This could be a challenge

Anyone who knows me well, will know that despite spending 34 years working for a big corporate outfit, I don't subscribe to what I call corporate bollocks, such as, 'there's no such thing as problems, they are challenges'. I'm a glass half empty kinda guy, that's if I haven't already knocked the glass off the table or broken it in the wash, so anything not going perfectly to plan or as desired, IS a problem.

What I will concede though, is despite a number of potential minor problems already looming with this tour, it will be a challenge to get them ironed out. A challenge though, that I am prepared to meet head on.

Now I guess that all sounds rather dramatic. Hey, what's a tour blog without a bit of drama, a tiny touch of spice, such as someone trying to use a year old booking reference for Eurotunnel, or making 3 circuits of Monaco because the intercom system is broken and there's no audible directions from TomTom? No, a touch of spice is good, yeah?

The drama, spice, call it what you will, at this early stage surrounds us getting to Santander. Why are these challenges always down to ferries? As with the Scandinavian tour, you think you have it all sussed out, then blam, no you don't. In that case it was the ferry route to Esbjerg being decommissioned. In this case, it is the exact opposite. Britanny Ferries have just announced that they are introducing, in the Spring, a new route from Cork (from whence Grizzly hails) to Santander. Now that in itself isn't a huge issue but like the pebble dropped in the pond, the ripples it creates affect other things. Suffice to say, at this very early stage, I already have 3 different route maps, without the slightest idea which one we'll actually be following.

There are questions to be answered, to which, there aren't yet any answers. For example, we don't have a definitive cost for the Cork route. Whilst it may be easier for Grizzly to take that route to Spain, if it is going to be a lot more expensive than him coming to blighty and getting the ferry from Portsmouth, then it probably isn't an option he'll want to take. We shan't know the cost for another few weeks when the prices go online. Only then can we fully calculate which option is best and plan accordingly. The other issue with the Cork route, as we have seen sailing times, is that arrival in Spain doesn't necessarily correspond that closely with those from Portsmouth, so someone could have either a considerable wait or even an overnighter, whilst waiting for the other to arrive. And that's not just an issue for the outward journey, it will also be the case for the return, IF we decide to ferry back.

For now though, we have little choice to wait for the crossing prices to be announced.

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