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Welcome to our 24h layover!! Not really a layover, more an experiment on how to wait for a flight in a budget way
The story about how to wait for a flight begins three days before the “layover”. We were in Lisbon trying to find the cheapest way to go to Morocco. Half-day searching for tickets, connections, busses, and ferries till Rob got a good fare flying from Seville to Marrakech.
We booked. Next challenge: get from Lisbon to Seville. Again, in a cheap way!
It was the first time we used BlaBlaCar; we got a ride from Setubal to Seville. The whole story about hitchhiking through Europe you find here. Four hours’ drive, a little nap and we arrived at the Spanish city.
Five in the afternoon and I was already feeling tired! It couldn’t be different, we woke up at 7 am after a good night out. Damn, we always have a problem with farewell parties! 🙁
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The idea was: see the city, walk around, eat, drink and wait for the flight that was booked for 6:40 am of the next day. No hotel booked, no place to sleep or rest. Just us and the backpacks! Sounds good, doesn’t it??
We checked the airport website in advanced and they close the terminal after midnight, so we couldn’t wait there. The bus station also closes at 12 pm, but they have lockers and should re-open at 4 am.
As our shuttle bus to the airport would depart at 4:30 am, we had a plan.
Arrive in Seville at 5 pm »»» drop the luggage at the bus station lockers »»» Sightseeing and enjoy the city »»» At 4 am back to the station to collect the bags »»» 4:30 am bus to airport »»» 10 am would be landing in Marrakech!
That’s how you wait for a flight! Sounds Perfect!! 🙂
Seville is a stunning city. It is beautiful to explore. The Plaza de España, University of Seville, Parque de María Luisa, Espacio Metropol Parasol, Casa de Pilatos, Torre del Oro, Seville Cathedral… Of course, you need a few days to visit all the monuments. But just in a few hours, we enjoyed a lot! That’s how to wait for a flight and have fun!
One big surprise was the welcoming party for the Seville’s football team. The day before Seville won the UEFA European League and we were there in the middle of the party!
After all the partying, some sightseeing and Spanish tapas for dinner. We were exhausted! Worst than that, we were wrecked, sleepy, sweat and with no place to go! Friday night and all the bars and restaurants around town were closing at 2 am.
We kinda thought about going to some club, however, we would be spending too much money, and all of them are located a bit far from the old town. Bottom line: we stayed in a Kiosk drinking coffee and eating churros!
No pictures of this moment, too depressed! Better show some other happy time!
And when you think nothing can get worst, what happened?
The bus station didn’t open at 4 am as we were informed!! 4:15 am – 4:20 am and nothing!!!! Lots of people waiting dramatically in front of the station hoping to rescue their bags and run to the airport!
I was at the door waiting, Rob was in the bus stop looking for the shuttle. And all the communication was based on yelling and shouting!
Finally, the doors opened at half-past four! I skipped the bathroom and went straight to the lockers. We got the bags and ran to the bus stop. Thank God there was a queue to get into the bus and we made it!!!
Lesson learned: you can wait 24h for a flight and save some money! But truly, it wasn’t worthy. I would rather have spent a couple of bucks more and had a good sleep!
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At least we had a great flight. And, for the first time, we were in Africa!
See next – our first time in Morocco: dream trip and cultural shock
