Hiccup...

Well, the best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley... too right they do!

I was due to leave Madrid airport at 3.00pm so was there ultra-early, as I prefer to be. On the departures board, carrying dozens of flights, mine was the one and only that was DELAYED. In the end the Air Europa flight was nearly 2 1/2 hours late leaving. I got more and more tense as I saw the window of opportunity for making the connection in Amsterdam diminishing. By the time the flight was in the air I was all but powering it myself. The slowness of landing, taxi-ing and disembarking, had me grinding my teeth and uttering oaths. I literally ran from the plane to the baggage collection area - which turned out to be half way around the very large airport. More gnashing of teeth as I waited for my bag pick up in order to check in with KLM. Hopeless. When I finally spoke to someone I was told that my booking on the KLM flight had already been cancelled some time back when they knew about the late arrival. I did a not-so-little meltdown.

Then came the process of handing me on (this was 10.00pm+). People in the baggage area told me to go upstairs and rebook with KLM and then secure a hotel. I went to the KLM people but they said I could only make changes through Air NZ - who do not have representation in Holland. They told me there were plenty of public phones in the airport. I was a little bit past doing anything very rational - my heart had been going like a sledgehammer, too much rush, too much apprehension and disappointment. Anyway a lovely lass at the help desk looked up the Air NZ phone number for me and lent me her landline phone. It took a 30 minute call to NZ and $600 extra to secure a rebooking for the following day - to Hong Kong, Auckland and Christchurch. Air NZ were just great - full marks!! More than I can say for Air Europa.

Then to book a hotel. There was a conference on in Amsterdam and all that was left was in the E200+ range. But I could get something cheaper in Leiden. So at nearly 11.00pm, with no food since lunchtime and no water (confiscated at security) off I went to catch the train to Leiden, fortunately not far away. I've had lots of hairy times when I've travelled but this was right up there, not because I was in any danger but because someone else's stuff-up - unacknowledged - caused me immense stress and cost. I hate being late, for anything! And when you are on the home leg, having been away for some time, all you want to do is get home.

But, it's all an adventure (as Margaret Mahy would have said) and a learning curve - I know now to leave an even greater time allowance between flights to accommodate such possibilities!