"It's not the destination but the journey that counts," they say. Well today I got the living proof that it can certainly be the opposite way! Eager to travel to Vilamoura, Portugal, for the brand new CDI 3* show in the sun on the Iberian peninsula (which guarantees amazing hospitality and great food and wine!), I got up early today to head to Eindhoven aiport for my flight to Faro.
Eindhoven airport is not definitely the most thrilling aviation centre you can envisage. Once you have passed the passport and baggage control, it's boredom galore and imagine how you feel when you see that your plane is delayed indefinitely. With absolutely zero information on the screens, I had to rely on an occasional SMS from Ryanair saying that the plane was delayed. Duh! We could all imagine it's because of the air traffic strike in France, but that was just a calculated guess.
My flight was scheduled for 10.55 AM and I had hoped for a nice, relaxed afternoon at the pool before I would get to the grindstone on Friday but those hopes were dashed by our Irish airline company. By 12.30 a lot of upset passangers, who complained about the lack of information provided in Eindhoven, finally got the news that there was an actual plane arriving and departing at 13.30h. I had spent my morning sitting at a table, reading Michael Bennison's The Twelve Caesars while a duo of forty-year old single Dutch ladies got drunk on over-priced wine for Duty Free store to kill time looking at Tinder profiles.
Like cattle we were herded into iron cages and had to wait outside before boarding the plane. Once everyone sat down and sighed in relief a very funny, sarcastic Irish pilot called Tim Hull announced the pleasant news that departure time would not be until 15h20. and the actual departure, in the end, turned out to be 16h20. A group of 200 Easter holiday tourists sat groggy in the plane, babies and toddlers whining and crying, while I kept repeating my mum's "oooooooohm" mantry in an attempt to stay zen.
The flight itself was as smooth as silk and I actually cherished the time that I got to (almost) finish the book I had lying around for one month and just couldn't get through because of numerous late evening distractions (like watching Vikings and reading pulp fiction in bed).
I got picked up at the airport by an amazingly friendly British lady called Jane Elliot, who is helping Vilamoura's show director Paulo Caetano for the weekend as his liaison. It is amazing how small a world can be sometimes and how you can connect with people in a few minutes. Jane writes for the Sunday Times and has written a novel on a teenager dealing with depression (The Fugue). She mentioned Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar and when I told her I did my PhD on Plath (and Hughes) we hit it off and started chatting non-stop. We were so wrapped up in conversation while cruising across the beautiful, lush Algarve, which is now in bloom with gorgeous purple flowers everywhere, that Jane turned into British road terror. She almost missed an exit and had a disgruntled Portuguese driver honking his horn, and then she was a fraction away from rear-ending a car at a traffic light (it wasn't as dangerous as I make it sound). Her navigation system was also on strike, refusing to voice the road directions in favour of a Portuguese radio station blurting out music. Hilarious!
I was invited to the rider reception but as I felt totally flatlined from the long day in Eindhoven, I skipped the social event and preferred to go to the hotel. I'm staying at the official riders' hotel which is the Hilton in Vilamoura and it is jaw dropping! Located at a golf resort, this grand hotel has an amazing pool, spa, and restaurant a stone's throw away from the marina. I was refrained from using the middle elevator to get to my room on the third floor as it apparently is a shabbat one. Never been made to feel Shabbos goy before. While working away on the computer, I nourished my body with delicious room service (grilled chicken, side salad and a glass of Portuguese sauvignon blanc). Time to catch an early night for a marathon of photography tomorrow. Bring it on!
by Astrid Appels
For more information about the 2015 CDI Vilamoura, visit the official website, or its Facebook page
Related Link
Eurodressage "On the Scene" at the 2015 CDI Vilamoura