Fred’s Adventures TO Iceland (without a Cell Phone) - Part 2
The next day I had the breakfast and checked out before 11 AM. I didn’t have to pay for the room but I did have to pay for the phone call to Iceland which turned out to be 35 $US once the hotel added its service charge. For less than two minutes.
I thought I’d do a little sightseeing of Boston before I headed to the airport. Well it was a cold, wet, miserable day and I didn’t feel like walking around. Besides, this was Boston, the home of the dreaded Red Sox. Go, Yankees, Go.
I went to the airport around noon. The flight wasn’t leaving until 8:30 PM. I spent almost 3 hours in the Dine Boston Bar and Grill. I had a few pints. At 5 to 7 $US I think I only had three. But I did have a good lunch.
I went to the Icelandair counter but there was nobody there until almost 4 PM. Finally I checked in. No problem about this flight. There was room so I was all set.
However the agent said that since I missed the flight yesterday and did not rebook in time my return flight on the 1st was cancelled. I said I did try but couldn’t get through. He said that the flight had been overbooked and as soon as my reservation was cancelled it was reassigned.
Then he said that there was good news. There were two flights on the 2nd so I should have no problem getting on but I had to contact Icelandair as soon as possible. So I said couldn’t he do it right then and there but he said that he was just there for the current flight.
I went through security and waited. This was now after 4:30 PM and boarding was at 7:55 PM. So I waited and waited. I tried to read the book I had brought, I tried to browse the shops but there weren’t very many and there wasn’t much to look at. I basically walked around or sat.
And I observed. I saw all these people with cell phones that were constantly talking to somebody. I’m sure it helps to pass the time but do you need to be connected 24/7. I have heard that some people pretend to be talking on their cell phones so they look like they are with it. I’d rather be without it.
I’m sure that there were people out there looking at me, thinking that I was a dinosaur, watching them and envious while they were enjoying chit-chatting with each other. Not bloody likely.
At about 10 to 7 PM the girl at the counter announced “Paging Icelandair crew, please report to Gate 5”. A little while later they started arriving. I thought “This is strange.”
7:55 PM rolled around and we were not boarding. It wasn’t until 8:30 PM that we started to board. We took off at 9:01 PM.
About an hour into the flight, they gave us this meal in a box that I only ate a 3rd of. I think that it was chicken cordon bleu or something, a dry bun, a cracker and a tiny Rolo bar. I’m no gourmet so I’m only guessing.
I tried to read, I tried to sleep and I tried to watch the crappy monitor showing Notting Hill. The time passed. And then the captain announced that we should be landing in about 20 minutes, 10 minutes ahead of schedule.
We got closer and the plane started to descend. I saw the ground and the lights from the airport, I thought. It was still very dark at 6 something AM. As we approached the runway, the plane started to shake and shimmy. It was jostled and jerked about like a kite or something. It moved up and down and sideways and tilted a bit. Things didn’t seem right.
I could see the runway and the plane was very low and very close but I felt uneasy. Finally it pulled up and took off again. The announcement came that because of high winds they had to abort the landing. The plane kept going. It was hard to tell what was happening since we were in this dark thick cloud. We had no further word until about 30 to 45 minutes later which was after 7 AM when the captain announced that the tower had said the wind conditions had improved and they would try another landing.
They made their approach again and very soon the plane started to shake and shimmy and jerk about like before. Again it pulled up and aborted the landing. I’m thinking “I’m a goner. The plane can’t land here. How many airports do they have in Iceland that can accommodate a 757 and have favourable weather conditions?” We found out later that there were only 2 or 3 airports in other parts of Iceland that could handle the size of our plane.
I had this vision of us slamming into the ocean or the rugged Icelandic terrain. Neither was a welcomed sight.
Then the captain announced that we were being diverted to an airport on the other side of Iceland in a town called Egilsstaðir about 30 minutes away. So off we went.
We managed to get to Egilsstaðir and land safely, first time. Everyone applauded. They wanted us off the plane and into the terminal. We all filed out and walked over to this rather small building. We entered at the baggage level, then up the stairs to the main area which had a concession stand and a bunch of tables and chairs on one side and some couches on the other. There was also a second level that had more couches and seats.
However this place was not built for more than 50, maybe a 100 people. I’m sure there were more than 200 of us. There were people wall to wall.
We didn’t know what would happen, whether we would wait until the weather cleared in Keflavik, whether we would get bussed back or whether we would be put up for the night (I guess this was a long shot. Although it was still dark, it was only 8 AM). This town supposed only had less than 10,000 residents.
The concession stand was doing a booming business. I’m sure they had never had this many people at one time, unless this kind of thing happened regularly. They probably could have charged double and the people would have paid. After getting two beers for 1300 Kr maybe they were.
They had said that as soon as they find out anything they would let us know. We ended up waiting for over two hours.
As I sat there sipping my beer, I observed this mass of humanity. For one thing, there didn’t seem to any panic or concern. In fact there was a lot of laughter and chatter, which I didn’t understand much of except for the bits of English here and there. Some of the people had connecting flights to catch, like Stockholm, Copenhagen, London, Amsterdam, etc. so they seemed a little antsy. You could almost tell who they were.
The other thing was that almost everyone, me excepted, had a cell phone and they were constantly talking to somebody. I was thinking of asking one of them if I could use their cell phone to call Kelly and tell her what was happening but I got so intimidated by the fact that virtually everyone had one, even many of the kids. There were a couple of families with 2 or 3 kids and everybody had a phone and seemed to be using it constantly. Who are these people talking to, why so long and about what?
I didn’t want to look like someone that didn’t have a cell phone. So I stayed quiet.
Actually I broke down and asked a guy who was sitting beside me and with whom I had struck up a conversation, if I could use his phone. He was sitting there just pawing it. He said he was sorry but his phone did not work internationally, only back home in Sweden. Then I thought, “Sorry, Kelly, You’ll just have to wait this one out.”.
I wish I had my camera to record this, but they had asked us to leave our carry-on bags on the plane and unfortunately my camera was in my backpack. Oh, well. Maybe next time.
Cell phone moment #5
If I had a cell phone, I could have called Kelly to tell her about our situation so that she did not worry. However there wasn’t much else I could tell her except that we were in a wait and see mode. I was hoping that she had called Icelandair to find out about our situation.
Finally the announcement came that we were to re-board the plane and that we were heading back to Keflavik. The weather conditions had changed dramatically. So we all filed back onto the plane and got ready for the return flight.
Cell phone moment #6
If I had a cell phone, I could have called Kelly that we were on our way back to Keflavik. I hoped that she already knew. Also she was supposed to wait until I called her to come and get me.
It was a forty to forty-five minute flight to Keflavik. As we flew back I could see this bright yellow and orange streak trying to peek over the clouds on the horizon. But soon we were below the clouds and the streak disappeared. We landed without further incident. Everyone applauded again when we landed.
Other than apologizing for the delays, Icelandair had offered us nothing, not even free drinks. I guess they had felt they had done enough by landing us safely. For this, I’m very grateful. I wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t. But it would have been nice.
I must admit that the two flight attendants who sat in front of me (I was in seat 9A which was right beside the main exit of the plane) gave me a lot of comfort as they didn’t seem phased at all. They were talking and laughing as if this happened all the time. They may have been thinking something else, but it was a relief to see.
We deplaned, as they say, and were funneled through the airport building to the baggage claim area. Those who had connecting flights were scrambling around trying to find their gates. They had announced that except for London and Amsterdam which had already left, the other flights had been held back awaiting our return. So much for a no-hold policy.
I got my bags, went through customs and before I knew it I was out the door right in front of the Flybus that was to take me to the bus terminal in downtown Reykjavik.
Cell phone moment #7
If I had a cell phone, I could have called Kelly and let her know that I was on the bus and would be arriving in about half an hour. She could have been there when I arrived. However she was worth waiting for.
This was 11:30 AM local time, 6:30 AM EST. I got to the bus terminal a little after 12 PM, called Kelly on a pay phone (30 Kr), she came down and we walked back to her residence which was about 5 to 10 minutes away by 12:30 PM. The weather was rainy and dreary but not as cold as Boston. And it was fairly light outside considering the weather.
I finally made it, 43 hours after I left my home in Canada.
Cell phone moment #8
If I had a cell phone and we were actually going down I would have prayed instead of trying to call Him. It would have been a lot cheaper and I would have reached Him quicker. But fortunately I did not have to resort to that.
Will I fly Icelandair again? I’ll have to. It’s the only way to get off the bloody island.
Stay tuned for more postings of Fred’s Adventures (who’s now safely) in Iceland.
A final word on cell phones. If I had a cell phone, I could have saved some money on the call to Iceland, maybe. I could have let Kelly know about the delay when we got diverted to Egilsstaðir and again when we flew back to Keflavik. Finally I could have called her from the bus to let her know when to meet me at the bus terminal. The other times it wouldn´t have helped any. Kelly survived. And so did I, without a cell phone.
I thought I’d do a little sightseeing of Boston before I headed to the airport. Well it was a cold, wet, miserable day and I didn’t feel like walking around. Besides, this was Boston, the home of the dreaded Red Sox. Go, Yankees, Go.
I went to the airport around noon. The flight wasn’t leaving until 8:30 PM. I spent almost 3 hours in the Dine Boston Bar and Grill. I had a few pints. At 5 to 7 $US I think I only had three. But I did have a good lunch.
I went to the Icelandair counter but there was nobody there until almost 4 PM. Finally I checked in. No problem about this flight. There was room so I was all set.
However the agent said that since I missed the flight yesterday and did not rebook in time my return flight on the 1st was cancelled. I said I did try but couldn’t get through. He said that the flight had been overbooked and as soon as my reservation was cancelled it was reassigned.
Then he said that there was good news. There were two flights on the 2nd so I should have no problem getting on but I had to contact Icelandair as soon as possible. So I said couldn’t he do it right then and there but he said that he was just there for the current flight.
I went through security and waited. This was now after 4:30 PM and boarding was at 7:55 PM. So I waited and waited. I tried to read the book I had brought, I tried to browse the shops but there weren’t very many and there wasn’t much to look at. I basically walked around or sat.
And I observed. I saw all these people with cell phones that were constantly talking to somebody. I’m sure it helps to pass the time but do you need to be connected 24/7. I have heard that some people pretend to be talking on their cell phones so they look like they are with it. I’d rather be without it.
I’m sure that there were people out there looking at me, thinking that I was a dinosaur, watching them and envious while they were enjoying chit-chatting with each other. Not bloody likely.
At about 10 to 7 PM the girl at the counter announced “Paging Icelandair crew, please report to Gate 5”. A little while later they started arriving. I thought “This is strange.”
7:55 PM rolled around and we were not boarding. It wasn’t until 8:30 PM that we started to board. We took off at 9:01 PM.
About an hour into the flight, they gave us this meal in a box that I only ate a 3rd of. I think that it was chicken cordon bleu or something, a dry bun, a cracker and a tiny Rolo bar. I’m no gourmet so I’m only guessing.
I tried to read, I tried to sleep and I tried to watch the crappy monitor showing Notting Hill. The time passed. And then the captain announced that we should be landing in about 20 minutes, 10 minutes ahead of schedule.
We got closer and the plane started to descend. I saw the ground and the lights from the airport, I thought. It was still very dark at 6 something AM. As we approached the runway, the plane started to shake and shimmy. It was jostled and jerked about like a kite or something. It moved up and down and sideways and tilted a bit. Things didn’t seem right.
I could see the runway and the plane was very low and very close but I felt uneasy. Finally it pulled up and took off again. The announcement came that because of high winds they had to abort the landing. The plane kept going. It was hard to tell what was happening since we were in this dark thick cloud. We had no further word until about 30 to 45 minutes later which was after 7 AM when the captain announced that the tower had said the wind conditions had improved and they would try another landing.
They made their approach again and very soon the plane started to shake and shimmy and jerk about like before. Again it pulled up and aborted the landing. I’m thinking “I’m a goner. The plane can’t land here. How many airports do they have in Iceland that can accommodate a 757 and have favourable weather conditions?” We found out later that there were only 2 or 3 airports in other parts of Iceland that could handle the size of our plane.
I had this vision of us slamming into the ocean or the rugged Icelandic terrain. Neither was a welcomed sight.
Then the captain announced that we were being diverted to an airport on the other side of Iceland in a town called Egilsstaðir about 30 minutes away. So off we went.
We managed to get to Egilsstaðir and land safely, first time. Everyone applauded. They wanted us off the plane and into the terminal. We all filed out and walked over to this rather small building. We entered at the baggage level, then up the stairs to the main area which had a concession stand and a bunch of tables and chairs on one side and some couches on the other. There was also a second level that had more couches and seats.
However this place was not built for more than 50, maybe a 100 people. I’m sure there were more than 200 of us. There were people wall to wall.
We didn’t know what would happen, whether we would wait until the weather cleared in Keflavik, whether we would get bussed back or whether we would be put up for the night (I guess this was a long shot. Although it was still dark, it was only 8 AM). This town supposed only had less than 10,000 residents.
The concession stand was doing a booming business. I’m sure they had never had this many people at one time, unless this kind of thing happened regularly. They probably could have charged double and the people would have paid. After getting two beers for 1300 Kr maybe they were.
They had said that as soon as they find out anything they would let us know. We ended up waiting for over two hours.
As I sat there sipping my beer, I observed this mass of humanity. For one thing, there didn’t seem to any panic or concern. In fact there was a lot of laughter and chatter, which I didn’t understand much of except for the bits of English here and there. Some of the people had connecting flights to catch, like Stockholm, Copenhagen, London, Amsterdam, etc. so they seemed a little antsy. You could almost tell who they were.
The other thing was that almost everyone, me excepted, had a cell phone and they were constantly talking to somebody. I was thinking of asking one of them if I could use their cell phone to call Kelly and tell her what was happening but I got so intimidated by the fact that virtually everyone had one, even many of the kids. There were a couple of families with 2 or 3 kids and everybody had a phone and seemed to be using it constantly. Who are these people talking to, why so long and about what?
I didn’t want to look like someone that didn’t have a cell phone. So I stayed quiet.
Actually I broke down and asked a guy who was sitting beside me and with whom I had struck up a conversation, if I could use his phone. He was sitting there just pawing it. He said he was sorry but his phone did not work internationally, only back home in Sweden. Then I thought, “Sorry, Kelly, You’ll just have to wait this one out.”.
I wish I had my camera to record this, but they had asked us to leave our carry-on bags on the plane and unfortunately my camera was in my backpack. Oh, well. Maybe next time.
Cell phone moment #5
If I had a cell phone, I could have called Kelly to tell her about our situation so that she did not worry. However there wasn’t much else I could tell her except that we were in a wait and see mode. I was hoping that she had called Icelandair to find out about our situation.
Finally the announcement came that we were to re-board the plane and that we were heading back to Keflavik. The weather conditions had changed dramatically. So we all filed back onto the plane and got ready for the return flight.
Cell phone moment #6
If I had a cell phone, I could have called Kelly that we were on our way back to Keflavik. I hoped that she already knew. Also she was supposed to wait until I called her to come and get me.
It was a forty to forty-five minute flight to Keflavik. As we flew back I could see this bright yellow and orange streak trying to peek over the clouds on the horizon. But soon we were below the clouds and the streak disappeared. We landed without further incident. Everyone applauded again when we landed.
Other than apologizing for the delays, Icelandair had offered us nothing, not even free drinks. I guess they had felt they had done enough by landing us safely. For this, I’m very grateful. I wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t. But it would have been nice.
I must admit that the two flight attendants who sat in front of me (I was in seat 9A which was right beside the main exit of the plane) gave me a lot of comfort as they didn’t seem phased at all. They were talking and laughing as if this happened all the time. They may have been thinking something else, but it was a relief to see.
We deplaned, as they say, and were funneled through the airport building to the baggage claim area. Those who had connecting flights were scrambling around trying to find their gates. They had announced that except for London and Amsterdam which had already left, the other flights had been held back awaiting our return. So much for a no-hold policy.
I got my bags, went through customs and before I knew it I was out the door right in front of the Flybus that was to take me to the bus terminal in downtown Reykjavik.
Cell phone moment #7
If I had a cell phone, I could have called Kelly and let her know that I was on the bus and would be arriving in about half an hour. She could have been there when I arrived. However she was worth waiting for.
This was 11:30 AM local time, 6:30 AM EST. I got to the bus terminal a little after 12 PM, called Kelly on a pay phone (30 Kr), she came down and we walked back to her residence which was about 5 to 10 minutes away by 12:30 PM. The weather was rainy and dreary but not as cold as Boston. And it was fairly light outside considering the weather.
I finally made it, 43 hours after I left my home in Canada.
Cell phone moment #8
If I had a cell phone and we were actually going down I would have prayed instead of trying to call Him. It would have been a lot cheaper and I would have reached Him quicker. But fortunately I did not have to resort to that.
Will I fly Icelandair again? I’ll have to. It’s the only way to get off the bloody island.
Stay tuned for more postings of Fred’s Adventures (who’s now safely) in Iceland.
A final word on cell phones. If I had a cell phone, I could have saved some money on the call to Iceland, maybe. I could have let Kelly know about the delay when we got diverted to Egilsstaðir and again when we flew back to Keflavik. Finally I could have called her from the bus to let her know when to meet me at the bus terminal. The other times it wouldn´t have helped any. Kelly survived. And so did I, without a cell phone.
posted by Kelly @ 4:59 PM
3 Comments:
At 11:59 PM,
Anonymous said…
Hey!
Good to see you survived without a cell phone! If it helps at all, I don't want a cellphone... ever. Ever in my life. I don't want to be reached at any time of day, by anyone. And I'm not that hard to find, anyways. Cellphones.. pff... who needs em!
Have fun with Kelly! You and your daughter have fun now!
At 11:59 PM,
Anonymous said…
That was Jonathan, by the way.
At 1:39 AM,
Anonymous said…
Wow! You had me on the edge of my seat! I'll have to set aside my novel until 'Fred's Adventures' are over! Hope you have a great visit. Kelly, I think you should keep a close eye on your dad. Take care, and Merry Christmas!
Post a Comment
<< Home