Wish we were there

we have had a surfeit of travel news, and decided to test the water, finding out first hand what is happening to local tourists. A trip into a local Thompsons hotel reveals their emergency response. They will be sending everyone back by coach to Calais 30 hour trip, no ifs or buts. Accross the road in the internet cafe, anxious tourists are logging on to their airline website.Those with ryanair are in the cart, as they are not flying, nor offering their passengers any means of return before Thursday. Having spent up they are keen to get another flight when possible, as there is little chance of a refund of hotel bills from ryanair. We are more fortunate, logging on to jet2 we find that we could get a coach tomorrow, except it is fully booked. We can also book and pay for another flight, and claim a refund when we get back. The first weeks flights are booked up, but -excellent news we can fly on 29th April, at a reasonably normal price.

The task of booking online, putting in passport info,  not booking a seat, and printing a boarding pass, suddenly seem very complicated, but at last we have take off – excuse the pun, and it seems unlikely that the ash will persist. The possibility of more ash is something that can be dealt with on the day, for now optimism rules, and we are back to thinking how fortunate we are, and planning to treat this as a holiday and plan a picnic on the beach and a walk up the steps to the old church square with the view of the port, first time I have been back there

Volcanic ash and other hiccups

Well we are all set to go, fridge run down, bags packed to go and to leave here, transport and storage arranged – and then these news bulletins about volcanic ash and cancelled flights started on Thursday. No panic we are not due to fly until Monday.

Friday the outlook gets bleaker, pictures of travellers having spent the night sitting on suitcases in the airports. I log on to jet2 website, which is very clear and lists the flights which should go on Saturday, so we just need to check  on Sunday….However Saturday all airports in uk are closed until tomorrow a.m, and the ash is sweeping over Europe. We decide that we are really lucky to have no immediate deadlines, and a comfortable place to live only one hour from the airport. We just need to be flexible adaptable and wait.PUTTING ON TIME……. Monday arrives, no flights as uk airspace closed until 7p.m tonight. It seems the airlines, who are losing vast amounts of money daily are in conflict with the aviation authorities, planes are being flown to test the effects of the ash.It is becoming a political hot potato, with lots more tales of school parties stranded abroad, pensioners running out of medicine, and holiday makers running out of money as they fork out for extra nights in hotels; and yes eurostar has put up its single fare to £220, when a return fare was £65.

So we have time on our side, especially as jet 2 now say no flights before thursday, and then they will take people booked on flights for that day, and the rest will just have to be fitted in.the 30th April has been quoted for a flight to Birmingham, which should have gone on the 18th.I shall just have to take the plunge and have my first swim in the pool since we arrived, which says a lot about the weather, and it is suddenly 23 degrees. The water is exceedingly cold, but managed 2 lengths Tomorrow is back  to the internet shop to check jet2 website, before we stock up on bread coffee and a few meals.So go with the flow and ponder on the long term implications

Musings

This has been an unusual week, in terms of the unexpected. We had a sponsored walk up the Bernia mountains on Friday – we were sponsoring John and Julie’s grandaughter aged 15, who does not like walking, but who needed to raise at least 100 euros for charity. She actually zoomed up the mountain -and down,while the less energetic had several stops to admire the view This was hardly surprising as a couple of hikers were 78. and 82,

We had a most enjoyable lunch out on Easter Sunday with the HELP group, who are a social group, as well as working with expats in need.We sat with a couple who have sold up and are going back to face a uncertain future in the UK.There are a couple of factors which strongly influence retired Brits out here; one is health, or rather ill health, which although people are adequately supported under the reciprocal health arrangements, the need for an interpreter, and lack of aftercare ,can become barriers to people who have not really integrated.

The second factor is money, or the reduced spending power of the Pound. Many Brits are struggling to make ends meet, struggling to sell their property over here, and generally finding returning home permanently their best option. Many had spent lots of years travelling through France and Spain in their caravans and motorhomes, only to find the cost of travel prohibitive now, as are the trips home to be with their families.This generation of 60+ pensioners with generally better pensions, lifestyles, and health, are now in their 70′s, and some are finding the summers here intolerably hot, and the winters unusually cold. There are currently 235000 Brits living in Spain. It is hard to predict how many there will be in 5 years time.

On Tuesday I went to the health centre in Albir to interpret for a friend, who was getting some blood test results. Between us we managed to ascertain that it was good news, and  I was glad to be part of the relief and elation.Paradoxically I had just had a phone call saying I must collect my mammogram xrays and arrange an echogram with my doctor. Caramba rush to control worst scenario imagination. Mike suggested we go to Alicante that day and have a word with the clinic.A friendly doctor said the nodule was probably benign, and the echogram was just to confirm this. Result!Thank you God! This prompted me to register on the Town Hall list of foreigners, and take the padron to the medical centre with my passport, and ehic card, so I can have immediate emergency treatment if it were ever necessary.

On Wednesday I had a message from Christine,a friend from Wales, who comes out here for 6 weeks to look after her sisters house while she is in USA. We overlap for 10 days until we go home, so it will be lovely to catch up with her, and enjoy a couple of walks and spend a bit of time sharing our love of this area.

We really like the house we have lived in for 3 months, in spite of a few drawbacks. We had been looking at apartments in Albir, but most long lets are for 12 months, and most owners do not want to tie up their property  now, for a let in September/ October. So having been disappointed once and also having people enthuse about where we live has persuaded us that we are fortunate to be able to pick when we want to come out again and to such a pleasant home.