McGresty
as it happens
Reaching saturation point with travel writing
When I first began travel writing, there were not that many around who were doing the same. That was in November 2011, today there are millions to the point it's become overdone in some ways. It is July 2026 and there must be around five million tourists in London, the place is crazy with them all. Getting into the center area I see them taking photographs with cameras and smartphones and quite a few are travel bloggers, to me they are all just tourists, in the same place doing the same thing. I want something outside the box, otherwise I will not waste my time any more. All this is a run up to me flying out to Madrid then getting the train to Pamplona to visit my friends there.
A guy I know there has found me a place to stay, I hope the window faces north and not south because it has been very hot there lately. Getting to Heathrow Airport (ranked as one of the worst airports) before all public transportation shuts down before midnight means having to leave home in the late evening, grab a train into central London, then get on one metro line, change at Piccadilly Circus and ride the Piccadilly line to the Terminal I leave from. Then I have to hang around the rotten place until about 0400 to go through security and fly out just after 6am.
I hope to stay outside as long as I can because it's cooler outdoors, Heathrow does not have air conditioning like Gatwick. My travel agent will be emailing my boarding pass on the morning of the 14th, I just have to print it out. Hopefully I can get some sleep during the day and some shuteye on the two hour flight.
Once in Europe you have to go through EES, where they photograph you and take your finger prints. For instance, if I enter in France, then my passport must have something electonically put on it because everyone has to go through EES at each country's border. Hey people, we used to have to do that with passports anyways decades ago so why screw things up even worse. Add to that in the fourth quarter of 2026 the visa system ETAIS will be implemented as well. I will have four hours after landing to get to the train station for my three odd hour ride to Pamplona.
All going well, I should be in my room before 8pm. Once there it'll be nice to grab a beer and bite to eat. The San Fermin will have finished on the 14th My plan is to spend 2-6 weeks there. If I can meet up with my friends before the end of July, then I may look for another town that's cheaper than Pamplona (3rd most expensive city in Spain) and relax. All going well it would be good to find some nice little pueblos and see if they are worth writing up.
After Pamplona I want to go to Madrid and then to Naples, Italy for the US Consulate. So I went to Iberia Airlines website and for 3 days tried to book a flight, but the website is broken and all kinds of strange stuff appeared in pop-ups. Finally I phoned Iberia Express (very expensive) and spoke with a woman to book a flight. She said she will send me an email with instructions on what to do next, however Iberia Express's website is no good now. So tried British Airways, who list the flight on Iberia, of course that did not work, Iberia is broken.
Next I tried Lufthansa and was able to book a flight and seat in September. Their email said I already had an account with them. It was from Septmber 2024 on my messed up Macedonian trip. That would have been on my laptop the guy in England totally messed up and put Windows 11 Pro on, then vanished with my money. I managed to find a phone number and got through to someone. She said she would email me the receipt with all the flight details on. Eventually the correct documents arrive, but I have to change planes in Rome enroute.
So all going well I hope to achieve what I need to do at the US Consulate in Naples, then take the short trip across to Bari and ferry for Albania, where I would like to spend Autmun. Winter I want to be in Agadir, Morocco.
A guy I know there has found me a place to stay, I hope the window faces north and not south because it has been very hot there lately. Getting to Heathrow Airport (ranked as one of the worst airports) before all public transportation shuts down before midnight means having to leave home in the late evening, grab a train into central London, then get on one metro line, change at Piccadilly Circus and ride the Piccadilly line to the Terminal I leave from. Then I have to hang around the rotten place until about 0400 to go through security and fly out just after 6am.
I hope to stay outside as long as I can because it's cooler outdoors, Heathrow does not have air conditioning like Gatwick. My travel agent will be emailing my boarding pass on the morning of the 14th, I just have to print it out. Hopefully I can get some sleep during the day and some shuteye on the two hour flight.
Once in Europe you have to go through EES, where they photograph you and take your finger prints. For instance, if I enter in France, then my passport must have something electonically put on it because everyone has to go through EES at each country's border. Hey people, we used to have to do that with passports anyways decades ago so why screw things up even worse. Add to that in the fourth quarter of 2026 the visa system ETAIS will be implemented as well. I will have four hours after landing to get to the train station for my three odd hour ride to Pamplona.
All going well, I should be in my room before 8pm. Once there it'll be nice to grab a beer and bite to eat. The San Fermin will have finished on the 14th My plan is to spend 2-6 weeks there. If I can meet up with my friends before the end of July, then I may look for another town that's cheaper than Pamplona (3rd most expensive city in Spain) and relax. All going well it would be good to find some nice little pueblos and see if they are worth writing up.
After Pamplona I want to go to Madrid and then to Naples, Italy for the US Consulate. So I went to Iberia Airlines website and for 3 days tried to book a flight, but the website is broken and all kinds of strange stuff appeared in pop-ups. Finally I phoned Iberia Express (very expensive) and spoke with a woman to book a flight. She said she will send me an email with instructions on what to do next, however Iberia Express's website is no good now. So tried British Airways, who list the flight on Iberia, of course that did not work, Iberia is broken.
Next I tried Lufthansa and was able to book a flight and seat in September. Their email said I already had an account with them. It was from Septmber 2024 on my messed up Macedonian trip. That would have been on my laptop the guy in England totally messed up and put Windows 11 Pro on, then vanished with my money. I managed to find a phone number and got through to someone. She said she would email me the receipt with all the flight details on. Eventually the correct documents arrive, but I have to change planes in Rome enroute.
So all going well I hope to achieve what I need to do at the US Consulate in Naples, then take the short trip across to Bari and ferry for Albania, where I would like to spend Autmun. Winter I want to be in Agadir, Morocco.
What a kerfuffle!
Jul 11, 2026
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