Breathe, Smile, Repeat…
…breath, smile, repeat…
This is the mantra going through my head as I watch my parents and brother board the plane for Malta. Ben and the kids have already left the gate in a mad dash to find an open COVID PCR testing laboratorio. It is approximately 12:30pm on a Friday and all the laboratori near us are coming up as closed or closing soon. Seems 12:45pm, 1:00pm and 2:00pm are all valid closing hours here.
I’m still at the gate waiting for the woman “helping” us to confirm that our bags have been removed from the plane and give me any insight into how we get rebooked for another flight out to Malta, preferably today.
How did we get here?
After spending multiple days (seriously) working to get our entry paperwork for Malta in order, which included downloading the VeriFly app (on my phone, my parent’s phone, and my brother’s phone), filling out multiple passenger locator forms, uploading COVID vaccine cards, confirming we could get the kids a COVID test at the airport, paying 90 euro for said COVID tests, and getting 8 people through airport check-in and security, we are now seeing the not so small detail that only a PCR test will do and the airport clinic gave the kids an antigen test. In fact, the airport testing facility does not even offer PCR tests. A frustrating fact the not-so-helpful woman checking our final documents before boarding the plane shared with us as she pulled us out of line and told us they could not let us travel to Malta. I understand this was actually not her fault, but she did not have an ounce of sympathy or much to offer in assistance. Instead, she commented, “I don’t even know where you can get a PCR test; they are almost impossible to get.” Again, not helpful!
The kids are infinitely more OK with this situation than I am.
So we must scramble to get PCR tests and new tickets to Malta – an island country Ben and I have been looking forward to visiting for several years now. This trip was a quick weekend stay, Friday to Sunday, and so our window of time there is quickly shrinking.
After getting the airport testing center to help secure an appointment at a PCR testing facility still open, we confirm that the earliest flight into Malta is from Brindisi (about 1.5 hours south of us) on Saturday at 1:40pm. We can’t get our existing tickets rebooked, so we have to book new tickets on Ryan Air, which is relatively cheap and costs us about $300 total for all 5 tickets (and 5 checked bags). No strangers to travel mishaps, we work to make the most of our additional day in southern Italy and book two hotel rooms at a place with a pool and spa.
While coming to terms with the fact that we will only get about 30 hours in Malta when all is said and done, we get news from our friend Erin, who is in Rome on her way back to the U.S. with her son after staying with us in Southern Italy, that her purse (along with her credit cards, cash, and both passports) was stolen from a café. They are stranded in Rome with no money or ids and no way to get back to the airport hotel they are staying at (which is about 40mins outside of Rome). This puts all our troubles into perspective and we go into problem solving mode to do whatever we can to help.
Erin, her now stolen purse, and Cole with us in Alberobello, Italy - home of the Trullo
Ultimately, we get ahold of the VRBO host we worked with the week before through Whatsapp and he helps us get a car to pick them up outside the police station where they’ve filed a report and drive them back to the airport hotel. We pay for the car with our credit card and then send along information on the US Embassy emergency line (of course the Embassy is closed and wont reopen till Monday, so they will miss their flight home and have to stay in Rome until they can get their passports reissued). This will not be easy with no money, so we reach out to our network to see if anyone knows someone in Rome that we can venmo cash to who can bring it to Erin. As a backup, Ben looks for flights to Rome in case he has to fly up there and get her cash directly. Luckily our friend Sabrina, who used to live in Rome, shares a link to Western Union locations all over that will help her get cash (assuming they’ll accept a picture of her now stolen passport as valid identification).
After confirming our friends are safely back at their hotel, we refocus on our situation and refill out all the departure paperwork for Malta, then book massages and some pool time with the kids before capping the night with takeout sushi, pizza, and the DaVinci Code on Netflix.
Through it all the kids were total rock stars! No complaints, no whining, positive dispositions, which I will admit I did not maintain, and lots of concern for our friends. While I needed the breathe, smile, repeat mantra to remind myself to do just that, they were total naturals at taking everything in stride.
Recognizing the emotional frailty of their parents, our kids had all their bags packed and ready to go by the door of the hotel room in the morning without us having to ask.
Ultimately, we made it to Malta and were able to enjoy the warm weather, beautiful architecture, and stunning views. More on Malta in another post, but it is definitely an island we will return to.
Marina in Senglea, just across the Grand Harbor from Valletta, Malta.
