I first heard about the volcanic ash cloud while I was having lunch at a café in Buenos Aires. My wife rang me with the news. The place was pretty noisy, so at first I thought she was telling me that the volcano was in Argentina. When I realised it was in Iceland, I relaxed. How could that possible affect me ?
Two days later I was still in Buenos Aires, wondering how the hell I was going to get home. I'll admit I was stranded in the best possible circumstances: I'd been invited to speak at a conference organised by The Leading Hotels of the World, so I was staying in the Alvear Palace, the most luxurious hotel in town. At night the bar was full of wealthy refugees, like a scene from the movie Casablanca.
The first victim of the fallout was The International Herald Tribune, which stopped arriving. I assumed it was delivered by plane. I also discovered that my Iphone was not as international as I would have liked – unless I wanted to pay a fortune in extra charges. Luckily I had my laptop and free Wi-Fi access. Thanks to that, Twitter updates and the graphics on CNN, I soon had a very clear grasp of how volcanoes worked and why the ash cloud was so dangerous.
Which didn't stop me flying towards it as soon as I could. I must admit that the Air France team on the plane were as calm and polite as they could be. Even if the sky is no longer the best place on earth.
