Madeira - Lisbon - Boston - Home - September 19

We were up at 5:45 and on our way to the airport at 7:30.  Check-in and security went smoothly.  We boarded our flight on time, but departed about 15 minutes late.

Other than a few small lumps during the ascent our flight was uneventful.

On our descent into Lisbon we could see the Rio Tejo via which we arrived in Lisbon three years ago aboard ROTTERDAM.

mouth of Rio Tejo (upper right) as viewed through a dirty window

When we obtained our plane tickets in Madeira we were not give our tickets for the connecting flight to Boston.  Thanks to some misinformation and lack of direction we wound up going out through security, queuing up at the SATA ticket counter, then going back through security with boarding passes in hand.  Time consuming, tiring, unnecessary and frustrating, but otherwise ho-hum since with a 4-hour layover we had plenty of time to make our flight.  

not my picture (thank you Google mages)

Having completed the boarding pass Chinese fire drill, Pam & I retired to an airport lounge to have lunch, use the wi-fi and generally passing the time until until it was time to go to our departure gate. After the boarding pass fiasco the time in the lounge provided a welcome break. Little did we know it would be the buffer separating one fiasco from another. 

As we stood at the departure gate, the time to start boarding came and went.  Finally we walked down some stairs and onto a waiting tram that proceeded to fill up and then not move.  Eventually the driver hopped in, moved it ahead about twenty feet, then hopped out and walked away.  After a second team had been filled and allowed to stand for a while our driver returned and we got underway but not in convoy with the second (and third) trams blowing the theory that the trams had to travel to the plane together.  When we got to the plane we again just sat (well actually stood) there for a while before being allowed to board.  In general, the boarding process put everyone in a really spiffy mood. 

Next came enhancement of the this mood.  30 minutes past our scheduled departure time the plane was still where we boarded it - the middle of vast expanse of otherwise empty tarmac - doors open and ground crew just hanging around.  First there was an explanation that there would be a 20 minute delay with the navigational computer was updated.  This discovery a half hour after we were scheduled to depart was a bit disturbing, especially since our flight would be testing the integrity of the update on this plane's computer. 

At the end of the 20 minutes there was a  announcement, given in such broken English that no one really understood it, except for the part about an additional 40 minute delay.

Finally, we departed 90 minutes late with a flight time of 6 .75 hours which together with the delays and taxi times condemned us to serve a sentence of 8.50 hours on this plane.  And this was not a big, modern bird with all the amenities.  It was a tired Airbus 320 with 'cozy' seating and rest rooms so grim they were one step up from an unpumped outhouse. The four male flight attendants with surly attitudes, the screaming baby two rows back and the woman behind me who seemed to be getting in or out of her seat every five minutes - always assisting herself by grabbing the headrest of my seat - provided those extra touches that make air travel so glamorous.

The flight while long and somewhat uncomfortable was uneventful other than about five minutes of seriously attention-getting lumps and bumps about an hour from Boston.

Customs & Immigration had a new toy it was mandatory we use.  It will be easy the second time I use it, but the first time after a long day and long flight it did not tweak my normal techno-toy interest, reducing it to the level of a nuisance.

not my picture (thank you Google images)

Our bags were promptly spit out by the baggage carousel.   Customs showing no interest in them, we were out the door and on the bus quickly.  It was nippy in Boston but the plane had been so uncomfortably warm much of the time so the coolness was refreshing.

not my graphic (thank you Google images)

The bus was an experience unto itself.  It was a 'classic' (i.e. old).  Going over any kind of bump was a combination of bouncing up and down while at the same time bottoming out on tired shock absorbers.  The sounds from the engine compartment suggested that some of the gerbils powering the bus had fallen off the treadmill.  Nevertheless, it managed to get us to our destination.    

We got to New Bedford at 9:45.  A friend meet us, delivering us home at 10:15.  We dragged ourselves and our bags in the door and promptly...read the mail, chatted, watched some TV, had something to eat and tried to resolve being exhausted and wide awake at the same time.  Thankfully the latter dissipate fairly quickly; sooner for Pam than for me, but when I did go to bed about ten seconds after my head hit the pillow I was asleep.