Madrid to Granada: When It Pays To Carry-On

Let's do some math.

We planned a bunch of open jaw flights on low-budget airlines. If we even had thought about checking bags, we would have been out +200€ more immediately.

Instead, we fit 10 days of our lives into our backpacks. Packing light pays off in a lot of ways: less weight to carry, less things to lose/get stolen, no checked bag fees. Today it paid off in the best way possible: euros.

This second leg of our journey from Madrid to Málaga with Iberia Airlines hit quite the snag when we tried to check-in this afternoon.

No. More. Seats.

Another Round, Coming Up!

Round 2 of Iberian Insanity will be taking place . . . this Christmas!

Marc and I are traveling together to Madrid, Granada, and Málaga for 10 December days!

I guess Iberian Insanity ended up being way more insane than I ever thought it would be - mainly because it's going to take me at least 2 years to get through my original plans/goals.

IBIN2014: The Quest Begins

This year has been full of ups and downs. But when it all comes together in the end, I can honestly say there were more ups, and they just keep coming.

Barcelona.

I had to put off Iberian Insanity this year. In its purest form, it will probably never totally exist how I originally envisioned it. Again, this is okay. I have had to accept many things this year, and accepting the fact that now I will "have to go" to Spain and Portugal more than once is just fine by me.

My witty hashtag of #ibin2014 is probably going to end up looking more like #ibin2014-2016, which I don't even think will work with the hyphen jammed in there. I'll just keep it as #ibin2014 and deal with the political incorrectness of it on my own.

Barcelona.

Dates, Dates, Dates!

I've narrowed down my available dates - and they're bizarre. I said I would roll with whatever came my way, and that's what's happening!

If I waited until after all volleyball events were finished, I wouldn't be free until mid-June. Not only would prices be through-the-roof, but the temperature and crowds would be out of control, too.

So, as only the fate of a sports calendar can do, my planned dates for Iberian Insanity are now:

FEBRUARY 17 until either MARCH 4 or MARCH 10!!! Nothing like a little ambiguity to make things more interesting!

Eurail vs. Eur-crazy

When I first began thinking about Iberian Insanity 2014, I was dead set on the Eurail Pass. I was leaning on my previous super-positive experiences with the Eurail Select Pass in 2011 for Benelux, France, and Germany. There was no other way to travel throughout a large period of time and a large region of awesomeness.

I will not be buying a train pass. I am going to figure it out as I go with planes, trains, buses, and carpooling (organized hitchhiking).