Image via WikipediaTowards the end of a recent holiday to Turkey we discovered that all flights back to the UK were cancelled due to the Volcanic Ash Cloud produced by the erupting Ielandic volcano. This presented us with the challenge of overcoming some obstacles. For example, we were unable to contact any of the emergency numbers due to the phone lines being engaged or going straight to answer machine. This was of course frustrating and created anxiety. It's the not knowing what's happening, the fear of the unknown and the consequences of the fact that we could not get home in time to keep commitments.
To overcome our fear and anxiety my partner and I helped each other through these first couple of days by dicussing options and expressing any fears and doubts we had. This helped tremedously. We did as much as we could to overcome the adversity and to resolve the situation. However, eventually we resigned ourselves to sitting tight until it was time to check out of the hotel. About 8 hours later we received a message that our flight operator had tried to contact us at the hotel. This was a huge relief as we realised that someone did know about us. The nervousness and difficulties of the previous two days started to dissipate.
On speaking with the company rep we were even more relieved to discover that the flight operator were more than happy to accommodate us in one of their hotels nearer the airport to await confirmation of the return flight. In one phone call and with new information we had overcome the difficulties of being stranded in a foriegn country. So that day the next stage of our holiday/ return to the UK commenced. Our original transfer taxi dropped us off at the new hotel and we settled in. We felt so grateful and gave thanks for our very good fortune. Reports on the TV were coming through thick and fast about other people's misfortune and struggles to return home.
Then followed days of waiting for information, checking with the reps regularly and generally making the most of the situation. Calls and messages to the UK had been made to cancel appointments and training courses, so minimising the effect on others.
What was very surprising was the number of people in the Hotel who complained about the situation, saying that more needed to be done to get them home. They complained to the Reps who in my opinion did an exceptional job of keeping us informed in difficult times.
We were just happy to be safe, in a wonderful country, plenty of food, lovely hotel and exceptional views. The sun shone every day, so we just relaxed and enjoyed our good fortune.
I did learn a few other things as a result of being stranded.
- check holiday insurance thoroughly so you are clear on what is and isn't covered
- make sure you know how to access important accounts such as bank accounts, in case you need to pay bills, transfer money etc.
- if you run a business make sure you can access important information whilst abroad, take a laptop if poss or a portable memory stick/back disk
- automate your business as much as possible
- take extra medication/important supplements that you are unable to get abroad
- Have fun no matter what!
Enjoy the process of life,
Noelyne Jones
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