I don´t know if any Fodorites were stranded during Friday-Saturday´s strike at the Barcelona airport. My son and I arrived Friday morning just as it was starting and before they closed the airport. On Saturday morning, after being told that the airport had reopened, we made our way there for our morning flight to Bilbao.

The scene we found there was right out of Dante´s inferno. Mobs of people just pushing and shoving trying to get to the ticket counters or check-in counters. To make a very long story short, we were in the airport for hours before we found out that our flight had been cancelled. They didn´t announce it, we found out by overhearing the conversation of some employees.

After 14 hours at the airport we left with tickets to fly Sunday to Santander. We finally got to Santander late last night and I can´t tell you how happy I was to be out of there. I was starting to feel like the Tom Hanmks character in the movie "The Terminal"! Now we are waiting for our suitcases which, of course, didn´t follow us to Santander.

I love Santander. We already had 2 tapas meals and the nightmare of Barcelona is fading fast. Tomorrow we will be going in an excursion to Picos de Europa( Potes, Liebana, Fuente de) and we are looking forward to that!

Bye!

cruisluv,

I think laclaire was stuck at BCN too, last Friday (I think) when she posted. She said it was total chaos - it actually sounded beyond irritating to me, more verging on scary. Glad no one got hurt at the airport.

Cruiseluv

You have our sympathy about getting stuck in the chaos of an airport strike. However, you have not let in ruin your vacation and are rewarded by loving Santander. If you can manage to get to Santillana del Mar, do so. Hope all goes well from now on and that your suitcases catch up with you.

Cruiseluv, I have just heard in the radio that many of the suitcases are still missing. I hope yours are found out soon enough.

Claire was heading down to Malaga for the weekend, so you can imagine ...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34843985

People are really angry regarding this. It was completely unannounced, and really "well thought" ... first weekend before the August holidays ...

http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/arti...289921,00.html

I am kind of "glad" of having been too tied up at work and not having been able to send you any recs for Bilbao ... Enjoy Santander, nevertheless.

Rgds, Cova

Hola Cruise! Hope the rest of you trip goes better...tapas and vino always improve my outlook on life

ohhh...the Picos....is it too hot for Cocido Liebanés?

Hola Cova!

happy travels,
Mari

seems like the airport is still not up to par.
some people went there yesterday 5.5 hours before their flight and still missed it.

i fly out of madrid Friday, thank goodness. hopefully things will have calmed down by then.

cruiseluv, enjoy your time with your son.