like a waterfall each time the high-speed ferry listed to one side or the other. It was sad to see Tangier fade away behind the wake of the ferry! It's been a great and memorable trip.

I arrived in Tarifa, Spain (#2), around 11am local time, and it was pouring. The bus to Algeciras was a bit disconcerting as the front windshield was fogged up, and the driver kept having to wipe it with a rag. On the way we drove through some green (and grey) hills and I saw several bulls and patches of cork trees. Ferdinand, anyone? When we arrived at the terminal in Algeciras I was told the bus terminal for Malaga was some quarter mile away, and it was pouring absolute buckets. I spotted a rental car counter and found out that for a mere 56EUR I could rent a car and drop it off at the Malaga airport. Since I had time and was curious to see Gibraltar, I went for the car.

The drive to Gibraltar is not long, but the rain was amazing and it got foggy. When I got close to the Gibraltar border I could see the famous rock... or at least the bottom of it. Can you see it through my rainy car window in the picture? I crossed the border (#3), drove around for a bit, grabbed some food at a grocery store, then drove back to Spain and hit the highway toward Malaga. There is a newer interstate highway and an older highway that is often interrupted by rotaries. I took the latter since I had a lot of time, and since it passed along the famed "Costa del Sol." Except there was no trace of any Sol today, just unbelievable pouring rain and fog. I made a quick pit stop at a place called George's bar somewhere around Marbella, had an espresso, exchanged a few words with the bartender and with an interesting older English gentleman, undoubtedly there for the winter (I couldn't tell you because shortly after sitting next to me at the bar he proceeded to start playing a small electronic slot machine and ignored me). Everybody spoke English which was a bit weird.

I got to the airport about 3 hours before my flight to Milano, which given the size of the line was probably not a bad thing. The picture I included here is after I made it more than half way down the line. Took about 45 minutes. My love-hate relationship with low-cost airlines is rekindled. And of course because of the massive weather issues in Europe (it snowed in Rome!), I was told at check-in that the flight was already scheduled to leave 90 minutes late. So, will I get to the fourth country tonight? More importantly, will I get there early enough to pick up my rental car? The office closes at midnight, and if the current delay sticks, I will arrive around 11:20. It would suck if I missed the car rental, as I would have to stay near the airport and go back tomorrow, and I have pre-paid a hotel room in the city...