While browsing online this past summer, Jezrel Sabaduquia saw an advertisement on the computer screen in front of him. “$385 to Bali,” the ad read.

The rising Syracuse University junior took a gap year before college, visiting 11 countries and crisscrossing the globe. When he saw the ad, he had it all worked out: take advantage of the bargain during Thanksgiving break, spend the layover in Shanghai and arrive back to campus before classes resumed after the holiday. Sabaduquia and his friend enjoyed a week on the island of Bali, located near Australia.

“Then, on our last day, that’s when everything started to fall apart,” he said.

The Bali volcano eruption in late November stranded thousands of travelers, including Sabaduquia and a friend from high school, Christopher Sperrazza, who does not attend SU. Sabaduquia, an information and technology major, did not get back to campus until Dec. 2.

Beginning on Nov. 26, Bali’s airport started to postpone flights because tremors radiated outward from the volcano, an indication of danger that could be potentially increasing, according to The New York Times.

On Nov. 27, the Bali government raised the volcano alert to the highest level and expanded the evacuation zone around Mount Agung to a 6-mile radius. More than 400 flights were canceled and about 60,000 passengers were affected, per The New York Times.

Sabaduquia hoped to depart at 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 27. Instead, he and Sperrazza weathered a seven-hour delay, flight cancellation, 12-hour cab ride, a full day without food and two connecting flights before finally arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Dec. 1. Sabaduquia said the journey spanned about 140 hours.

“It felt like we were in a hole of hopelessness and uncertainty,” Sperrazza said in a text message. “We would sit in our hotel rooms unsure of when we were going to get home.”

The first flight was scheduled to take off from Denpasar International Airport, Bali’s main airport, at 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 27. A self proclaimed “aviation geek,” Sabaduquia — who has Delta, United and Boeing stickers on his MacBook Air — monitored the volcano conditions and tracked his China Eastern Airlines flight throughout the afternoon. He tried to switch to an earlier flight, but couldn’t.

The original flight to Shanghai, which would connect him to the Kennedy Airport, was delayed seven hours, until 8:30 a.m. The airline provided them a hotel room. By 5 a.m., they were back in the airport to check in and pass security and immigration checkpoints. They ate breakfast, sat at the gate and relaxed.

“It was like ‘Yes, we’re finally going home,’” Sabaduquia said.

But at 8 a.m., an airport employee announced that all flights were canceled and the airport had to shut down due to the volcano’s tremors.

“I’m usually such a calm person,” Sabaduquia said. “But I started tearing up and called my mom. I was like, ‘We don’t know when we’re coming home.’”

The airline provided Sabaduquia and Sperrazza another hotel room. They watched the news and learned a volcano explosion was imminent. The wind was blowing from the volcano toward the airport, Sabaduquia said. They figured they could not stay any longer.

The next morning, Nov. 28, they took a taxi at 4:30 from Denpasar to Surabaya Juanda International Airport. The ride lasted about 12 hours.

“A few days ago we were sitting on the beach,” Sabaduquia said. “And now we were pretty much in survival mode trying to get the hell out of Bali.”

Sabaduquia said he teared up.

“We were very helpless,” Sabaduquia said.

They arrived in Surabaya at about 4 p.m. on Nov. 28. They enjoyed a hamburger and steak, their first meal in 24 hours. They took showers and watched Netflix. From their hotel, located near the airport, they could see planes taking off and landing.

Their flight was delayed 90 minutes because of a cyclone, but they eventually boarded and made a connection to the Kennedy Airport from an airport in Jakarta. They bought $8 Budweiser beers to celebrate.

“I felt my peak happiness when we were at the airport waiting for our flight to New York City,” Sabaduquia said.

Sabaduquia said he felt indifferent when they landed at the Kennedy Airport on Nov. 30. He was still processing what happened. It had been almost 140 hours of travel.

He slept all day at his home in Queens because he “was literally knocked out.”

Sabaduquia emailed professors, who gave him extensions on his assignments. On Dec. 2, he flew from the Kennedy Airport to Syracuse Hancock International Airport. He reached his Ernie Davis Hall dorm room at about 1 p.m. Over the course of six days, he had circumnavigated the globe.

“It was just a long, insane ride,” Sabaduquia said.

Published on December 10, 2017 at 3:18 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21