Home James!
Sorry James, couldn't resist that title:-)).

The time had come to leave Jini, Rohini, James and all the many friends, and indeed Castelo Branco behind. That final visit to the bus station loomed ever closer on Saturday 8th at 12:30. The ticket was purchased at the bus station with James and Rohini looking on to make sure that I was not only going, but going to the correct place. Today 'Rede Expressos' would take me from Castelo Branco to Porto. It was not to be direct - the chance for something to go wrong, I hear you say? Have you no confidence? I was having to change in Cavilhã , some 60 minutes north of CB. It was to be there that another coach would transfer me to Porto and then to the airport for my Liverpool flight later that evening. What could be simpler?

Let me put the bus station into context for you - a road at the side of a ticket office and waiting room. On that road many coaches laying in wait for their passengers and driver. My coach arrived behind all these, amongst this general chaos. You can see the confusion in the eyes of James and Rohini - Jame's eyes to the right and Rohini's to the front (picture right)...


No, wait a minute. The confusion is now the thier left (picture left). What was it of interest to them now? An old lady in the gutter perhaps? And now something behind Rohini (picture right). Will I ever get away from the bus station? Read on....


Don't panic, have you learned nothing from this blog? Of course I get away - some 15 minutes late, just enough to miss that all-important connection from Covilhã to Porto. But don't panic....

Well, to cut a short story long, as they say in Outer Mongolia, here is the inside of Porto airport some 6 hours later. My thanks to Hugo and 'Rede Expressos' for this triumph.

Alas, the fun, the games and the panic was over. Well, not quite. For those of you with laser zoom eyes you should be able to spot (picture right) that the aircraft had a problem with it's fuel cap. It was stuck closed. Until they could do something about this we were grounded. Mind you, the pilot did suggest that we could risk an early bath in the English Channel. We had the 'inaugural' announcment by our pilot - "Welcome on board our flight this evening to Liverpool. I regret to have to inform you that we have a technical problem with our fuel cap and we are working to resolve the problem. We thank you for you patience". What patience was he referring to? Mine had dissapeared earlier that day!

Did I get to Liverpool? Well, of course i did...Wait for my next instalment entitled 'Bacon Butties to the Rescue'.