I don’t want to jinx it… but looks like I might be flying out on Saturday to Costa Rica!

On Tuesday night they suddenly announced that all UK airports will be opening again effective immediately. Quite a shock announcement. I almost wasn’t going to post this because I didn’t want to jinx it, but I don’t see any reason now why on Saturday I won’t be flying.

My flights to LA and Vegas were cancelled twice along with those of my sister because of the volcanic ash cloud. So, instead I went with my sister and spent a week up in the North-east of England with a day trip to the Lake District. It’s not quite Vegas, but we got to stay with family which was really nice. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THAT TRIP.

So, my sister’s Vegas trip is now going to be the first week in July instead. A bit sad for her really as I think she wanted to go this week, but at least it will be happening sometime… hopefully.

A bit sad for me too, because everything’s a bit more expensive in July. But this ash cloud has cost me a fair bit of money already, so I’m kinda getting used to it. Here’s what I’ve had to pay so far:

• £209 on a lost hotel booking in Los Angeles
• £200 or so to rebook everything in July – everything’s just a bit more expensive in the summer
• £73 to change my plane ticket
• £60 worth of phone calls

It feels like I’ve been on the phone forever – to American Airlines, the hire car company, ebookers, hotels, rail companies, bus companies… I just don’t want to be on the phone anymore! I hope the small town in Costa Rica where I’m going has no phone reception.

On a side note:

• American Airlines – really helpful every time I called them.
• Ebookers – never answered the phone – was on hold for over half an hour, and with access to only a mobile phone, it was excruciating knowing how much it was costing to be on hold. Tried to do things through their website, and kept getting “we have encountered an error”. GAH!
• Carhire3000.com – they’re good for USA bookings from the UK because they cover all necessary insurance, etc. But I’m annoyed with them because it says in big letters on their homepage “No Cancellation Fees”, however when I tried to cancel my rental car, they wanted to charge me a £109 fee. Go figure! Another example of blatant false advertising.

This whole debarcle could have cost me a ton more – because it looked so unlikely that the airports were going to reopen, I was going to book a 17-hour bus ride from London to Madrid, and book a one-way flight from Madrid to Costa Rica at a cost of £1,100, and then carry on with my original flight itinerary as planned. Then, I learned that if you miss the first leg of your flight itinerary, you’re not allowed to travel on any of the remaining legs, even though you’ve paid for them and have confirmed seats! What a crock!

In addition, the bus to Madrid from London required me changing buses in Paris with a 75 minute layover, and in Spain with a 45 minute layover. If I did something wrong, or the bus was late, that would have been VERY costly. In addition, I tried to get through on the phone to buy rail tickets through Europe instead of the bus. I tried over five hours over two days. It was engaged every single time. Boy there must be a lot of stranded people out there.

The rail company being engaged turned out to be a blessing in disguise. And also, to make up for having to postpone our Vegas holiday, we’re now making it two days longer. It’s always important to look at things from a positive angle – even though sometimes that can be very hard!