Today we stayed all day in the same place where we had slept. And to be honest… it was pretty good. Total peace and quiet, no rush, no noise, nothing to do. One of those days where the big plan is to have no plan at all.

Our only mission was clear: go to Ankara to pick up Uncle Joan at the airport. His flight was arriving at 19:15, so, on paper, everything fitted perfectly. About 160 kilometres, plenty of time and a simple route.

But just as we were starting to get ready to leave, an unexpected call: Uncle Joan had missed his flight. First his car went on strike and then, in a state of mild chaos, a slip-up at Barcelona airport finished off the plan completely.

A total change of script.

Daddy Edu went into urgent search mode. An alternative flight, quick, same day, but with a layover in Istanbul and a much later arrival, in the early hours, around 01:30. It wasn't ideal, nor cheap, nor comfortable… but it worked. And that was enough. So we mentally cancelled our calm departure and extended our stay in the car park. No stress, but with a new schedule in mind.

Around five o’clock, we set off for Ankara. 160 kilometres ahead and the feeling that the day had stretched out like a piece of chewing gum. We got onto the ring road and you can tell from afar: Ankara is huge. A city that doesn't look like it was built bit by bit, but like it has expanded like a stain that won't stop growing.

It is the capital of Turkey and, although it doesn't have the visual chaos of Istanbul, it does have that feeling of a giant administrative city, with a lot of traffic, modern buildings and endless sprawling neighbourhoods. It grew enormously in the last century, going from being a relatively small city to a huge political and administrative centre.

We didn't go into the centre. We detoured towards a village near the airport, Güzelhisar, where Daddy Edu had found a couple of possible places to sleep. We arrived around half past nine, got settled and caught our breath.

Now it’s time to wait. Tonight we will go to the airport to pick up Uncle Joan when he arrives, in the early hours. We’ll try to get some sleep in the meantime. Daddy Edu has his alarm set, as if it were a top-secret mission. I, just in case, am already on standby.