Land, sea and air

It is said that “to travel is better than to arrive”, but I’d have to disagree on this one fateful occasion that found me taking a thirty nine and a half hour journey home from the west coast of Norway to Inverness. Leaving Ronja Arena on the island of Sandsoy, our boat took everyone back to our hotel in Ulsteinvik and then hit the high seas to Ålesund, arriving after one in the morning. From there I was met by a lady in a Tesla who was tasked with driving me to  Oslo Airport. At this point all of my flights home were cancelled and I needed to be in a less remote place in order to have a few flying options. I’m a very frequent flyer, so delays and cancellations are an integral part of my business. The KLM Platinum Line comes to my rescue but still doesn’t have reasonable suggestions to get me home until I urge them to consider any options to get me to the mainland. In moments I am rebooked to fly to Inverness via  Kristiansand and Amsterdam. Sorted? No, unfortunately, as the Inverness flight got cancelled at the last moment, leaving passengers, many with families, wondering how the flight cancellation would leave them. I felt sorry for these people who are possibly taking the trip of a lifetime and it has turned into a nightmare. For me it is business as usual, except my options to get home were still not the best. After another unscheduled hotel night in my favourite Citizen M Hotel at Schipol I set off once more for Belfast and then a final flight, on Logan Air, Scotland’s favourite airline, to Inverness. One of my colleagues remarked that my journey was “worthy of a movie” and others said I could be in Australia in less time. This is the story of summertime travel and a very good reason why Smokie do not travel during this period. However, the gig was great, the people were appreciative and the weather, well, best not talk about that as the northerly part of Norway has had a similar damp and cloudy summer to my part of The Highlands. For me to arrive is a whole lot better than

to travel and it is a great relief to be home.