A Backup Plan: Don’t Leave Home Without One
words + photos by Elyn Aviva
At last the long-awaited day arrived. Our kids (Jesse and Yui) and Sophie, our adorable granddaughter (two years and eight months old), were flying from California to visit us in Spain. My husband, Gary, and I took the train to Madrid on Wednesday, the day before they were supposed to arrive, and spent the day exploring museums and sipping espresso at outdoor cafés. It was a lull in the middle of Holy Week, which runs from Palm Sunday through Easter.
That night, just before we went to bed, the cell phone rang. It was Jesse, my son, calling to say their flight had been cancelled and they would update us when they knew more. Two hours later, another call. Jesse again. They’d managed to be rebooked, but instead of arriving at Barajas Airport at 11 a.m. on Thursday, they would be arriving at 7 p.m. No problem, we assured them. We were relieved they were still arriving the same day.
The initial plan had been to drive north on Thursday to Sahagún de Campos, the small town where Jesse and I had lived for a year in 1982. Jesse was hoping to reunite with schoolmates he hadn’t seen in 28 years. These friends were returning to their pueblo, Sahagún, to celebrate Holy Week. We realized that if the kids arrived at 7 p.m., by the time they got their luggage and we picked up the rental car, it would be too late to drive all the way to Sahagún. So Gary went online (we had free wifi at our hotel) and booked two rooms in a hotel in Segovia, en route to Sahagún. We knew that Jesse and Yui wanted to see Segovia, so we figured that would make the best of the situation.
Thursday arrived a little early, but, after informing the car-rental agency of the change in plans, we enjoyed the unexpected extra day in Madrid. We visited more museums and more outdoor cafés, and then we took the metro to the airport. The kids arrived around 7:30 p.m. without further mishap—and so did their luggage, which included two large hard-sided suitcases, two smaller suitcases, and a folding “umbrella” stroller.
We had reserved a rental car through a discount brokerage based in the Greek Islands. The rental-car agency they booked us with didn’t have an office at the airport, so our instructions were to wait for the agency representative at the concourse rental-car area. So wait we did. And wait. And wait. Half an hour later, we called. Where were they? We were greeted with rapid-fire Spanish and then they hung up. We called again. And again, talking to someone different each time.
Finally a car-agency representative showed up and walked our weary group to the parking ramp at another concourse. He led us to a car that looked surprisingly small. Was this really what we had booked? The model code on the agency contract didn’t match the code on our printout. After extensive debate about whether this really was the car model we had booked, we were told definitively: “This is it.”
;)
We opened the trunk and tried to fit in two of the kids’ hard-sided suitcases. They wouldn’t fit. More discussion followed. Was there another car we could upgrade to? The rep shook his head. This was it. Oh, and by the way, he indicated, pointing to a beat-up car parked nearby with the driver’s window open a crack, that was where we were supposed to leave the keys when we returned the car.
We looked at him with disbelief. No way were we going to return the rental car without having it checked over first by a rep. After all, we didn’t want to be held responsible for damage that might occur after we parked the car. More discussion followed, and he called in reinforcements. The agency manager arrived, looking much put out, and informed us that since it was now after 10 p.m., it was this car or no car. They had no access to other cars after their “office” was closed. After additional nasty exchanges, we cancelled the contract and headed back to the rental car area in the concourse. We were sure we could do better.
We were wrong. This was, after all, Thursday evening of Holy Week in Spain, and all rental cars of any size at the airport were already reserved. Sorry. By now it was 11 p.m. and our merry band was anything but. We were stranded at the Madrid airport without a rental car. Desperate, we called the hotel where we had stayed the night before. They had (only) two rooms left. We reserved them and went out to get a taxi.
Or two. It turned out that no taxi in the queue was large enough for four people and six (our two plus their four) suitcases and a baby stroller. We split up. Gary took one taxi and four suitcases. He drove off while Jesse, Yui, Sophie, and I started to get into another taxi. The taxi driver began loading our suitcases into the trunk, but then he changed his mind. He refused to take us without a child car seat. Since we had reserved one with the rental car, the kids hadn’t brought one with them. More discussion. Suddenly the taxi driver dumped the suitcases out of the trunk and sped off, leaving us standing at the curb. Another driver pulled up and we started the process again, this time with more success.
About half an hour later, I had arrived with the kids at the hotel but Gary hadn’t. At last he showed up down the street, wearily dragging the four suitcases as best he could. His taxi driver hadn’t been able to figure out how to reach the hotel and had let him off at a nearby corner. But he had arrived, and he had the suitcases, and the kids were happy with their room, and all that was left was to figure out how to get a rental car the next day to drive to Sahagún. Oh—and to cancel the rooms (already paid for) at the hotel in Segovia.
Gary went online again and found a passenger van available at Atocha train station, not far from our hotel. He rented it—along with a car seat—for the next morning. We called the hotel in Segovia and explained the situation, and the helpful clerk said we wouldn’t be charged. (We were, but we protested and the charge was cancelled later.)
Somewhat bedraggled, we got up early the next morning, “a day late and a dollar (or several) short.” We took two taxis to the nearby train station, picked up the rental van, and drove without further misadventure to Sahagún. Jesse did, in fact, manage to connect with six of his school friends. We even arrived in time to see one of the Semana Santa processions, complete with a bloody, articulated statue of Christ being laid to rest in a glass-sided coffin.
The rest of the two-week trip (to Girona, Barcelona, and back to Madrid) went with very few hitches. Maybe all the dominoes had toppled on the first day. Although we got tired, our charming granddaughter had the time of her young life. Sophie learned to say “Hola” and enjoyed interacting with friendly Spaniards. She also figured out how to defeat the security system in the Royal Palace in Madrid. She started to toss her sandals under the “do not enter” cordon at the doorway to one of the rooms; her plan was to run in after them and retrieve them. Her parents grabbed her just in time.
We had a wonderful visit with our family, and we learned a few lessons to follow in order to avoid “the domino effect” the next time.
1. Always have a backup plan. Or two. Or three.
2. Prepare for the worst but hope for the best.
3. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it.
4. Be flexible. Extremely.
5. Never give up, no matter how much provocation.
6. Always rent from a car company with plenty of cars and numerous offices. You may need them.
7. Always rent a larger car than you think you need, especially if you are traveling with kids (think: diaper bag, stroller, extra luggage, etc.).
8. Always try to have access to the Internet and a credit card.
9. Always remember the reason why you are traveling together: to enjoy each other’s company and have a good time. The rest is just so much static.
Elyn Aviva is a writer, fiber artist, and transformational traveler. Currently living in Girona (Catalonia), Spain, she is fascinated by pilgrimage and sacred sites. Her PhD in anthropology was on the modern Camino de Santiago in Spain. Aviva is author of a number of books on pilgrimage and journey, and she is co-author with her husband, Gary White, of the guidebooks series Powerful Places In … The most recent guidebook, Powerful Places in Brittany, will be published in September. To learn more about Elyn or her publications, go to www.pilgrimsprocess.com and www.fiberalchemy.com
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Reader Comments (19)
Wow. A rough journey makes a helluva sweet story. Well told!
jules
Great story again. It's fun to see that you felt surprised that the locals of Madrid were so. But if it is absolutely normal! A great writer and journalist in Madrid of the nineteenth century (Mariano José de Larra) he called the culture of “You come again tomorrow”.
But Sophie's smile is worth any obstacle.
Great story and photos. Great plan to have Jesse and family come visit YOU, getting Spain in the bargain. I love details like Jesus in a glass coffin and Sophie saying Hola!
Great story! I laughed when I saw the picture of Jesse et al with the bags. Oh no! If only we could do without them, life would be so much easier! thanks for sending.
Enjoyed the story, thanks for letting me know when you have a new one.
Great article. Full of emotions we could all sense about love, family, stress, travel and the feeling of "I've over come this one." Also, nice to see Gary, Jessie, his wife, daughter and you. Miss you, my friend. Justo
Great story - I felt the stress but was relieved when things settled out for you all.
I really enjoyed this article and seeing the pictures of your family. Having lived in France for a year, I know how much more difficult it can be to get around. As Americans, we get used to 24 hour service and being able to get what we want if we can pay for it. Your article will be very informative and helpful to people who are traveling in Europe. Even though this was I trying experience, I bet that all of you will remember this experience for a long time!!!
Lovely writing. Are you living now in Girona? Maybe easier for me to meet you again. Love,
Carme
Elyn, As always, it's a delight to read your stories! Your perseverance was awesome. You present some great info for travelers, like taxis not taking more than 3 people and requiring car seats for small children, Having had both great and awful booking-from-afar experiences, I've found that booking apartments through property management companies is more consistently pleasant than direct by owner (Judie Fein posted a story on this site about a horrific vacation experience she had in California going through Craigs List). I've also found that the major car rental companies are more reliable and worth the extra price over the cheapest ones. And, like you discovered, when I am arriving or meeting someone at an airport in the evening, it's better to expect delays and snafus and plan on staying in that city overnight. I'm so pleased that after this first terrible experience, the rest of your trip went so well!
Enjoyed your story so much. I've never traveled out of the USA but it does sound exciting. Pat from CVHS
Thanks, all, for the enthusiastic replies! A friend sent me an email commenting on the nightmare I describe. Truth is, it was 5 hours of intense challenge. But it was only 5 hours! Would that all intense challenges resolved so easily. The kids were calm and cheerful (maybe they were just dazed from the events!) and it all worked out. Lessons learned, however!
Elyn, RENT'A'WRECK times three. Renate
Pretty loud "static" I would say but withal an admirably patient philosophy of travel with family is evident here.. Who of us has not been tried by traveling with family. But few to the extent of these misadventures. You give us a good lesson in stress management and also valuable follow up tips. I would only add, "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts of cheap äuto rentals". As the Trojans learned", you had better look inside the vehicle before accepting it!
In all fairness to the Greeks, their islands, and their horse-power, we had rented from that same car brokerage company 3-4 times before and had been very happy with the rental-car agencies they seletected. They were standard, "name-brand" agencies but at a very good price! This time, however, we were sorely disappointed, and we contacted the off-shore Greek car brokerage and told them we would never rent from them again if they shunted us to that (unnamed) agency again. After a bit of back and forthing, they agreed. So far, we haven't put them to the test.
Wonderful story, Elyn. I'm convinced some of the worst experiences make the best stories later. Keep up the great writing.
Great Family story with a happy ending. My daughter and her friend just returned from Greece. When they went to pick up their rental car the building was empty! They did manage to rent from another agency and the manager lead them out of Athens so they could find their way. Nice! Ila
I love your stories Elyn!
Thanks, friends, for all the encouragement! And I'm glad that our near-disaster can be of service to others!
Elyn