Madrid Airport Terminal 4S

Paul got his boarding pass for Amsterdam to Madrid at the check-in desk, but not onwards to Chile. I got mine strangely enough. So it was the start of our first stress, not knowing things.

Our flight from Amsterdam was almost an hour late because the airline was trying to load all the luggage, so that added more stress.

We had to catch a metro shuttle to Terminal 4S and then go through passport control. It was a passport recognition system for EU citizens, and we thought it would be OK with my French residency card. Nope, it didn't work. Ground staff spoke no English but saw my distress and helped me get to see a passport control officer.

We raced to the gate with a bit of time to spare. Paul got his boarding pass printed by one of the ground stewardesses. I mentioned to them about my seat being different to that which I chose and booked. Paul's was ok. She didn't know what happened but couldn't give me another seat because the flight is fully booked. We might try to claim a refund...

Off to Santiago now.Read more