Day 1 22 December Departure

We left the house at 12:30, stopped over at the Barcelon residence and met up with Marc, Flor, Marliza and Rey arriving at Malaga around 3 pm. Tried out the GPS on the way for familiarization and was quite easy to follow. We planned on walking around downtown to pass the time since our flight was not until 20:10 but decided to just stay at the airport due to the heavy rain. Took pictures outside and of the Nativity scene inside. We got in line when the counter opened at 1800 and checked in without any hassle. Flight left on schedule and since this was a British airline (cute name: bmibaby) we were able to understand the announcements.

The flight was uneventful and we arrived at Cardiff International Airport 10 minutes early. After getting our luggage, I proceeded ahead to find the rental car office because I set up for a meet/greet due to our late arrival. I was directed by the information booth to the airport parking lot where a lady from the rental company was waiting. She was quite helpful and assisted in familiarizing me with the controls. She also had to spray de-icer on the windows and windshield to clear the layer of ice.

She was quite amused when she realized we had to fit six adults and seven pieces of luggage in the car which is about the size of a mini-station wagon. It definitely had room for 6 people but not for the amount of luggage that we have. We ended up folding one of the rear seats to accommodate the bigger suitcases and then placed the others on their laps. Marites, Marc and Flor had to squeeze together in the middle seat while Marliza had to hunker down in the back seat. I had to move my seat forward until my knees were against the steering column. A very, very tight fit but we were able to cram everything.

Now comes the fun part. Since the car is right-hand drive (plus stick-shift) and traffic is on the left side, I had to re-program myself to the Japan days and it was quite tough initially. It was very dark and with the windshield fogging up, it was hard to see my way out of the parking lot. I was also banging my knee on the steering column when shifting gears. When I finally found the exit, I stopped too far to reach the ticket booth. I tried to shift in reverse to come closer but we just kept on moving forward. After a couple of engine stalls, I finally realized that I had to pull up on a lever on the shifter to engage the reverse gear. By this time, the cars behind us had backed off and moved to the other gate.

Finally, we were out of the parking lot. I was able to program the GPS and just followed the directions. Made a couple of mistakes initially due to the confusing instructions in approaching and exiting the roundabouts. We're very thankful for the GPS though because we couldn't have found our way out to the freeway even with a map and printed directions. It was mainly rural winding roads without lights/markings and narrow just like Japan. Needless to say, we finally and safely made it to the freeway.

The freeway is wide and well-lit except in the rural areas but the markers and lines are reflective and very visible. There are roundabouts also which are the equivalent of the freeway interchange in the US. They are quite big and you have to really slow down on the approach and then wait for your turn to enter. You also have to be very watchful for your exit or you'll be heading out to a different direction. I think this is the main advantage over the interchange because you can always go around again if you miss it.

After one and a half hours of driving, the GPS guided us to the town of Laugharne but since the resort didn't have an specific street number, we had to drive down the main avenue a couple of times and then ask for directions from a couple that just stepped out of a bar. I guess we also got lucky because we were at the street corner leading up to the resort.

We just followed the signs and drove up to the reception building where we picked up the directions to our lodge according to prior arrangements with the resort due to our late arrival. It was a very welcome sight after a long day of traveling: the lights were on, the key was on the door and it was toasty hot inside. It was also a great relief for everyone getting out of the crammed car. After unloading everything and getting cleaned up, we all hit the sack. What a long day.