Off to an excellent start this morning, all went according to plan, dropped car off with a friend who had very kindly agreed to look after it for us to save us being robbed at the airport and the taxi arrived almost ten minutes early which was great. In the end we arrived to check in just as the desk was opening and we sailed through.

Little bit of a hitch going through security, I usually get stopped and have to empty all my bags because of the cameras etc that I cart about but this time it was different. In spite of being asked whether we were carrying any liquids one member of the party had a can of Coke and a fruit juice which had somehow fallen into the "not liquids" category so they had to go the journey. All in all a really good check-in experience, hoping the journey continues in the same way.

There seems to be an interesting arrangement at the check-in desk now whereby if you have a normal sized or even smaller item of hand luggage it is tagged as being suitable to be shoved under the seat in front of you. For me at least this means that I would have nowhere at all to put my feet which would be a right pain in the backside. It seems to me that this arrangement has been put in place to solve the problem, and to make room for, people who bring "hand luggage" which is clearly oversized. Why can't the existing hand baggage rules simply be enforced rather than making those who follow the rules shove their bags under their seats?

Flight went really well, even arrived early, apart from the usual few early morning drunks that seem to appear on any flight from the UK. The collection of the car was smooth and efficient and we were soon on our way to The Duva. Stopped near Pollenca (Lidl) to pick up some groceries to kick off our self catering experience and were pleasantly surprised at the cost of our shopping, looks like this is going to be a successful choice.

Arrived at The Duva which was lovely and couldn't believe our good luck and the kindness we were shown. Lorena and I could both have keeled over with surprise when we were told that we were being allocated one of the luxury apartments in the other block with the small pool area.

Just amazing, large kithchen with a huge fridge freezer, dishwasher etc. etc. On top of that the living area was huge and there was a lovely large balcony with table, chairs and a comfortable outdoor couch. The balcony is a double aspect affair looking out on the hills on both sides and is just brilliant, it's going to be our al fresco dining area for the duration I'm sure. I'm not sure what we have done to deserve this treatment but whatever it was I'm glad we did it.

Straight onto the balcony :-)

Nice quiet evening, popped back to the shop for a few more bits and bobs and then just got my stuff ready for my first ride tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it, planning to start very easily and just see how things pan out. Bike all seemed fine when I unpacked it from it's storage bag, great arrangement keeping the bike out here, just saves so much hassle.

Come to think of it this is the third time I have used this bike out here so that means that I have now pretty much reached the break even point in terms of the value of the bike (I've had it for years) being offset against the costs I would have incurred had I been hiring a bike. Apart from the convenience, which is the main reason I left a bike out here, from here on the decision to do this has also been a good one financially.