After all the saga of booking our flight I was geared up for a less than relaxing experience actually getting to Palma.

However the sun was shining on us (metaphorically of course as Blighty was still rather grey when we left).  With the exception of the ten year old boy working on the check in desk who asked me three times what kind of wheelchair I was checking in, the one right in front of him for the record, everything went particularly smoothly.

Parking at the airport to bus transfer – check.

Check in – mostly check.

Saying hello to special assistance – check.

Going through security clearance – check.

Assistance to plane – check and note the particularly smiley helpful man who waited patiently while we dismantled the gigantic powerchair (see earlier post) to enable it to fit on plane – check.

Tolerance of flight crew when we we were last to board and came on to plane with numerous bags and bits of wheelchair to ensure they didn’t get damaged in hold.  (Incidentally why can we travel round India for a month with only two half full rucksacks but take equivalent to a Posh and Becks sized baggage allowance for a week in Mallorca?) – check.

Arrival in Palma and an even smilier man who helps us off the plane and waits while we have a momentary panic as wheelchair won’t work when we reconnect the battery.  Have visions of pushing 120kg chair round Mallorca for a week before we realise it might work if we took the freewheel off – check.

Leave the airport and instantly find a wheelchair accessible taxi to take us to our apartment.  Molly sits in the rear in her chair and we all have great fun singing “How much is that doggy in the window?” to her.  She just decides to adopt the stance of the aforementioned Posh and Becks and treat us as the riff raff in the front of her limo – check.

Arrive at our apartment and with the use of the ramp we brought from home we make it in to a very welcoming home from home.  Our hosts lovely parents greet us with huge smiles, pleas to move anything we like to make it easier to get around and leave us with a bag of tea bags, milk and cakes to welcome us in – check.

I think we are going to like it here.