Our holiday got off to a rocky start when, while sitting in the Medellin terminal, I received a text saying that our 8pm flight had been delayed and I would get more information at 10pm. Our connecting flight from Bogota to Madrid left at 11pm, and we had to pick up and recheck our large bag. My mind immediately went to problem-solving mode, trying to work out how we would get another flight to Madrid and how much that was going to cost. Sandra was certain that everything would work out and calmly went to talk to the attendants. When we finally found someone, they were amazingly helpful, ensuring we got on the earliest flight out (which turned out to be our own, leaving at 9:30), and had our luggage brought to us as carry on. Bogota was the fastest transfer I’ve done, but they let us carry on our luggage again, and we made it to Madrid on schedule.

We chose to stop in Madrid on our way to Greece so that Sandra could spend her birthday with family and friends there. A short nap after arriving, her brother Daniel and his family took us to dinner in a restaurant at the top of a high end shopping centre overlooking the old abattoir. I was worried about having to eat paella, knowing that Sandra is on a mission to eat fish on this trip, but it was actually a Brazilian restaurant, which meant as much meat as we could eat, and it was fantastic. Sandra’s relatives were very welcoming and accepting of my Spanish, which was pretty poor in my tired state.

We arrived back at the hotel at around 2:30am, which isn’t particularly late for Spain, and ended up sleeping until midday. Sandra jumped up in a panic because she’d arranged to meet one of her best Australian friends at 1pm. Russel was one of Sandra’s students in Sydney and remained close throughout her years in Australia. He gave us a few options for an early (by Spanish standards) lunch and we chose a small place inside a market. I’m writing this too long after the fact to remember what we ate, but I do remember that both food and company were good. He then took us on a walk through some of the older parts of the city while he and Sandra caught up and while he and I got to know each other.

It was great to finally meet all these people after hearing so much about their roles in Sandra’s life.