The eruption of the delightfully named Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland has made our European holiday a bit more interesting than expected. With most European flights canceled, I ended up participating in my Wikipedia board meeting today over Skype from Barcelona. Many, many people are stranded on the wrong continent, plus every rental car, taxi, ferry and train in Europe seems to be fully booked. And there is no particular end in sight. Some Americans are even taking buses to Southampton to book passage on the Queen Mary 2 to New York. The airports just north of us closed a few hours ago; we’re just waiting for the ash cloud to move south. It feels like a lighter, happier version of Nevil Shute’s post-apocalyptic classic On the Beach.
The good news is that our core family is together, we’re on vacation with all the gear we need, and Grandma Judy is even here. Barring any last minute stiff breezes blowing the ash east of Frankfurt (where our original flight home connects), we’ll be making limonada out of lemons and extending our stay from a few days to a few weeks depending on the pace of the eruption, the weather patterns, and flight rebooking options. We’re not sure what we’ll do yet, but we’re thinking about France or Portugal. Have a suggestion for us? Add a comment!
Dear Stu, Katherine, Judy, Claire, and Juliet,
Hope you have plenty of Euros for the extended stay. Scary that the cloud “fallout” reminds you of “On the Beach.” I saw that at college and it has stuck with me all of my life. I can still see that window shade in Australia flapping in the breeze while attached to the morse code transmitter.
Eileen and your “Pink Tornado” (GREAT NAME) just left several hours ago to drive back to OKC. They were here all day for Sara to play in some La Crosse tournaments with the private girls’ school, Hockaday They came by to see the house, ate pizza and fudge, left for the trip back and we met friends for a movie.
I think you should go to Morocco. Have always wanted to go there but the terrorist situation foiled my plans a couple of times. Maybe with the current flight situation, they can’t do their thing so it would be a great time to go. Fez, Marrakesh……buy some rugs for the house, some interesting lanterns, etc. Much love to all of you. Stay SAFE and keep us informed. Love, Aunt Lou and Uncle Mike
Second comment before I turn in for the night. Precious photos of you globetrotters! I read that the silicate or fine stone particles falling out of the cloud can be very tough on asthma patients and can cause breathing problems later. They mentioned the mask . . not sure of the title but something like NP95. There are some you can breathe through more easily than others. Should you be looking for some . . . just in case? I have some in the attic that I bought after 9/11 but am not going rummaging through the stuff to locate the correct name. Take care of each other. We’re thinking about you and know you’re masters at making limonada out of limons. Ciao, buono noce, buenos noches, bon soir, whatever it is in Morrocan and Portuguese, and nighty night . . . don’t let the bed bugs bite. Love,Aunt Lou
Dear Stu & Katherine,
Looks like you’ve been having a ball in Spain – We thought you would!
Sorry to hear that you’re stranded now as we’d been keeping an eye on the ash forecast maps and for the most part Spain has escaped. We didn’t realise that you’d have to return home via Germany. Are there no direct flights back from Madrid or even Barcelona? We’re sure you would have explored all the possibilities so clearly escape is impossible at the moment.
The BBC weather people are saying that the wind direction could change later in the week giving a possible brief window for some flights to leave but of course things could easily change by then.
I don’t know if there is anything we can do to help you back here in London but if there is just ask.
Looking on the other side of the coin everyone here in London is remarking on the wonderful silence in the air above us. For the first time in living memory the sound of constant jet engines somewhere in the sky is missing and what a revelation it is. We sat out in the garden today and all you could hear was birds singing and insects humming – what a change. I think I’ll start a campaign to have one day free from aircraft noise a week!
Peter had his operation on Friday and is “walking wounded” at home at the moment, in some discomfort but he’s hoping that this will be the last op necessary, fingers crossed.
As you can’t get home for the moment we can think of worse places to be stuck. Try exploring the coast north of Barcelona the “Costa Brava”, it’s pretty interesting.
Hope you are in good accommodation and the weather stays fine.
Love,
Anne & Peter