Yesterday’s challenge was to pick up our hire car from the airport, prebooked through autorentals.com as WE KNOW Christmas is a very busy time.  As we weren’t arriving by plane we ticked the little box provided.  Our pick up time was 11.30 but we had prepaid by credit card so when we arrived at 13.30 due to delays at our end and having to wait for half an hour in the queue at the Europcar desk, and we were then told that as we were late they had sold our car to someone else and there weren’t any others to be had, we were a bit mad. Europcar also politely told us that we wouldn’t get our money back as we hadn’t booked directly through them and they wouldn’t be paid for the car, and that Autorentals.com had our money and that made us a bit madder. So what to do?

Over to the airport expensive internet computer and a search, yes, through autorentals.com to find that the only cars available were at airport North, and we were in airport South.  No problem, there’s a bus.  In the meantime, Tony phoned Autorentals.com headquarters in Manchester and found that according to them, Europcar would invoice them for the car and they would be paid.  So seems that Europcar were going to be paid twice for one car rental.  Who is telling the truth?  So armed with the name and address of the managing director of Autorentals, who according to Europcar, have our money, we went to the Goldcar desk to seek advice about travelling to Airport North for the car.  Anyway to get to the chase, a very helpful Goldcar man arranged for a car for us there and then, so no travelling to airport North for pick up and drop off.  Thank you that man. We now have the challenge of getting our money back for a car that we have paid for but weren’t given.  We will keep you updated when manage it. All in the T&C apparently, ‘live booking’ whatever that is, but who reads and remembers those?  Daylight robbery to me.  We are still mad.

An hour later we had loaded up the car at Lidl with non alcoholic beer for the crossing and had a cold beer with alcohol in Los Christianos, after visiting the Chandlers for the replacement pipe for the heads that blew up a couple of days ago.  And we thought our new life would be less stressful.

Oh, and todays success, Solar panels now wired n and working, well done Tony, and I’ve made another lee cloth so that we don’t fall out of bed.

Thought for the day: A day without sunshine is like, you know, night. - Steve Martin.

Photo of me making lee cloth and Tony down in the Lazarette drilling holes.