Barcelona or bust

Now next week's school is cancelled, at least we can think about getting home, so we all (staff & students) gathered this afternoon to come up with ingenious ideas to get home since Wednesday isn't looking hopeful now. I'll go through them:

1. Get to Barcelona by ferry and hire minibuses and share driving to Paris or Calais.

Problem: no minibus firms will rent one way over that distance (that we can find).

2. Get flight to Barcelona and hire minibuses as above. Car hire is out of the question - no cars available across Europe.

Problem: Barcelona airspace under increasing threat and is currently the most northerly airport open in Europe. By morning it may be gone. Minibuses problem as above.

3. Either of the two possible means over to Barcelona then train to the Channel.

Problem: appears that Barcelona is a madhouse and the trains are chocka block.

4. Either of the two possible means to Barcelona then a coach to the UK.

Problem: OU have looked into getting a coach and driver to come and get us, but all UK coaches are being used to replace domestic flights. Can't get through to our Mallorcan coach company until Monday at the earliest.

5. Either possible means to Barcelona then 2 OU minibuses come and collect us.

Problem: None, except we haven't heard anything from the OU as to whether they can do it.

6. Fly toValencia or Alicante (further south than Barcelona) and take any of the overland options above.

7. Wait for our flights on Wednesday to see what will happen.

All of this depends on us getting on a cross channel ferry, which looks less and less likely. The Spanish air traffic control people have also warned they may be closing all airports in the Balearics tomorrow.

Anyway, current preferred option is the minibuses from the OU but I'm not holding my breath.

Tomorrow morning, a handful of students are flying to Barcelona to take their chances on the mainland. One of them may have a ride home in a shellfish truck from the Isle of Skye coming to Barcelona to drop off Scottish shellfish - gods honest truth. For her that would be a full ride back to the Isle of Skye where she lives. The irony that we just want to get back to ANYWHERE in the UK.

We've been out for a chinese tonight but are resuming discussions in the morning over the grand prix which is a reasonable time of 9am here. After that we have to go to the observatory to pack up all the gear as there are no more schools until September. Alan and I were hoping to go to the caves on the other side of the island, but we're not the ones with the car...