Dean,
When you get to Rapid City, be sure to check your baggage all the way through to Mallorca. The woman who works in the airport in Rapid City will tell you that you can’t do this, but you can and must. You do not want to go through customs in Madrid. In fact, you won’t have time to go through customs there and catch your connecting flight to Mallorca.
When you get to Newark, do not go down the Continental National wing at the airport. You need to go farther to the right and find the International wing for Continental. We left from Gate 75 and a very competent Continental employee, named Judith, helped us as much as possible although the plane was delayed in Florida all night because of bad weather. We slept in the chairs at Gate 75, so we were all on first name basis before the transatlantic flight even departed.
When you get to the Madrid airport, the minute you go through the passport area, turn immediately to your right and go to the end of the room to a very small desk with a sign above which says Conneciones. There will be two or three people at the desk to help several hundred other people. The woman at the computer yells at everyone and has total control over your life for the next several hours. If you are nice to her while she yells at you, the young woman behind her will reward you with a first class seat to Mallorca. Smile, thank her, and get the heck out of there.
Turn around and go back to the main exit of the customs room. As you will not have luggage, this will be a breeze. Just keep walking like you know where you are going.
As soon as you leave the customs room, turn right again. Keep going and going and going until you find Iberia Nacional. Everyone will tell you al fondo; al fondo; al fondo. This is exactly what the Mexicans mean when they say derecho; derecho; derecho. No matter what, just keep going straight ahead; straight ahead; straight ahead.
Finally, you will come to the end of the building; we left from Gate D45. There is a very nice man there who seems to take care of all the gates in the 40’s and 50’s. He will insist you have time to go to the First Class Lounge and have a drink . . . that is, if you were nice to the woman who yells at everyone back at the Conecciones desk near customs.
When you arrive in Mallorca, go to the luggage area and look for your luggage. The luggage handlers may be sitting on the luggage ramps because they are having a slow-down. It is not a complete strike — more like a brown-out of baggage.
When you leave the Mallorca airport (with or without your bags), the taxi drivers will be waiting. Just go up to any one of them and tell them, Edificio Pelicano in Cala Mayor. They will charge you about $3000 pts. or about $20 to $25 dollars.
When you get to the Pelicano Mayor, walk up the hill. There is a building on the right — this is not the Pelicano. There is a building on the left — that is not the Pelicano. Al fondo. Al fondo. Al fondo. Derecho. Derecho. Derecho. This building will look like a little one-story cantina. Go into the front entrance and wait for one of the residents to open the locked door. Al fondo. Derecho. Straight to the Mediterranean. Look down. You will note that this is not a little one-story cantina; it is really an eight-story apartment complex built into the wall surrounding the sea.
Juan, in the bar, has all of the keys for the faculty apartments. I’ll be waiting for you.
Love,
Joan
