Oh Eyjafjallajokull..

Today is Sunday April 18th 2010. I have not had consistent internet so you will have a lapse in my travels until I get back to Belfast to fill it in. I figured it would be better to blog about what is happening now since it was a drastic change in our travels that all of you should be made aware of if you dont already know. We are stranded in Barcelona Spain because Volcano Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland erupted on Thursday cancelling our plans of returning to Belfast on Friday morning.

We got the news via a text message from aer lingus informing us that our flight was cancelled due to volcanic ash in the air. We had received a text earlier from a friend asking if our flight was cancelled too and we were quite confused. Once we got this text the pieces all fell together. We were stuck in Barcelona for at least 3 more days. We were tired, dirty, and travel worn but we had a few more days ahead of us. We found a place to stay and then started researching what was left to see for free in Barcelona.

Friday we went to Park Guell, which was designed by Gaudi the famous architect. The park was really awesome and started to made me feel better about the extra few days in Barcelona. We got some pasta and fruit to eat in the hostel and then went to see the Magic Fountain. The Magic Fountain was amazing! It was so awesome watching the water burst in unison with the music and lights. You should watch this Magic Fountain youtube video to full appreciate what I saw that night. After that show I was feeling even better about my unexpected time in Barcelona.

The next morning we had the best hostel breakfast we had ever had! It was so impressive that I am blogging about it! That should say enough! I had muffins with powder ontop and chocolate on the inside. They were so good! I also snuck out a kiwi and banana for later. We then went to Montserrat, a monestary in the mountains about an hour away from Barcelona. The view from the mountains around there was truly inspiring. I forgot how mountains can make you feel so humble, especially when you are surrounded by crosses on the hillside and a monastery in sight.

The monastery itself was impressive as it was build into the actual hillside. How the builders got up there in the first place is still a mystery to me. We took cable cars all the way to the top and the incline was very rugged and steep so I cannot imagine how hard it must have been. Once you came up, you rarely if ever came down.

That night we returned to Barcelona and found where our bus for the airport left from. We were going to catch the bus in a few hours and then sleep in the airport Saturday night to save some money since our flight was Sunday morning.

Unfortunately, we received yet another text message from aer lingus stating that our second flight was also cancelled. We started the cycle again. We were at first upset because we were tired, dirty, and ready to be home. We went to a local internet cafe and researched our options. We found ferries that could get us across the ocean to Belfast but we couldnt find an easy way to get to the cities where the ferry left.

After searching for awhile we decided to go as the people at the train station what our best option was. As we were standing in the information line a man infront of us told us about the French train strike. We were now stuck in Spain with buses as our only form of transportation out of Barcelona. After talking it over we decided that financially it was still a better idea to stay in Barcelona and lay on the beach everyday and wait for Wednesday to come when we would hopefully board a plane.

So today we just relaxed at the hostel since it was cloudy and windy outside. Sean and I went to the Picasso museum because it was free on Sunday! That was a nice perk since the others paid for it earlier in the week and we had decided not to to save money. But we still got to see it and didnt have to pay anything. I will have to say it was interesting seeing Picasso´s work and he is an amazing artist, but I am not a huge art lover. I would much rather go hiking or to the beach so I am still happy that I decided to spend 4 hours on the beach earlier in the week than pay for the museum.

We have met many other travelers that are in the same predicament. Some have found ways out, mainly via buses, but most are waiting around until Wednesday hoping that the ashes clear. So as we sit in Barcelona and wait for the ashes to clear, I ask you to pray for all us stranded souls that we find the best in our unexpected adventure and get home safe, yet soon.