When my 2024 Pilgrimage from Le Puy blew-up, I had to cancel my off-ramp through Spain
I had planned a night in Pamploma, 2 nights in Madrid with a Business Class flight back through Lisbon
The hotel in Pamploma, easily cancelled my flight
My hotel for two nights in a fancy hotel in Madrid decided not to return my payment
So, spur of the moment, I considered returning to Madrid to use the hotel reservation, I could cancel this in 24 hours
(Bad Idea, I quickly forgot how much I detested a recent flight from Paris and did not want to go through that again)
But the system at Expedia did not record my cancellation, it has taken 2 weeks to resolve this
Post Morteum:
Be careful spending on the off-ramp of your trip, it can add-up
Instead of traveling, I considered a local hotel for a two night treat
But they were expensive
I considered “spending money” on something special during that weekend
But my life is filled with special expenditures (nothing would be better than spending time at home)
Lesson:
Understand your tendency to cancel big trips
(or maybe the take-away from this 2024 trip is to avoid future cancellations)
And figure-out how to do that
What I learn from this experience is not only my proclivity to cancel, BUT also my patience and the benefits of my FAITH