Is Kate McCann a Liar?

Kate McCann, in her book, about the beach trip, has the following to say:

“In the afternoon Gerry and I decided to take the children down to the beach. To be honest, I think they’d have been just as happy to go back to their clubs, but we wanted to do something slightly different with them, just the five of us. We borrowed a double buggy from Mark Warner to make the walk easier for Sean and Amelie. The weather wasn’t great: in fact, on the beach it started to rain. A bit of rain is not something that bothers a Scotsman like Gerry, but Sean and Amelie didn’t like the feel of the wet sand and insisted, in the way two-year-olds do, on being carried.

Our trip to the beach wasn’t exactly a roaring success and the kids certainly weren’t thanking us for it. Still, we made the best of it, and the suggestion of ice-creams soon brought smiles to three little faces. The children and I sat down on a bench and Gerry went off to fetch them. The shop was only about 25 feet away, yet when he called to me asking me to give him a hand with the five ice-creams he was paying for, I was momentarily torn. Would the children be OK on the bench while I nipped over? I hurried across, watching them all the time.

How could I balk at leaving the kids to run a few yards for ice-creams and feel comfortable with the child-checking arrangement we had at dinner? I haven’t ever been able to rationalize this discrepancy in judgement to my own satisfaction. Perhaps in my subconscious the prospect of three active children squabbling, hurting themselves or being hurt by somebody else in a public place in the middle of the afternoon rang more alarm bells than three sleeping children, safely tucked up in bed, being checked on regularly. If the fear of abduction had ever entered my head it would have been in the former situation.

Having polished off her ice-cream, Madeleine asked if she could go back to Mini Club now, please. So much for extra family time! Before heading up the road, we stopped at a shop on the corner of Rua da Praia and Avenida dos Pescadores, one of several open-air, market-style stalls, as Gerry needed a pair of sunglasses. A couple of the women who worked there were sitting by the stall, admiring and making a fuss of the children, who responded quite happily. These ladies were warm and friendly, this is the kind of thing that happens every day, especially in southern European countries, and I only remember it at all because of what subsequently happened.

You may be wondering not only what relevance all these minute details might have to anything, but also how I can recall them so distinctly and how accurate my recollections can possibly be. The answer is that, within a couple of days, every single apparently inconsequential thing that happened on that holiday would become vitally important, and Gerry and I would soon be painstakingly trying to extract from our brains every tiny incident, no matter how small, that might have been significant. Armed with notebook, pen and dated photographs, I would be challenging myself to piece together as comprehensive an outline of the sequence of events as I could. The regular routines of the week helped to make any deviations from them stand out and undoubtedly made this easier.”

One HAS to note that this book was written after what is described as a painstaking effort to recollect ALL details, including the minute ones.

This means that anything that has contradicted the book after May 2011, namely UK Crimewatch, can’t be excused with a “…now that you bring that up, I now remember that…”.

“Every single apparently inconsequential thing” was considered. Kate’s words, not ours.

We know that Kate McCann reads this blog. We have proved it.

So it came as no surprise, knowing that after she had read our Dr. Gerry McCann is a Liar post, she would recollect this trip to the beach with the family by starting with them already being there.

Not a word about how and where they passed to get there.

We will not question the availability of a double buggy/single buggies on the part of Ocean Club besides saying that in terms of quality v price, it’s simply unbeatable.

Free wine, day crèches, night crèche, one really posh esplanade to dine, Quiz Nights exclusive to Tapas (remember you had to queue up to get a cover), a small fleet of mini-vans and respective drivers to take guests to Slide & Splash water park and the concern to cater for that not very common customer who has shown up with twin toddlers and no buggies.

But we will wonder why, if there was a buggy available to borrow, why was it not used for that torturous trip to the Millenium on the first night.

So, in case we are to believe Kate, for this return trip we have then two adults, one controlling a 4 year old and the other pushing the twins on double buggy; or if we are to believe Gerry, we will have instead the same two adults, each pushing a buggy with a twin and the control of the 4 year old is shared between them.

Surrealistic scenarios but not as surrealistic as not knowing which to (not) believe.

We have the departure point, “we stopped at a shop on the corner of Rua da Praia and Avenida dos Pescadores, one of several open-air, market-style stalls of Rua da Praia and Avenida dos Pescadores” as “Gerry needed a pair of sunglasses” on a day that “the weather wasn’t great: in fact, on the beach it started to rain” and that made the beach sand wet, reason why the twins insisted on being carried.

"Sunglass-corner" isn’t exactly a corner but more of an open area near our well known Paraíso restaurant.

From there, the intention was, we suppose, to head for the crèche to drop off Maddie and then drop the twins at the kids club at Tapas.

So after Gerry bought his sunglasses they went to the crèche by “heading up the road”. And that's all the detail we're given.

It's like they were just "teletransported" to the beach and then "teletransported" to the crèche.

You see, “heading up the road”, isn't exactly that straightforward. If it was, we wouldn't be writing this post.

Let’s, for argument’s sake, ignore reality. Let’s suppose just for a minute that this doesn’t exist:

By supposing that Rua da Boa Pesca is not a dead-end, which it is, then we can “accept” that the McCanns used it on their trip to the beach.

We’re just supposing to be true what Gerry has said about where they walked although we know for a fact it isn’t.

With that supposition, the McCanns have two options to go from "sunglass-corner" (A) to the crèche (B).

They either retrace their steps, via red route, or go all the way up Rua da Praia and then turn left, the purple route.

The distances are basically the same, and as foreigners to town as they were, it’s possible that they thought that the purple route was more direct. Perfectly acceptable.

But let’s look at Rua da Praia as the McCanns would have seen it, using Goggle Maps street view.

Remember that the McCanns walk up this road under one of the following circumstances:

-  Gerry and Kate, one pushing the twins in a double buggy and the other holding 4 yr old Maddie by the hand (Kate's version);

- Gerry and Kate, each pushing a single buggy with a twin and 4 yr old Maddie on her own (Gerry's version).

Having those various options in mind, let's then go up Rua da Praia:

Rather traumatic experience don't you think?

Not seeing much space for a double buggy and it appears to be the sort of street where a 4 yr old would have to be on a very short leash.

Not saying impossible, just saying it's difficult. And potentially risky.

Gerry and Kate, 4 yr old Maddie and 2 toddlers in a double buggy or on 2 single buggies up a narrow street with a narrow sidewalk on the right, the left sidewalk blocked with cars and traffic coming from behind.

Let's go down Rua da Praia and confirm how narrow and car-cluttered it is:

Don't know about you but walking up that street with 1 kid + 2 toddlers in 1 double buggy (or on 2 single buggies) only if one REALLY has no other option.

As we said, from "sunglass-corner" one might think that going up Rua da Praia might be the most direct way to the crèche but there's that little thing called reality.

Reality determines, or at least recommends what one should or not do.

After walking up Rua da Praia, via green route, to point A, reality strongly recommends avoiding Rua da Praia, as from there one can easily see how narrow and car-cluttered it is from the crossing onwards.

Two options, one is to continue with the purple route.

The other is to look to one's left and see a completely unobstructed and traffic-free street that links up with where one has just passed and knows that's completely unobstructed and traffic-free.

Which one would you instinctively choose?

We think the words "unobstructed" and "traffic-free" would play relevant roles in the decision.

Apparently they didn't with the McCanns. They, apparently again, choose to continue via purple route as that's what Kate's "heading up the road" implies.

Does this prove that Kate is lying?

No, of course not.

First, there's no law that forbids people from doing stupid things. And even if there was one, people could still do them, they would only have to face the legal consequences afterwards.

For us it seems pretty stupid to go up Rua da Praia in such circumstances and having, apparently, a better option.

But the McCanns decided what they decided.

Plus, we know for a fact that the route via Rua da Boa Pesca (red route) doesn't exist, so it basically leaves the McCanns with either choosing to go forwards and face a traumatic experience, or go back all the way to near the church and then go all the way up Rua Direita to the crèche.

So unlike we stated about Gerry McCann lying about what he has said about the trip to the beach, a similar statement cannot be made about what Kate has said.

Although she does mentions Rua da Praia there's nothing else to indicate that it was that the road they used.

The expression "heading up the road" is sufficiently vague and imprecise, and if one is to take it literally, in Luz, from the beach, almost any route ends up being that.

And as we said, it's not an impossible task. Just a difficult one and one only faces difficulties when one has to. Common sense determines otherwise.

But remember this detailed account is told under what Kate has set as background: "You may be wondering not only what relevance all these minute details might have to anything, but also how I can recall them so distinctly and how accurate my recollections can possibly be. The answer is that, within a couple of days, every single apparently inconsequential thing that happened on that holiday would become vitally important, and Gerry and I would soon be painstakingly trying to extract from our brains every tiny incident, no matter how small, that might have been significant."

Every tiny incident was important, says Kate.

So it's quite baffling to have heard both Kate and Gerry moan and whine (moaning and whining confirmed by their T7 friends) about their hellish trip to the Millenium because of how cumbersome the twins had become and not hear a single tiny complaint about the experience of going up the Rua da Praia.

Note differences of both width of road and amount of traffic between the two situations.

And yet no complaints. Not a single one.

Note that Kate recollects the minute detail of  "A couple of the women who worked there were sitting by the stall, admiring and making a fuss of the children, who responded quite happily. These ladies were warm and friendly, this is the kind of thing that happens every day, especially in southern European countries, and I only remember it at all because of what subsequently happened" but doesn't say a word about the certain spectacle, that could have called unwanted attention to Maddie, that this family surely put on going up that narrow, car-cluttered road with a 4 yr old girl and 2 toddlers in a double buggy.

By the way, we do find hard to believe such friendliness and fuss with the children of a family who stopped to buy sunglasses when “the weather wasn’t great: in fact, on the beach it started to rain”.

In fact, we find it hard to believe that anyone was selling anything in “open-air, market-style stalls” is such weather. They are Latin and not “Scotsman like Gerry”. Rain keeps clients away.

But that is indeed a minute and insignificant detail. What is significant is not a word about their adventure in Rua da Praia.

Has Kate lied or was it all just one forgettable traumatic experience?

Or the truth of this particular story is that the beach trip never existed and this passage of the book is Kate just trying to cover-up, 4 years later, for her husband's disastrous description of it, when he didn't realise that Rua da Boa Pesca is, and was, a cul-de-sac in his statement back in May 2007?

No one would call “sunshine-corner” as a corner. Market-stalls at the beach. or market-stalls near Paraíso would be the normal way to identify that particular location of PdL if one needed to do so.

She identifies it as a corner so she can say the name of the streets “out loud”. Why? Because that's what this episode is all about: place them where they have an excuse to go up Rua da Praia.

We had already proven Rua da Boa Pesca as a cul-de-sac and showed how Rua da Praia (after going down Rua Francisco Gentil Martins) was ridiculous to use to go to the beach but the McCanns are "forced" to have use it under the penalty of having passed by PdL Church.

Take away the route back via PdL Church and the fact that the route via Rua da Boa Pesca doesn't exist, the McCanns only have Rua da Praia left.

So they buy sunglasses on a open air market-stall in the rain where two ladies are sitting and are very nice to the children.

What a lovely picture.

It's a picture indeed, if it's lovely or not, we leave up to our readers to decide.

Do note that Kate says “heading up the street” and not “heading back up the street” as one would normally do if one is going back the way one has come from.




Post Scriptum:

About routes to beach, last night we received the following comment:

“Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Dr. Gerry McCann is a Liar (Update)":

Is it possible that the route taken by G could lead to any paths that don't show on google street scene?
Looks like a dead end to me too.

Posted by Anonymous to Textusa at 7 Nov 2013 18:53:00”

Dear Anon,

In terms of going from Apartment 5A, or Tapas area, to the beach, we have determined 3 possible routes: red, orange and purple.

In order of use:

Orange, it’s the nanny path, from crèche to the beach as shown in our Dr. Gerry McCann is a Liar post. It would be natural for customers checking-in to be told at the reception that this route would be the best one to take. However it requires familiarity with the area as from apartment 5A to the crèche area is through villas and after this the knowledge of a small pathway at the end of nameless street in front of Ocean Club reception is required.

Purple, it’s similar to the orange route up until the crèche, and then continues on Rua Direita and turns right on Rua da Praia all the way to beach. For those not familiar with the orange route’s small pathway, this would be the most direct way to reach  “sunglass-corner”, right in the middle of the beach. It’s inconvenience? The fact that Rua da Praia is narrow and car-cluttered as shown in this post. Recommended for single individuals, not recommended for families with baby buggies or with small children

Red, the long way around, passing by PdL’s church. Although longest, is the safest for young children. Recommended for families with baby buggies or with small children.

Gerry McCann by saying that they passed by the supermarket (B) automatically eliminates both orange and purple routes, as to link up to these (red dashed line) is not to be “directly ahead” as he has stated.

It's quite clear that the fact they didn't use a small path, a detail that would have been referred as the “supermarket” one was, to get to the beach proves there wasn't any available from the cul-de-sac that Rua da Boa Pesca is:
 

Post Post-Scriptum

Mercedes has called to our attention yet another coincidence in this case.

Only this time it works against one liar, Gerry McCann, and against another suspected liar, Kate McCann.

Gerry says in his May 10 2007 statement: “Pertaining to the routine, on Tuesday there was a slight change given that after lunch, at 13h30, he and KATE decided to take the three children to Praia da Luz, having gone on foot, taking only the twins in baby carriages. They all left by the main door due to the carriages, went around to the right, down the street of the supermarket and went to the beach along a road directly ahead.”

Four years later, almost to the day, in 2011, Kate says in her book, “In the afternoon Gerry and I decided to take the children down to the beach.” confirming that it was in the afternoon indeed.

This is Maddie’s crêche activity roster:

As can be seen, the créche did an Ice-cream trip that afternoon from 2.30 till 3.30, immediately followed by a Build a city Beach play 3.30 - 4.30, returning to the crèche for just another half an hour.

So, by sheer coincidence, the McCann family had an ice-cream at the same time and vicinity as all the children from the crèche!

They were all at the beach eating ice-cream! How is that for a coincidence?

This, however, begs many questions.

What did Maddie want to return to? An empty crèche? If so, why?

Didn’t they see the children and the crèche personnel right in front of them and easily conclude that what Maddie was asking for wasn't right?

Why didn't they mention they saw they see the children and the crèche personnel at the beach?

Probably they wouldn't recognise the children (weren't there other T7 children too?) but by then they would have been visually familiar with the crèche's nannies, wouldn't they? So why not leave Maddie with them right there and then as she was so eager to go?

Also why don’t the McCanns refer that when they arrived at the crèche they found it empty?

Just another example how only truth fits to fact.

Thank you Mercedes!




Post Post Post-Scriptum

We received the following comment that, due to its content, we decided not to publish but rather incorporate it into the post:

"Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Is Kate McCann a Liar?": 

Jellyfish sheet for May 1st 

14.30 Twins signed in by K

17.20 Twins signed out by K

Lobsters

14.30 M in but no signature

No time or signature for out 

Why would K write this when she knows it's easy to check? And she had access to the files. 

If the kids were back for 2.30, then they all had to go to the beach, have ice creams, buy sunglasses and get back within an hour.

 
Posted by Anonymous to Textusa at 10 Nov 2013 06:34:00"


Dear Anon,

Thank you so for your comment.

Let's first, for the sake of all readers, put up the images of what you speak of:

From Maddie’s crêche activity roster:

This means as you say, going down to the beach, play on wet sand (this one you didn't mention but, if we are to believe in Kate, somewhere during this beach trip the twins were carried), have ice creams, buy sunglasses and head back up the road all within an hour.

The activity you didn't mention, the family playing in the wet sand, is filled with a lot of little time wasters such as taking shoes off and putting them back on and cleaning off the sand.

But apparently all was done within an hour. Now that is making the most of time spent together! And do it in a hurry.

We will disregard that Maddie goes to beach, plays in the sand, polishes off an ice-cream and then wants to get back to the kids club so that she can polish off another ice-cream and then play, again, in the sand at the beach. 

Now we understand why she wanted to get back. She wanted a repeat! What a smart little girl she was.

What really confuses us is how Maddie and the twins are dropped off at the same time, in two different locations, especially taking into account that if they had come via Rua da Praia the whole family arrives together there, and that includes the twins who would have to have been dropped off later at their club

Note that both Maddie and the Twins are the first ones in both clubs for that afternoon. No other kid arrives before them.

Today we will not get into any other content of these sheets that is unrelated to the beach trip. Much can be said, and probably will be, but the mistakes are so pathetic and infantile that they almost take away the will to write.

As we said in a comment, the importance of the crèche sheets is that they are further proof of the direct involvement of Ocean Club and its staff in the cover-up. 

But we must make an extra note about Mark Warner and their crèche outings, related with our Post Post-Scriptum and that is the fact that the crèche ice.cream and beach trip on that Tuesday afternoon goes unnoticed by the McCann family.

In Portugal, like in any other country, crèche trips outside facilities have strict rules.

Like having kids holding onto something (Sammy Snake) while walking in a crocodile.

The use of this object is confirmed by nanny Catriona Baker when on May 10 2007 the "nanny route" (orange route of this post's PS) to the beach was retraced.

"3. she was always in front with the children behind linked together in a "sammy snake" (the object being to form a snake so that the children stayed together in Indian file);"

Or wearing something that quickly identifies them as being part of a group such as high visibility jackets and hats:

The other thing MW do is put a wristband on the kids like they do at music festivals:

MW trips away from the creche would be quite a memorable sight, however it’s never mentioned by any witnesses that crèche kids were often seen out and about.

On this site, on Aug 21 2007, poster osheashols has to say this:

"We visited this resort 1 year ago and we were thoroughly disappointed. We have been to M.W resorts before, but this one seemed to be a last minute alternative when they changed the resorts. All the apartments are really spread out, so we had to walk about half a mile uphill for breakfast and dinner to where meals were served. Then take the kids down to a different building for childcare, then go and do our activity, return to get kids(uphill) etc , etc. We were shattered by the end of it and we are quite fit!)The kids clubs were ok although they are about a 15 min walk from the beach, so all the kids had to be paraded through the streets for beach activity. They also had to be taken out about 100 yardsoffshore to use some of the equipment and there was no pontoon to put them on.( not really applicable for your child though)."

Maybe beach trips only happened in summer and the "abduction storywriter" just hijacked the idea.

One reason that we haven't yet said for this beach trip to have been concocted is an obvious one: the only way to be able to say McCann family had been observed by an abductor is for the family to prove they spent time outside.

Most likely reason for the tennis (Discrepancy 03 - The Shoes) and pool (Discrepancy 04 - The Reflection) photos to exist as they are necessary to show this.

What a fantastic post this has become.