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Thread: Help! - how to get back - volcano

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    Help! - how to get back - volcano

    Hi - any ideas on how to get back from Spain to UK? I am stuck in Murcia with volcano ash affecting flight back and I sense it might last a while.

    One possible route seems by train from Murcia to Madrid - then Madrid to Paris - and then Eurostar. Seems there is only 1 train from Madrid to Paris at 1900 (I was told).

    Are there other routes? Or ideas?

    I only have intermittent internet connectioin......

    Thanks !

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    Registered User Northants Girly's Avatar
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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    Train from Mercia to Madrid then train to Santander and hop on a ferry?

    I was gonna say wait til tomor but the BBC website says the flipin thing is still erupting so the outlook is changing by the minute.

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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    Start walking?

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    Forum Bombshell - Our Queen! Lory's Avatar
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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    I've just looked it up and I presume your flying back from 'San Javier' in Murcia, with Ryanair?

    It looks like Ryanair are planning to start flying again at 6pm tonight, so just chill till then!

    But, whatever happens, (from my experience at Xmas and being stuck due to the snow), I think you still have to check-in and re-book to a later flight at the airport itself

    Hey, it might be a good opportunity to do that walk I was telling you about
    MODERATOR AT YOUR SERVICE
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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    Quote Originally Posted by JiveLad View Post
    I am stuck in Murcia!
    My advice? Grab a sun lounger, a cocktail, a book and wait til it all blows over.

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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    I've just heard that all commercial flights in and out of the UK are suspended until 6am tomorrow at the earliest, so get comfortable.

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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    Quote Originally Posted by Double Trouble View Post
    My advice? Grab a sun lounger, a cocktail, a book and wait til it all blows over.
    Or blows up?

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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    This won't help but doesn't "Eyjafjallajokull" just look like someone's just mashed the keyboard?

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    Forum Bombshell - Our Queen! Lory's Avatar
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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    Quote Originally Posted by geoff332 View Post
    This won't help but doesn't "Eyjafjallajokull" just look like someone's just mashed the keyboard?


    Or that someone's trying to talk, whilst eating an extremely chewwy toffee
    MODERATOR AT YOUR SERVICE
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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    Quote Originally Posted by straycat View Post
    Or blows up?
    Well, the last time it errupted nearly 200 years ago it lasted for 18 months, so we might not be seeing JiveLad for quite a while yet. I just wish he'd hurry up and take his go at scrabble...they've got t'internet in Spain haven't they?

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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    Quote Originally Posted by Double Trouble View Post
    Well, the last time it errupted nearly 200 years ago it lasted for 18 months, so we might not be seeing JiveLad for quite a while yet. I just wish he'd hurry up and take his go at scrabble...they've got t'internet in Spain haven't they?
    I think he is really back hiding in England but avoiding taking his turn at Scrabble, just because I only have 1 letter left and am about to beat him by about 100

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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    Quote Originally Posted by Maxine View Post
    I think he is really back hiding in England but avoiding taking his turn at Scrabble, just because I only have 1 letter left and am about to beat him by about 100
    I've got two games going with him and I'm thrashing him on both. He's so upset about it, he's trying to convince himself that I'm cheating.

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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    Quote Originally Posted by Gav View Post
    Start walking?
    That's not very helpful Gav..

    ..

    ..

    .. He'd have to do a bit of swimming at some point too you know


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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    Quote Originally Posted by Beowulf View Post
    That's not very helpful Gav..

    ..

    ..

    .. He'd have to do a bit of swimming at some point too you know

    *** WARNING - long and boring - do not bother reading unless you are a JiveLadette or have a fondness for Nicholson Baker type narrative ***

    Yes - swimming or water skiing or some such............

    Well JiveLad is currently in a hotel in Paris - on the phone to Eurostar to see what the possibilities are.

    Quite a strange 36 hours............on Thursday I ended up taking a flight from Murcia to Madrid (after turning down a taxi ride to do the trip for €400 - it turned out the flight was the same cost). Arrived at Madrid airport at 5pm with 2 hours to get to the railway station for the train to Paris: easy? Not so fast. Firstly this was a tiddler plane and I as I got off I saw other passengers just picking their wheelies as the guys unloaded from the hold. Then I saw mine - and the guy said "no - you can't have it it" (the others had taken them though as handluggage then put them into the hold - lesson learned).

    Next - which railway station in Madrid for the 7pm train (and the only train daily). I had checked with AQA (Any Questions Answered - dial 63336 on yer moby) and they told me El Atocha. As did the guy on the info desk at the airport.So I arrive at el Atocha find the ticket desk and queue - 6pm , 6:05, 6:10 - the queue is Soooo slow. Finally get my turn: "Un billete de eda a Paris por favor" - "Paris?" "You crazy guy - wrong station - you should be at Chamartin station". Oh ****. So 630pm - grab a taxi and request fastest way to ChaMartin. Taxi gets there at 6:50pm - then payment - I have only €15 in cash left - the meter says €14.85 - phew. No! Of courde there are the supplements - takes it to about €18. What to do? Remember I have a bag of old coins in my case from all countries - get the bag and give it to him. He starts fishing for the euros - and I just say keep the lot mate and dash. Arrived at the station with 5 mins before departure, so scrambled down to the platform and dived on to the train - sans ticket - no chance to buy a ticket.

    Was that a mistake? Well Manuel the Conductor seemed to think so. After much 'discussion' on the train journey - and over 2 hours later as we approached the French border, I was summarily thrown off the train: no payment would be accepted (even the 50 gold sovereigns I keep in a secret compartment for just such occasions). I could not work out the reason why they would not accept payment on board. Someone said it was a security thing: I guess if the police discovered it, then Manuel's minced testicles might be the latest delicacy in the restaurant car.

    Rebecca the barmaid on the train who was feeding me copious quantities of Rioja had a little tear in her eye at the news I was going to be booted off. And the eldery couple from Sunderland (true salt-of-the-earth types - and discovered we had all worked at some time for the DSS in Newcastle) who I had been chatting with at the bar, were most aggrieved and wanted to take photos of Manuel - who went ballistic at that point and very close to getting physical.

    So I waved goodbye and said te amo to Rebecca and found myself on the platform at 9:30pm in.....Valladolid. Hmmmm....what to do.....no English speakers or info. I went to a ticket desk and tried to explain in broken Spanish all to no avail. Decided to use the cafeteria and chatted to a female dentist who said there was a small airport there with a flight to Paris daily. By this time I thought - no - let's do the train - so back to the ticket desk (after having to show my passport to validate a €2 credit card transaction) - and then suddenly a chink - I could see the ticket clerk had written down some train times with a Paris (and Lyons for some reason.....maybe my phrasing) destination. And it seemed there would be a 2am train from Valladolid which would connect it all.

    I tried to buy a ticket for this route but was refused - and had no idea why. I kept banging on (in English - typical tourist style) and then thankfully, an irish lady appeared out of nowhere - and acted as translator. Apparently you could only purchase the ticket from the hours of 10:30pm - 11:00pm - and then only the 1st leg (the second leg was TGV so that explains why - another fine example of no-European integration). How bizarre is that? So I did wait till 10:30pm for the train ticket purchase ......then waited till 2am.......for el tren.

    One good thing is that it was an assigned seat - and as luck would have it, I sat next to the delightful Phoebe - who had just been on holiday in Lisbon. So we chatted for a while and then she got out her knitting needles - and started on a scarf with some wool from Lisbon. A young lady knitting? Impressive - although when I enquired as to her button sewing ability, it was not as strong. Arrived at somewhere called c.Heddanaya about 5 hours later and I had to jump off the train and buy a ticket for the TGV to Paris - with a 30 minute window to execute (which sounded easy peasy). Got to the ticket desk and the queue was longer than a Daventry freestyle entry line. Then I saw out of the corner of my eye a single ticket machine - so why was no-one using it? Asked the guy behind me about it - who was going to Paris - and he agreed to hold my place whilst I tested it. Managed to get it going and sorted the ticket with a few mins to spare.

    Ended up sitting next Anne a chic Frenchwoman running some clothing business - and now my strategy was - arrive Paris 1:45pm - and maybe, maybe try to get to Calais for a ferry. (I had heard on el tren that Eurostar had no availability - was that correct?).

    Meanwhile - TGV stopped - French announcement followed by groans - and hour delay (and more) due to.............never really explained. Anyway, at the different stations the train filled and filled until it resembled a can of John Wests best. I had luckily pressed the right button to get an assigned seat again - but there were people strewn all over............not pleasant for 8 hours.

    Arrived at Paris late 4pm and decided just to grab a hotel and see what's what. The deal with ferries is that if you have a car there is loads of spasce - but they can't cope with all the foot passengers - just too many to process - so no foot passengers till next Wed. Can't hire a car for this - so decide to call Eurostar - and after an hour waiting in the queue - YES!!! YES!! booked as return on Sun after first being told nothing till Monday

    Might even get back for a dance at Berko and see JayJay.......etc - nice

    PS Normal Scrabble service may be resumed in due course....

    PPS - Now - what to do in Paris for a day tomorrow??? Any ideas?
    Last edited by JiveLad; 16th-April-2010 at 07:51 PM.

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    Registered User Allez-Cat's Avatar
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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    My, but that's one helluva convoluted smokescreen! I think Maxi's right - he's sitting in a traffic jam on the M25 .....

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    Forum Bombshell - Our Queen! Lory's Avatar
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    Re: Help! - how to get back - volcano

    I hate to say it JiveLad but I thought that was a very entertaining read, i can't wait for part two!

    Seriously though, what a flippin' nightmare, a bit like my ordeal at Xmas.. which BTW, since then, Ryanair have now offered to pay £300 in compensation for giving us 'incorrect and misleading' information at the time, making us take emergency flights home via Bornemouth, at an extortionate cost x 6 persons

    £300? I don't think so We've refused the offer, as we think it worth persuing the matter further


    Good luck Jivelad, hope to see you on Sunday
    MODERATOR AT YOUR SERVICE
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