Rota, Seville, Granada from WP this s...

Author Message   Dan C Meyer New member Username: Dcmeyer Post Number: 3 Registered: 12-2009 Posted From: 24.26.228.31 Posted on Saturday, December 26, 2009 - 05:58 pm:    Earl, thanks. great info in your trip report. this will help. dan   Earl Senior Member Username: Myramstein Post Number: 548 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 173.6.202.167 Posted on Saturday, December 26, 2009 - 03:06 pm:    Dan, scroll down to initial report.   Melinda Cardarelli Advanced Member Username: Jmcard Post Number: 162 Registered: 06-2007 Posted From: 74.215.11.118 Posted on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 06:13 pm:    If billeting is not available at Wright-Pat, and it often is not, there is the Hope Hotel and Conference Center just outside the gate. I've heard it called the "No Hope" but it wasn't that bad. Not cheap, though, at $79 per night. Waiting around for that C-5 can get expensive!   Earl Senior Member Username: Myramstein Post Number: 423 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 173.7.184.204 Posted on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 01:47 pm:    Received privatge message from Becky in Indiana about my trip report and getting to Rota this Sept. Here is copy of my reply to her: Becky, To me, space-a is like a huge chess game. Never put all your eggs in one basket when flying space-a. We did that last March at Dover. There were a few Rota flights every day out of Dover. They took hardly any paxs, or none, or just went away with no one knowing what happened to the flight. We gave up and drove back to Ohio. Spent over a week there waiting. The nonstop C-17 flight I caught out of WP on 7/27 was a plane from McGuire. That flight was not the routine Rota C-5 run from WP. The C-5s at WP break down all the time. They are "A" models...the oldest in the system. I live in Fairborn and do not count on a C-5 flights from WP. They are almost useless. The C-5 flights out of WP are not very convenient. Billeting at WP is hit and miss. Read Melinda's comments to my report. It took their WP C-5 five days to finally get going to Ramstein. This June a woman with three or so kids, caught C-5 flight at WP to Rota and got back to WP on C-5. Her name is Rebecca. She was very lucky. But most of the time it is break downs and no go’s at WP. Here is an idea for you: - know what day the Rota flight is leaving WP. Drive to WP from Indy. Give it a shot. Never know. - If you do not get out of WP on the Rota C-5 flight; then, you have choices... --drive to Dover/McGuire and fly out. Possibly drive rental car from WP to Dover/McGuire. Leave your car at WP. That is in case you get hop all the way back to WP from Rota. --hop on C-21 from WP to Andrews. Weight limit is 30lbs per person. Then from Andrews... ---At Andrews check on flights to Europe. If they have a Germany flight from Ramstein, call Ramstein and see what is moving from there to Rota. The Ger>Spain, Spain>Ger flights hare a hit and miss game now. But there are days when they have Ger>Rota flights. ---At Andrews hop to Dover or McGuire. When I was at Andrews there were flights to Dover, Charleston and McGuire from Andrews ---At Andrews rent car and drive to McGuire or Dover. ---At Andrews hop to Charleston AFB, SC and catch Rota flight from there. When I was at Charleston there were many Rota flights. One went out when I was there with only about 4 paxs on it...they offered about 25 seats. You are going at good time of the year. But, space-a is space-a. Plans go up in smoke fast. You have to adjust and replan in the middle of the ball game. May not get out at all...or again, like I did get out on the day you show up at the terminal. Norfolk: I would not, for now, head to Norfolk NAS to get to Rota. The Wed Rota run is done sometimes by WP/McGuire/Dover from Norfolk. Until Oct, the rotator flight does not stop in Rota. Years ago it was nice to catch the Sunday rotator DC-10 to Rota. The Rota leg of the rotator business will start again in Oct. But that does not help you for now. Becky, hope this helped some. Pack light. Be flexible. Let us know how it went.   Earl Senior Member Username: Myramstein Post Number: 413 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 173.109.60.40 Posted on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 01:13 am:    Melinda, small world! Was wondering what happened to you guys on the C-5. Glad you finally made it out. Message me and I will give you my phone number in Fairborn area. May have given it to you on 7/27 but can't remember if I did. Yep I got on that C-17 and was on way to Rota! The flight was great. Slept all the way. Was the only pax on the plane. There is another part to this trip but do not want to make it for public viewing/info. Message me and I will tell you the best part of the trip. Dinotars, thanks for the info on posting pic. Will post tomorrow. The best help I did for folks on this trip was telling all the paxs at Andrews that they have been messed over with the changing of their sign up dates. Saved them lots of waiting.   Melinda Cardarelli Advanced Member Username: Jmcard Post Number: 160 Registered: 06-2007 Posted From: 74.215.11.118 Posted on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 11:56 pm:    Earl--I met you at W-P on 7/27--with my husband (John) and kids trying to get to Ramstein. Took us 5 days--and 5 times boarding the same C-5! Glad your flight to Rota worked out so well. You provided us with an amazing amount of travel and safety information--thanks! It was great to see the lock/cable you mentioned in your trip report, and also the way you carry your documents and money. We're thinking about a trip to Italy next year and your methods of avoiding pick-pocketing will be remembered! Thank you again for sharing your knowledge and experiences.   dinotars Senior Member Username: Dinotars Post Number: 5990 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 173.169.144.36 Posted on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 11:04 pm:    Earl, Go to the bottom of this thread and click on "Upoad Attachment" and follow the instructions.   Earl Senior Member Username: Myramstein Post Number: 412 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 68.30.197.121 Posted on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 10:50 pm:    Thanks Cherry. Tony are you in Cadiz now? Can someone tell me how to post a pic on here? I will take pic of the cable lock I am talking about. Also pics of Seville.   Earl Senior Member Username: Myramstein Post Number: 411 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 68.30.197.121 Posted on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 10:49 pm:    Hi, just got messaged from someone regarding ATMs. I used ATM at bank on base. Have money belt and under shirt passport/money carrier. There are ATMs through out Spain. In banks and on streets. Also in major department stores. As with anywhere, becareful ..do not flash money or credit cards. Pick pockets in Seville are pros at their job. I have never been hit. But take reasonable care. When riding bus, watch people getting off bus. Keep your back to wall if standing. The maority of people in Spain are helpful, nice and friendly. It only takes one of those pros to nail your wallet. Just don't anything in there you will cry about. I keep military ID, CC, passport and some Euros in under neck wallet. Keep extra eruos in money belt. I take Sony Cyber Shot small camera. Left larger Nikon D-60 at home. But since I saw so many of them this time in Spain, I will take D-60 with me next time.   Cherry C. Senior Member Username: Cherry Post Number: 5596 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 71.163.61.97 Posted on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 10:40 pm:    Great report, Earl, and sounds like a super trip! But just for clarification, the recommended travel agency in Rota is Paco's (note correct spelling) and you can find their website at http://www.pacostravel.com/ They are within comfortable walking distance of the base's main gate. As Earl mentioned, they have hotel discounts. Also can book trains and give all kinds of other good advice (in English for those of us not blessed enough to have spent our youth in Spain!).   Tony Cabrera Senior Member Username: Tonyc Post Number: 1351 Registered: 08-2006 Posted From: 206.248.111.7 Posted on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 10:39 pm:    Amigo, That was a great Space-a trip report; very detailed and informative. I see you really had a good time in Seville and Granada. They're great places to visit, especially Seville. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Hasta la vista, and happy travels!   Earl Senior Member Username: Myramstein Post Number: 409 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 68.30.197.121 Posted on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 10:20 pm:    Brief trip report of trip to Spain. Departed from WP on 27 July and returned to WP on 10 August. Flew as CAT VI in summer; so, it can be done in the summer. My last trip to Spain was in the fall of last year. On that trip, went to Ronda, Gibraltar, Portugal etc. If anyone wants more details please e mail me. I, two others from WP, tried getting to Rota in March 09. Never got out. Then summertime luck! Found out about a C-17 nonstop flight from WP (Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio) to Rota, Spain on 27 July 09. Arrived at WP terminal and waited. The pax reps at WP are the best. I was the only pax on this flight. Smooth nonstop flight to Rota. Flight time was approx 9 hours. Some C-17s have the extended fuel tanks on them permitting such long distance flights now. Had term-a-rest pad and sleeping bag. Slept on deck the entire flight. No box lunch was offered. But had enough snacks to hold me over. Food in terminal at Rota leaves a lot to be desired but was hungry and ate breakfast there when I got off the plane. The pax reps at Rota are excellent as pointed out by others on this board. Their boss is Mr. Tony Newman. Let Tony know how you feel about the service provided. Walked to billeting office with wheeled suitcase and got a room. Walked to Rota gate got base pass. Then walked into Rota to get passport stamped and went to Poco’s travel agency e mail: rota@viajesdifran.es web: www.viajesdifrean.es Made hotel reservations for Seville and Granada. Agent at Poco’s got me a very good rate for hotels in Seville and Granada. For those who don’t know, Poco’s Travel Agency has been in Rota for years. They offer excellent discounts. Stayed in Hotel Marcarena in Seville and Hotel Saray in Granada. Both are top notch hotels. Made room reservation at billeting on base BEFORE I left Rota. That way when I came back from Seville and Granada I had a room. This paid off when I came back to Rota. Next morning walked out the Rota gate and caught bus to Seville on Comes bus @ 9.66 Euro. Nice clean bus. Civil Guard stopped all vehicles on highway to Seville. Asked for IDs/passports etc. Searched bus and contents with dogs. They took three males off bus and searched them and their bags. They were not very nice to these three guys. Pushing and shoving them. After long delay permitted these three guys to get back on the bus. No one on the bus would speak or look at them. At the time I had no idea what this was about. Having lived in Spain most of my life I was used to Civil Guards asking for papers and searching vehicles. But this was very unusual. Arrived at El Prado bus station. Walked short block and caught city bus on San Fernando Ave. City bus system in Seville is clean and easy to navigate. All bus rides are 1.20 Euro per ride or buy a Bonobus pass which gives you 10 trips on any line for 7 Euro. Can purchase at kiosks or by driver on bus. While eating breakfast in hotel the next morning in Seville, I found out about the Civil Guard bombing in northern Spain. ETA blew front of Civil Guard apartment building. Guess Civil Guard had some intel that something was about to happen the day before. Was shocking news aired all day long on Spanish TV and in the papers. 42 kids lived in the building. The next day another bombing on Palma. I will provide hotel information, location and rates from Pacos if desired. The hotel Marcarena in Seville had price on inside of room door stating 312 Euro per night! By using Poco’s travel with his discount system, I paid about 55 Euro for the same room. You get hotel coupon from Poco’s travel and take it the hotel when checking in. You have to pay nothing else. Saw sights and old friends in Seville. Recommend Seville Biketour S.L. Carlos Ortiz has an excellent bike tour (provides bikes) of Seville. Having grown up in Seville/Rota, I still learned things from Carlos. He speaks perfect English see: www.sevilleabiketoiur.com Take the morning tour with Carlos. He has a stand close to the Tower Of Gold by the river. Shopped and ate lunch at El Corte Ingles. There is supermarket downstairs in El Corte Ingles and you can by Seville/Spain souvenirs on the first floor. After a few days in Seville caught bus to Granada. About a two hour bus ride on Nex Continental. Caught bus at same bus station arrived from Rota. Recommend you buy your bus tickets for return trip, or onward destinations, as soon as you can. That way you avoid long lines on the day you need to catch the bus. Arrived in Granada. Found out bus #3 runs from bus station to my hotel which was at the end of the line. Rode #3 bus into city. Walked and saw sights. Mini buses are a great way to get around Granada. #32 is best for trip up to Alhambra. Recommend San Nicolas viewpoint at sunset. Great view of Alhambra at sunset. Glows red. When you are up at San Nicolas you are in the Albayzin neighborhood. Do not recommend walking back down through Albayzin after dark. Catch bus or taxi if dark. Walk Albayzin streets the next day. As a kid went with parents to Sacromonte in Granada when gypsies lived in caves. Now that area (street) is primed for tourists and expensive restaurants. No deals here on anything. Went to Alhambra and Generalife next morning. Go early to see Generalife (gardens) and other sights on the grounds. Then get in line early for your appointed entry time into Palacios Nazaries. You can have hotel log on net and make purchase on line or make reservation and go pick up your ticket at pick up window. Do not recommend showing up at the ticket window cold because tickets sell out and lines are long. If anyone wants more tips on getting tickets to Alhambra please message me. You must enter the Palacios Nazaries on the time specified on your ticket. Mine was 2 pm. I got in back of line that had formed for 1:30 entry. Waited. By the time the 2 pm crowd move up to entry point, it was a mile long. Glad I was at the front. Once you are in, you can take all the time you want. Recommend walking tour Cicerone. Ran by Maria and Rosa. 2.5 hours from "Meeting Points" booth on Plaza Bib-Rambla. She is GREAT ! Warning: Gypsy women are ALWAYS by the Cathedral. They try to get you to take sprigs of rosemary and offer prayer. DO NOT ACCEPT! IGNORE THEM and tell them in firm voice NO. If you accept and do not pay their minimum payment along the line of 5 Euros!! There will be a huge problem for you. These women are not ones to fool with or try to outsmart them. THEY ARE TROUBLE! Spent few days in Granada. Rode bus back to Seville and stayed one night at same hotel. Saw more of Seville and looked up Spanish friends I know there. Next day caught noon bus back to Rota (already had my ticket – so no waiting in line to buy it). Arrived back at Rota NS. Went to billeting checked in room (had reservation). The place was packed. Glad I had that reservation, if not would not have gotten a room. Went to NEX got few items. Took shower and called pax terminal. That night at 2105hrs was C-17 to Charleston. (Read my post about don’t leave the terminal made earlier on this board). Lady on front desk told if I get on flight call her and she will only charge me for that one night. Show time came. Was informed “only 15 paxs” “no more seats” “you all should leave now” Many people departed the terminal. A bunch of us waited and waited. Then the announcement from above!! “Anyone wanting air transportation to CHS AFB come to counter” That had to be the fastest processing of any flight I have ever been on. Everyone who was waiting in the terminal got on. The crew opened up more seats. Even let people sit on seat directly across from cargo. With no “leg room” but no one complained. Slept on small area on deck. Flew from CHS to Andrews on C-17 next day. When checking in at terminal at Andrews young reservist pax rep told me I was not in their system and I would have to start with new sign up date. I argued with her and asked for Sgt Reid, NCOIC. He came out of office and told her I was correct. She then put my sign up date into system with my Rota sign up date/time. Made a huge difference. Once others in the terminal found out about this they also went to counter to have her correct their sign up date/time. Pays to pay attention and know the system. Many thanked me for helping them at Andrews. No flights to WP from Andrews for the next three days. So rented Hertz at terminal and drove back next day to Dayton. When turning the rental in at the airport was faced with how to get back to WP. As soon as I turned the rental car in, I see this nice blue USAF bus pull up. It was from the 445th ALW out of WP picking up crew members who were flying back in commercial. Asked Sgt if I could bum a ride back to WP. He let me off in front of the terminal. Lessons for those who have not flown space-a: -do not leave terminal until you are SURE plane is gone -do not let a pax rep tell you cannot use thru date time …have boarding pass marked with your FINAL destination. Mine was FFO for WP out of Rota. -if possible make reservations for billeting before you leave to see country. When you return you have a room. If only seeing Cadiz for day and do not have a room ask desk clerk at billeting office there to secure your bag(s) in lock up room. -I have a flexible combo lock/cable that I got at Lowe’s. It proved more than its worth while eating in the bus terminal in Granada. I was able to get food without lagging bag. Locked it to table. By the way, if you go to Granada via bus, eat at the terminal when you arrive. Food is great there and you do not have to seek somewhere to eat when you go find hotel. I also used it when putting my bag in luggage compartment on bus. That way if someone wants to grab bag while bus is being loaded they won’t go far with mine. There are support brackets inside the compartment where you can lock back to. -do not recommend rental car in Seville or Granada. Bus transportation to, and in, those cities is great. -have snacks in your carryon bag. Never know when you will not get a box lunch.