• Greg Clayton
  • Greg Clayton

Emergency Amsterdam Excursion

A short but fine adventure by Greg Read more
  • Trip start
    June 25, 2024

    Leaving Arequipa

    June 25, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Our adventure started in the beautifully located Arequipa airport.

    We'd spent the day prior making sure to complete the correct paperwork, ringing different helplines and trying to arrange wheelchair transfers.

    When we arrived at the airport, I was tasked with seeking out a wheelchair transfer. Therefore I spoke to the first person I saw wearing high viz, who in turn grabbed the closest LATAM wheelchair that was lying around. Easy peasy.

    To our relief, we were checked in with little to no questions asked and escorted through the airport all the way to our gate.

    We boarded the plane first and ended up having the front row of economy to ourselves which ensured maximum comfort for the patient throughout the flight to Lima.
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  • Transiting in Lima Airport

    June 25, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We landed in Lima airport and were greeted off the plane by a very friendly multi tasking wheelchair pushing man. He took us to the food court where we could enjoy a McDonalds before checking in (again with no problems or questions asked) and heading to watch England's bore draw with Slovenia.

    At 5:30pm we boarded our KLM flight to Amsterdam. We had extra legroom in economy comfort and I even treated myself to a small bottle of complimentary wine. This 12 hour flight also went very smoothly!
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  • Arriving in Zaandam

    June 26, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Once at Amsterdam airport we made up with Georgia's mum who took over the reigns of chief patient care officer. I was delighted to receive 10 bars of Galaxy chocolate for my endeavours and was glad to have seen Georgia safely back to Europe to begin her recovery.

    My return flight to Lima wasn't for another 2 days which meant I had 2 days to spend in the Netherlands!

    I'd booked a room in the EasyHotel in the quirky small town of Zaandem, perfectly situated a 15 minute train ride from both the airport and central Amsterdam. It even had a Primark!
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  • Evening in Zaandam

    June 26, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    After spending a few hours in the hotel to rest and recuperate I headed out for dinner. First of all taking the time to wander the streets of this beautiful town! It was so strangely quiet compared to what I've been used to in Latin America which made for a nice change, plus it was light until 10:30pm!

    For dinner I opted for a pizza and Aperol Spritz and was delighted to be able to find a huge variety of reasonably priced Milka chocolate in the supermarket for dessert.
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  • Zaandijk

    June 27, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    This morning (afternoon by the time I'd woken up) I took the train 5 minutes up the road to Zaandijk. Another beautiful town famed for its windmills, but a few pictures from the picturesque tranquil town for now!Read more

  • River Zaan Windmills

    June 27, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Once I'd made it down to the river I took a leisurely stroll along the river admiring the windmills. When I stumbled upon this place on Google I thought I'd found a hidden gem but oh no the place was flooded with tourists (me being one of them). Either way it was still lovely to see.Read more

  • Afternoon in Amsterdam

    June 27, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    This afternoon I headed into the centre of Amsterdam. Having been here before and seen most things already I just wandered around with no set route in mind, following wherever looked the most interesting. The city looked amazing basking in the sunlight and I really enjoyed the scenery!

    After clocking up 26,000 steps for the afternoon I jumped on the short train back to Zaandem at around 6pm.
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  • Leaving the Netherlands

    June 28, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    This morning I was on the 9:55am flight from Amsterdam back to Lima!

    I kept myself entertained watching Harry Potter, practicing my Spanish and playing Football Manager. As we left Europe I kept a close eye on the in flight map as we flew over the UK. So close yet so far!Read more

  • Arriving in Cusco

    June 28, 2024 in Peru ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    After changing planes in Lima I arrived into our hostel in Cusco just after 9pm. This hostel had been recommended to Dan as it is an Irish themed hostel named the 'Wild Rover'. It has an in house pub which we couldn't say no to. We ended up staying till closing at 2:30am which was the equivalent of 9:30am my time from the Netherlands, but worth it for a good night!Read more

    Trip end
    June 28, 2024