Meet Daniel Gilligan, 31, from Old Swan, Liverpool, and his lovely bride, Jess. Freshly married on June 15, they set off to the beautiful Greek island of Kos, dreaming of a perfect two-week honeymoon. But what awaited them was far from a dream.
Their romantic getaway quickly became a nightmare when they were forced to evacuate their hotel due to a raging wildfire! Picture this: one moment they’re enjoying a quiet dinner, the next, they receive a frantic text from the travel company TUI telling them to get out, and fast!
Daniel recalls, “We looked around and saw the wildfire spreading. Panic set in. We rushed back to our room, grabbed some essentials, and headed to the hotel entrance. Suddenly, coaches appeared out of nowhere, but there were no reps, no instructions. We were herded onto buses, not knowing where we were going.”
The buses took them to a football field, or so they thought. Instead, they ended up at a school, confused and scared. “We were supposed to be at a football field, but we were dumped at a school. It was chaos,” Daniel exclaimed.
Communication was a mess. TUI’s response? “If that’s where you’ve been dropped, that’s probably where you’re supposed to be.” Comforting, right? Not at all! Luckily, the locals and military stepped in, providing much-needed water and food.
Hours passed, and finally, at midnight, a TUI rep appeared but was utterly clueless. No information, no plan. By 2 am, Daniel noticed people getting on buses again. Curiosity led him to discover they were being moved to another location.
They were taken to a hotel, only to find it full. Next stop: a conference center at 2:45 am. Here, they were told to find a spot on the floor among 2,000 other evacuees. No pillows, no blankets, just water, and the unbearable heat. The air was thick with the stench of sweat.
Daniel couldn’t sleep. Exhausted after 20 hours awake, he waited until 8:30 am when they were finally told they could return to their hotel.
Yes, folks, this honeymoon was nothing like what they had imagined. But through it all, Daniel and Jess stood strong, showing us the true power of love and resilience.
