Efficiency rules…

I had a nasty wake-up call yesterday.

Yesterday was Monday and I’m travelling to the UK on Wednesday to attend a wedding. To attend the wedding, I’ve had to hire a car, so that’s what I’ve done. Via Easyjet’s website, I’ve booked a car from Budget/Avis. It’s not a great car, but it will get me to where I want to go. I’ve never believed in paying top dollar for a top of the range car that you only use for a few hours.

When I booked it, I read through the overview. The price was OK, and the requirements fairly straight forward: I had to take my driving licence, my credit and some sort of ID with me. No problem there then.

Then I received a text asking to arrange a time to talk to someone in order to speed up the collection process.

I did as asked (twice), completing details, suggesting a suitable time and agreeing to the Terms and Conditions. Both times, I received an email confirming the appointment, but then heard no more. Bloody hell, it looks like I’m going to be hanging around the Budget/Avis desk for a while on Monday. However, that’s not why I’m writing this piece. The reason is that in doing the above, I decided to actually read through the Terms and Conditions – and I’m glad that I did! Sort of…

I read through them and came across a paragraph that suggested, no, demanded that I arrive to collect the car with the aforementioned items – and also an IDP (International Driver’s Permit).

What the…?

I’d actually thought about this before, and used AI to ask whether I needed an IDP when hiring a car via Budget/Avis in the UK on my Portuguese Driving Licence. The answer had been an emphatic ‘No!’. And now, deep down in the Terms and Conditions, I was finding that this was incorrect.

Bollocks! So much for bloody AI!

I had one day left to get myself an IDP. It wasn’t looking hopeful. I asked AI again (stupid, I know, but I’m a glutton for punishment) and was told that I would need to go to IMT to get my IDP, and that I would need to take with me my licence, ID, €30 and… and a passport photo.

It never rains but it pours. Where was I going to get a passport photo this late in the day?!

I was straight back on to AI, and the suggestion was that I go to the Forum Algarve in Faro and that I go to ‘Mister Minit’. The fact that I’d been there only that very day was a bit of a bummer, but needs must.

‘Mister Minit’ opens at 10:00am, so catching the 09:27am train seemed reasonable. I also checked on the opening times for IMT: 09:00-16:00. Mmmm… I’ve been to IMT on several occasions and the queue has always been huge, and I’ve hated the experience. Would there be time for me to get the document I needed?

The day started badly: the 09:27am didn’t arrive on time. In fact, it was thirty minutes late. Bummer. Then when we arrived in Faro, we disembarked the train on platform three, only to find another train blocking the pedestrian crossing which would allow us to exit the station. Another ten-minute delay occurred. By this time, I was getting worried, and absolutely legged it to the Forum Algarve, arriving out of breath and very sweaty.

I had a bit of a walk around, eventually finding ‘Mister Minit’. It was empty, so I approached the bloke behind the counter:

‘Tiram fotografias para o passaporte?’ Do you take passport photos?

It would seem that my Portuguese lessons are paying off. I worked this phrase out for myself (and then checked with Deepl, obviously).

His response?

‘Não.’ No.

Ah… having looked at the ‘Mister Minit’ website, and been told that this particular ‘Mister Minit’ offers the passport photo option, this wasn’t the answer I was expecting.

But fair play to the bloke, he then pointed out (in English, obviously – my accent must be terrible) that there was a shop near to the entrance to Forum Algarve that would sort a photo out for me.

I followed his directions, entered the photo shop, and repeated my question. My accent must have been better this time. A stream of Portuguese was her response. I responded, too:

‘Mais devagar, faz favor.’ More slowly, please.

She laughed and asked: ‘Do you speak English?’ And from then on, we were both happy.

She offered the service (€12 for six photos), and five minutes later, I had the necessary photos in my grubby, little hand.

She then mentioned that I didn’t need to go to IMT to get my IDP. Eh? Now that would be a bonus!

‘Yes, you can simply go to ACP, O Automóvel Club de Portugal. It’s just up there.’

Excellent!

I followed her directions, entered the ACP shop, and started the process. By the time I left, I had my IDP and had also joined the ACP (the equivalent of the UK’s AA). The reason for this was that joining the club meant that I could have a free IDP, and this approach was cheaper than the lady simply supplying me with an IDP as a non-member.

She also gave me a load of discount vouchers and informed me that I could also renew my driving licence there when the time comes.

Blimey! Fantastic! Yes, the IDP cost me nearly twice as much as it would have done at IMT, but I now had discount vouchers, as well as my IDP. I’d also discovered that renewing my driving licence here was possible, and best of all, it was looking like I would never have to go to IMT ever again. What a bonus!

IMT has also been a place I dread, and paying €58.50 a year to avoid this was a no brainer – to me, at least!

And so it was, that after having caught the train at 10:00am from Fuzeta, now, at just after 11:00am, I had done all that was necessary. Bloody fantastic!

Now tomorrow, I’ll find out if all this stress and strain has been worth it or even really necessary. Maybe I’ll let you know.