Last updated at 13:06, Wednesday, 17 September 2008

A GROUP of Barrow tourists know all too well the destructive power of hurricanes. They survived 160mph winds and surging seas as Hurricane Ike ravaged Cuba.
JO DAVIES reports on their holiday from hell

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STELLA Buckley’s holiday snaps capture a scene of utter devastation.

Roofs have been shredded, a bronze statue of Columbus lies head first on the rocks of the eponymous bay, and trees have been uprooted.

The ceiling of the hotel dining room has collapsed on the luggage below.

Stella, her husband Tony, and their friends, Anne and David Wilson and Ann and Ron Smith, all from Barrow, were two days into their Cuban holiday when disaster struck, and they found themselves facing the full throttle of Hurricane Ike.

But by the time the winds arrived, the couples’ holiday had already been hit by a series of setbacks.

Just getting to the Caribbean had brought a mixture of heart-stopping fear and long periods of tedious boredom.

They left Manchester Airport on September 3, bound for the coastal resort of Guardalavaca, described in brochures as “the perfect place to relax”.

But the flight was aborted over Ireland and returned to Manchester due to a computer screen failure in the cockpit. They returned to ground greeted by a cavalcade of blue flashing lights coming from several fire engines.

This dramatic scene was only a precaution because the aircraft was landing full of fuel, but this wasn’t explained to the worried passengers until after the plane had taxied along the runway. Then the passengers were asked to wait on board while the screen was repaired. Mrs Buckley, of Darley Dale Road, said: “Three hours, several engineers and a small snack later we were informed we weren’t going anywhere.”

The passengers returned to the airport, had to refund their duty free, go back through passport control and collect their luggage before being bussed to various hotels in Manchester. At 3am tour operator Thomas Cook called them back to the airport ahead of a 6.15am departure, but the repaired plane wasn’t even at the gate. At 9am it took off, but had only got as far as Liverpool when there was an announcement.

The fault had come back. Eventually they continued with an engineer on board.

They finally arrived in Cuba to brilliant sunshine and spent the first couple of days chilling out at the Club Amigo Atlantico.

The first omens of the impending hurricane began on Saturday, when a carnival was cancelled and the pedalos were stored away.

That night all the guests, with their luggage, were evacuated from the hotel to an unused dining room. A tropical storm announced the hurricane’s arrival and then it hit with the ferocity of category 4 and wind speeds of 150mph.

Mrs Buckley said: “That caused a bit of panic because people thought it was the hurricane.”

Mr Wilson added: “It was like flicking a switch. It was instant.”

The high level windows of the dining room had already been boarded up. When the boards started to blow in, the 350-odd guests had to ride out the hurricane in adjoining kitchens, leaving their suitcases in the dining room.

Mr Wilson said: “Once we were in the kitchens, they boarded us in.

“We had a small fan making a lot of noise. It didn’t work, but we had no idea what was going on outside.”

The conditions inside the kitchens were stark to begin with, but rapidly worsened. There were three toilets, but no water and no power and gradually the building flooded with knee-deep, stinking water.

Mrs Wilson said: “We’ve all had a ceremonial chuck out of our shoes since.”

Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean, has experienced its share of destructive hurricanes but seldom does the “eye” hit the mainland.

Mrs Smith said: “When the eye of the storm went over, it was very eerie, because it was suddenly silent.”

The calm lasted 15 minutes before the wind started swirling in the opposite direction.

Mr Wilson said: “As the wind came the other way, we heard the glass shattering. That’s when I started feeling iffy and the people from next door came in so we had to stand.

“That lasted another two to three hours.

“We endured it for 11 hours in total, because they wouldn’t let us out when it was dark. There were great shards of glass on the footpath and stuff likely to fall down.”

The hotel staff worked through the tail end of the storm to try to clear the debris.

After the hurricane passed, torrential rain continued to lash down for eight hours.

Mr Wilson said: “The Cubans were absolutely phenomenal. They risked their own safety.”

The couples said the scene of devastation was indescribable.

The swirling winds had blown the glass through into the guests’ bedrooms and then wrenched television sets out onto the pathways below.

The island was without power, so the holidaymakers were among 4,500 unaccounted for.

The main hotel was obliterated, and of the 100 adjoining bungalows, half were damaged so the couples volunteered to share one bedroom.

In the aftermath the resort was declared a disaster zone and the emphasis switched to rescuing the tourists so the Cubans could concentrate on rebuilding their island.

Unfortunately they had to wait three more days before Thomas Cook could provide a flight home.

Mrs Buckley added: “We shouldn’t have been there.

All these people were looking after us when they should have been looking after themselves, and it made us feel extremelyuncomfortable.”

Their flight home was delayed, and again the passengers were left confused about what was happening.

The friends are less than satisfied with the way Thomas Cook treated them.

Of their many complaints a lack of communication from the company features highly.

They will be looking for a full holiday refund.

“It was shambles from start to finish,” said Mrs Buckley.

A spokesperson for Thomas Cook said: “In hurricane situations, representatives of all UK tour operators work together as one team to ensure the maximum amount of help is provided to all UK holidaymakers caught up in this difficult and unpredictable environment.

“During Hurricane Ike, the Holguin area received significant damage to its infrastructure which resulted in intermittent power and water supplies to the region.

“Airports and roads were closed which meant communication was difficult.

“The team in Cuba was operating within the regulations laid down by local authorities and emergency services and were often hampered by movement restrictions and curfews.

“All the reps involved worked tirelessly to reassure UK visitors and provide updated information.

“We are currently contacting all guests who had their holiday cut short by the hurricane.”

First published at 12:07, Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk