Our Car is Missing

Sunday October 16th
In Which Our Car Goes Missing !

I suppose it was inevitable that in executing such an extended and complex trip, sooner or later something was going to go wrong. Up to now, it was remarkable that every arrangement, every booking had fallen exactly into place. We had completed the entire Odyssey Ride just how it had been planned to happen. Now Maggie and I were on our own, certainly nothing could go drastically wrong now ?

Well actually it did.

As part of our advance plans we had arranged to collect a hire car from Europcar's Portsmouth office on Sunday 16th October. I had even received a confirmation email from them just four day's earlier, confirming the collection details and informing me that they had already deducted the full rental cost from my credit card. Very efficient of them

On the morning in question we booked a taxi to take us from our hotel in Southsea to the Europcar pickup depot. The driver was helpful and chatty and was happy to accept 10 pounds for the short ride
"The place looks empty", Maggie commented.
"No you will be OK, I drop people here all the time", the driver replied replied before driving away.

We were left outside the office with our luggage. Rain had been falling most of the morning and looked about ready to start again.

I tried the door. It was locked. The internal lights were off. Rising concern. Maybe we were just a little early. Maggie checked the sign with the opening hours. Someone had hand written "CLOSED ON SUNDAYS". I rechecked my details. They clearly stated that the car was to be collected at 10 am on the 16th October.

We waited till 10 am. Still no one in sight.

I tried ringing the Europcar rental number. My call was so important to them that they put me on hold for a long time (on international mobile call rates) before hanging up on me.

OK, what do we do now ? Maggie politely reminded me of all the times that I had told her that I love the serendipity of travel. She now wanted me to practise what I preached. I was trying hard, but I was also angry that we had been let down. We had a written agreement that was apparently worth nothing. We didn't even have data access on our phones to search for other contact numbers. The only thing I could do was ring our hotel to tell them what had happened and to get them to arrange another taxi collection for us.

By 10.30 am we were back inside another taxi and heading back to our hotel. Another 10 pounds wasted and NO CAR. The only positive thing I could be grateful for was that we had allowed for a second night in the same hotel. We had not planned to start driving till Monday morning. This gave us at least some extra breathing space in Portsmouth.

Back at the hotel I tried to settle down and "look on the bright side of life". At least the weather had improved enough for us to take a walk along the beachfront to the nearby "D Day Museum".

I paid the seniors entry fee and spent some time wandering the displays. They were tired and in major need of refurbishment and updating. The food in the cafe was deplorable - sad looking toasted sandwich, cold chips and stale cake. It fitted the mood of the day.

Maggie was still recovering from the flu and walked back to the hotel while I wandered the beach, looking for a silver lining. It certainly did not come in the form of a lovely sandy beach. There was no sand in sight, just acres of rough stones. Even the impressive looking pier was closed down "for repairs". Compared to the magnificent beachfront at St Malo, our first impressions of Portsmouth left a lot to be desired.

In the evening we walked to the strangely named "Gastro Pub" for our evening meal. It had been recommended by our hotel, although naming a restaurant "Gastro" did not auger well for the quality of the food. Fortunately the food was excellent and the place was clean and quiet. I hoped that things would go better the next day.Read more