Neither snow nor rain nor cloud of ash...

A week ago most of us were unaware of Eyjafjallajokull -- a big name for one of the smallest glaciers and volcanoes in Iceland -- which has caused thousands of flight cancellations worldwide.  Thanks to the growing awareness of Eyjafjallajokull, we've now acquired a new Scrabble word as well as new skills in creative travel routing.  Last weekend two members of our dance division team worked on alternative travel arrangements for Colin Dunne and Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo so neither company would have to cancel scheduled performances.  Their stories are below:

Colin Dunne: Ireland to France

When flights are not running, creative travel arrangements step in place. Colin Dunne and crew were to fly from Dublin to Paris on Sunday 18th April 2010. Instead of two short flights, the journey turned into a combination of travelling in car, ferry, train, taxis and second train and a minibus.

My new best friend, Google Maps, proved to be a very valuable tool in finding alternative routes. Trains, busses and taxis are somehow easier to arrange but when it comes to crossing the sea it is challenging. After few days of having my mobile phone glued into my ear and my eyes fixed to the computer screen, we managed to find an alternative route. Obviously by then there were also lots of other people who had discovered the same route from Ireland to France and everything was fully booked. We went to plan b, then to plan c, then to plan d. Options also included getting the crew on a ferry from Ireland directly to France, but we discovered that it would take nearly 20 hours and no daily connection was available and it would have been too late to take that route anyway to arrive on time for the performances.

Liaising with the travel agency, waiting on the phone for hours to the ferry company, dealing with websites crashing, and managing frustration: finally we managed to book a ferry from Rossale to Fishguard and an overnight train to London. Important note: if want to book a ferry with a direct train connection you can only do this on the phone (not online) - good to know for next time. [editor's note: hopefully there won't be a next time!] From London the crew took train to Paris where the presenter had organised a pick up. After traveling for more than 16 hours via several transport methods it was time to start the tech set up in the venue and the rehearsals. 

 Colin's less-than-direct route to France

I have learned names of Irish cities, how long the ferry takes from Ireland to Wales (3h 30min), and that it takes nearly eight hours on a train from Wales to London. Flights make the distances feel so much shorter than what they are in reality.

Now the focus is on getting the crew back to Ireland and then off to new performances in Sweden and the UK. Creative travel planning continues…I am quite tempted to try the ferry myself, maybe this summer!

~ Johanna Rajamaki

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo: Spain to Hungary

When my new issue of National Geographic arrived last week with Mount St. Helens’ 1980 eruption on the cover, little did I know that another volcano was about to wreak havoc on one of our clients. Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (the Trocks) has weathered all sort of travel storms so Eyjafjallajokull wasn't about to ruin the company’s performances in Budapest. Scheduled to leave Bilbao, Spain on Monday, the Trocks sprung into action - they would find a way to get to Hungary. 

FRIDAY: A bus was found, but it was decided that the company should wait to confirm because the Hungarian Meteorological Agency said airlines would resume flights by Monday.

SATURDAY: The chances of the Trocks flying from Bilbao to Madrid and then on to Budapest were dwindling as the ash cloud spread out across Europe. Saturday was spent trying to find another bus company to make the trip, but no luck was to be had.

SUNDAY: Plan b and plan c were devised as it looked like the Trocks wouldn’t be making it to Budapest by land or air.  At the eleventh hour, the presenter in Budapest found a bus company willing to take the Trocks halfway - to Torino, Italy.   Another bus would come  from Budapest to meet them in Torino and  take them the rest of the journey to Hungary.

MONDAY: The bus rolled up at 9am and the Trocks settled in for the 21-hour ride. Not long into the trip, someone realized that the bus had no bathroom! After numerous stops and slow moving traffic, the company arrived in Torino at 1am. The company went to bed, assured that Tuesday’s bus would get them to Budapest for their performances, and (perhaps more importantly) would be equipped with a bathroom.

TUESDAY: The Trocks left Torino at 8am this morning and are sharing the road with thousands of other people who have the same idea. They have already passed a number of broken-down busses and are counting themselves lucky, despite being stir crazy after so many hours on the road. They will likely arrive in Hungary around 11pm, just in time to go to bed and be up to rehearse for opening night on Wednesday.

 2 days and 5 countries later...

The events of the last few days have coined a new phrase among the dancers and staff. When someone starts complaining, they are told to “take it like a Trock” and as the other saying goes, “keep on Trocking”!

~ Katy McDermott