Peter's Blog

Iberianspices spicesiberia

Thursday 5 April 2012

29th March the start of a nightmare week.

The title says it all. Everybody has at some time a period when things go wrong and just seem to keep going wrong, and wrong, and wrong. Well here goes and over the next few days i will recount the nightmare i have just had.

As i was going to Porto on the 29th i offered to collect a friend who was flying back from the UK after a short visit. I was lucky to be able to park very close to the airport so upon arrival time i didn't have far to walk to make my way back home.

After about half an hours drive i started to loose power from my engine, this had happened once before and after a few moments it restarted again. Not this time it was stopped good and proper. My car had gone asleep and would not wake up again no mater what i tried. With my insurance i had breakdown cover and recovery so a call was made to them. I was lucky that they have someone who is English so the language was of no problem. The guy on the phone was great and saying all the things to reassure me i was going to get home safely well by now it was  pitch dark but still a warm night. I was asked just where i was and saying on the motorway was not enough. I had to walk until i found a motorway emergency phone as they have a number on the side that tells people just where you are.

After a little while i get a call back and i then explain just where i was. I was told that we would be getting a taxi home and the next day my car would be taken to a garage in my home town. After an hour we get a call to say the recovery company would arrive ant time and we would be going with them back home. It seems that we would not be getting a taxi, maybe because of the distance to my home or some other reason.

It was not long before the recovery driver arrived and started to put the car on the transporter for the trip home. As we got into the cab of the transporter we both started to put our seat belts on only to be told by a gesture from the driver that we didn't have to wear them. Since the first day i took my first driving lesson i have always had my seat belt on after my driving instructor explained that i had to wear it for my own safely. It's now 44 years since i passed my test and at that time it was not law to have to wear seat belts in a car but i did as the instructor  suggested and i have always worn my belt.

Well to be traveling down the motorway in the dead of night without a seat belt on was to say the least a bit scary but we arrived home OK.

The next morning i called at the garage after using Google Translate to translate what i had to say to the garage owner what was wrong. When i went back for the car he had changed the plugs and an electronic switch inside of the engine and gestured that all was now ok. After a short drive all seemed well for now. The bill for the work done was 129.88€ Ouch but what can you do.

Well all went well till Sunday the 1st April when i made my was to Miranda do Cova for the monthly market.I had traveled 15km when i found that i had left my wallet at home so it was a trip back home to get my wallet should i have needed money at the market. As  made my way back to the market again the car started to act up again loosing power and then restarting. At this point it was wise to make my way back home. Due to the difficulty in the language and not being happy going back to the garage i decided to go to a garage where the owner speaks English. The owner has another garage in  some little drive away and i was asked to go there as they have a machine to plug my car into to find out the problem.

I had to go to Porto airport to pick some people up who where going to a wedding and because of this and the problem with the car i was offered a courtesy car but i had to get back to to the garage  where the courtesy car was waiting for me. Well guess what it stopped again right out in a forest where  i just sat and waited for help to arrive.

Well once i had the car i was on my way to the airport somewhat and late. I was to find that after i had been been driving a sort time that the motorway was blocked by a traffic accident and this only made my arriving at the airport even later. I was in fact three hours late but i had been texting to let the people i was to pick up them late. The result was that i got them to where they where going but a few hours late.

This has been a nightmare but there is more to come.

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