Eric Goode had one of the rockiest odysseys of the travelers stranded by the volcano ash plume. The co-owner of the Bowery, Jane and Maritime hotels and the Waverly Inn is also a part-time filmmaker and an avid turtle conservationist. Last week, he flew to the Allwetter Zoo in Munich, Germany, to screen his new documentary on the warty newt and the Ryukyu black-breasted leaf turtle, Okinawa's only turtle species. But when Goode tried to get home, it took him four days. His ordeal included an eight-hour bus ride from Munich to Rotterdam, a cab ride to Amsterdam to get the last rental car, then a drive through Holland, Belgium, France and Spain to reach Barcelona. Goode spent an entire night on a computer, but every time he saw an available ticket online, it would disappear before he could pick up the phone. On Tuesday, he finally boarded a flight to Bogota, Colombia, and then another to New York.

Read more: New York Post