A quick update from Barcelona on Pain in the Ash 2010. We're on day six of the flight disruptions. Business has been fairly normal here at the hostel. We've had a lot of last minute cancellations, but we also have plenty of guests who were here over the weekend that have now extended stays. Most people are managing to keep their spirits up, but with tight budgets stretched to their limits, no end in sight, and the frustration of busy signals, long lines and less than helpful airlines, I can tell no one is enjoying "vacation" as much anymore. The Barcelona airport is open, but 20% of outgoing flights were canceled today. The airport website has pretty good updates.
Everyone's scrambling to figure out how to get home. We've got two guests from the UK who booked the first bus they could (Friday) to Paris and then a train from Paris to London on Sunday. They were supposed to be going home last Saturday. We have other guests from Sweden who have opted for a bus from Barcelona to Stockholm that leaves tomorrow. That is a 26 hour drive by car. I've read stories about people taking 4,000 euro taxi rides from Madrid to Berlin. Rental car companies here are refusing to rent cars or charging exorbitant rates to anyone heading north lest they be left with their entire fleet of cars in Northern Europe. Twitter and Facebook have been good resources to check for the latest updates, ride sharing, new transportation offers, etc.
The problems have really been exacerbated by train strikes in both France and Spain. This hasn't been talked about much in the American press, but it's made alternate travel options even more difficult to come by. The Spanish train strike started today, and has partially disrupted service. The French train strike has been going on for awhile, and our guests have not been able to book any trains from Barcelona into France for at least a week.
The British government is talking about sending Navy ships to pick up stranded Britons, specifically in Spain. All calls to the British Consulate to investigate further were met with busy signals. It seems the EU governments have been a little slow to react to this transportation crisis, and they're starting to face more criticism now. (Good NY Times article about it)
The scariest part about this is that there is no foreseeable end to the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull. I guess we can bide our time learning how to pronounce that name. This Youtube clip does it best- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jq-sMZtSww
Everyone's scrambling to figure out how to get home. We've got two guests from the UK who booked the first bus they could (Friday) to Paris and then a train from Paris to London on Sunday. They were supposed to be going home last Saturday. We have other guests from Sweden who have opted for a bus from Barcelona to Stockholm that leaves tomorrow. That is a 26 hour drive by car. I've read stories about people taking 4,000 euro taxi rides from Madrid to Berlin. Rental car companies here are refusing to rent cars or charging exorbitant rates to anyone heading north lest they be left with their entire fleet of cars in Northern Europe. Twitter and Facebook have been good resources to check for the latest updates, ride sharing, new transportation offers, etc.
The problems have really been exacerbated by train strikes in both France and Spain. This hasn't been talked about much in the American press, but it's made alternate travel options even more difficult to come by. The Spanish train strike started today, and has partially disrupted service. The French train strike has been going on for awhile, and our guests have not been able to book any trains from Barcelona into France for at least a week.
The British government is talking about sending Navy ships to pick up stranded Britons, specifically in Spain. All calls to the British Consulate to investigate further were met with busy signals. It seems the EU governments have been a little slow to react to this transportation crisis, and they're starting to face more criticism now. (Good NY Times article about it)
The scariest part about this is that there is no foreseeable end to the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull. I guess we can bide our time learning how to pronounce that name. This Youtube clip does it best- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jq-sMZtSww
posted by Lauren @ 2:55 PM
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