2004-12 Gran Canaria: London Heathrow via Madrid-Barajas to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

We're up early this morning. We return to the Café in the Gardens, in Russell Square park, for a great breakfast. Sated, full of energy for the day, we return to the hotel, grab the bags Rose and I packed last night.

We take the Tube back to the Heathrow Airport station, and retrieve our left baggage. It takes us a long time to check into the Iberia flight, because of some shenanigans with the airplane. (We're completely unimpressed with Iberia, which wins my award for worst airline ever. They seem unable to do anything competently; every action coupled with the wide-eyed stares of someone encountering some obstacle for the very first time.)

Here Rose tends to the kids teeth while we're waiting for the Iberia buffoons to figure out how to finish checking in our bags, half having been done before the computer locked everyone out. Really.

After three-quarters of an hour wasted, we're free of Iberia and have a bit of time to let the kids run. Here Lila enjoys a Jay-Jay the Jet Plane toy.

Yes, we're nailed with Iberia yet again. We're delayed, without explanation. Hours pass. No update. About a half-hour before we're to fly I give up and call the Iberia command center. "Oh, yes," she says, "we haven't remembered to update the computers. Go to gate 12." Sigh. Can't these boneheads do anything right?

Nope, nothing at all. We're at the gate when we hear our names being called. They've screwed up our ticketing and have our seats far apart from each other. I explain why this is a bad thing, pointing to my energized kids, and it dawns on these un-geniuses that two of the tickets are for children. Has nobody at Iberia done this before? They figure something out, and we board.

Exhausted, the kids fall asleep hand-in-hand.

But we're not done being screwed by Iberia. Their delay at Heathrow gives us ten minutes to get to our next plane. This is bad because (1) we have to do security, passport control, run through the terminals, and take yet another bus, (2) we might miss the flight, and (3) we don't get a chance to feed the kids at the airport café. Well, the incompetence continues with mechanical problems with the jet and we sit awhile longer.

At least we got a good sunset, and we're not subject to Iberia's mistakes for another three weeks.

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