Cars wait at a departure point at the car ferry terminal in Calais. People have driven here from all over Europe in an effort to get home.

Blog: An extra week in Spain – lucky you getting to top up the tan.

But try telling that to the families huddled in several Nerja coffee shops trying to make the most of WiFi connections in a bid to keep a roof over their heads, with no idea when they might get home.

Of course, many are trying to put a brave face on it and see it as an extended holiday – but with many unscrupulous companies seeing pound signs it’s not that easy.

The Dunkirk spirit and comments such as “there are worse places to be stranded” are wearing pretty thin five days after Volcano ash drifting across British airspace started this nightmare for millions of travelmakers.

Those coffee shops have become meeting points for Brits now desperate to know what to do and where they should go. Tips and advice are exchanged along with offers of help.

We found ourselves in the middle of such a gathering yesterday with several couples trying to juggle young children still in the holiday mood with making contingency plans for what might be a long wait in a country where they had headed just for a short break in the sun.

Young parents from Essex said if it was just the two of them they would probably head to the airport tomorrow for their flight back to London and just camp out until they had a confirmed seat, but with a one-year-old the reality of that was too much to even contemplate.

Their flight from Malaga has yet to be cancelled but they have already booked extra accomodation for the next week.

It’s a story repeated across the Costa Del Sol, with families really usure what to do as the situtation changes and escalates every time they catch a glimpse of the news.

Phones were buzzing yesterday as families at home tried to help to make arrangements for their loved ones stranded here while others tried to sort out work and school commitments.

Michael and Susan Boyd, from Bolton, said they had been told their hotel room was not available from tomorrow when they are due to head home. Michael’s sister was already busy back in Britain trying to ensure they had somewhere to stay, although with their flight still not officially cancelled they didn’t know exactly what arrangements to make for themselves and their two children.

Despite an attempt at cheery banter and enforced holiday spirit there was an underlying feeling of panic – that nagging sense of being lost and afraid of what is to come with no idea of when the situation will be resolved or what help might be available. Being stranded is not just about location in this crisis.

Many were desperately pleading with insurance companies for help but to no avail. We were told on Saturday by a call centre employee that our policy was next to useless in the circumstances.

When asked for advice the Insure and Go employee didn’t miss a beat as she said “frankly, I don’t care”.

No doubt she had dealt with thousands of calls by then from families who have never called on their insurance in years of travelling. Her lack of compassion was astounding.

An attempt to extend our car hire for a week was met with a quote for treble the price we had originally paid. When my husband visited the office at Malaga airport he was told without a hint of regret they were happy for it to sit there doing nothing rather than attempt to negotiate a deal knowing he was in a desperate situation.

Other families have met with similar reactions when trying to book extra nights in hotels and apartments.

We are fortunate in that we have family here and they have proved worth their weight in gold scouring the internet and using their local knowledge to help us.

But not everyone has that support network and it seems so dreadfully heartbreaking that families facing such a fraught time will be met with such mercenary treatment.

It seems the Government are finally talking about back-up plans and alternatives to get people home – let’s hope they act quickly because this is no extended holiday.

By Tracey O’Sullivan