Wayne & I began our first trip to Africa last Saturday by driving to Atlanta for our connection to Amsterdam. Parking, boarding passes, and luggage checking went smoothly. (We had packed 2 Action Packers, a huge suitcase, and a golf bag with gifts & supplies for Carson, Holly, & Jude, and all of them weighed in at 48 - 49 pounds - the limit is 50.) Many thanks to Carol Bailey and Holly for their packing tips! We were ready to leave the U.S. with no worries. Woo-hoo!
Security was a breeze. All toiletries in a quart Ziploc, no more than 3 oz. each, etc. We jumped aboard the terminal train to reach our concourse, which was far, far away. To the left is Flat Stanley in the window on the train.
Our flight to Amsterdam was uneventful, but not exactly enjoyable. We were sandwiched between two men in the “middle of the middle” on an Airbus 330, and weren’t able to move much, so our hips and knees were super-tired and my injured ankle was twice its normal size by the time we arrived...I could barely force my shoes back on. Wayne asked a guy for a wheelchair, but he told him it was reserved. Sooooo, I hobbled when I had to and rode people movers when we could, to reach our departure gate for Nairobi. Thank goodness our luggage was checked through for the entire journey to Kigali, and we only had to deal with our carry-ons.
Flat Stanley is shown to the left sitting in Wayne's pocket, waiting for our flight to Nairobi, after going through a security checkpoint at Schiphol Airport.
Not long after we reached our cruising speed during the flight to Nairobi, an attendant said that a medical doctor was needed. Soon they asked if anyone had medication that would bring down blood pressure. As we neared Pescara, Italy, the pilot announced that we would be landing in Rome due to a medical emergency on board. I’ve always wanted to go to Italy, but Leonardo da Vinci AIRPORT wasn’t what I had in mind! We flew West across the boot, landed, then watched medical people board the plane. As we left Rome about two hours after the initial announcement, the pilot told us that by getting a 58-year-old passenger who had suffered a stroke to a hospital as quickly as possible, we had probably saved a life. I’m 58...
We arrived in Nairobi 2 hours late for what was to have been a 3 hour layover. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is an interesting and very African airport with shops that look essentially like stalls all down the concourse. We headed straight for the gate and reached one with the correct number, but it had a wooden placard that said “Entebbe” hanging from hooks overhead. When I asked if the plane to Kigali was boarding, the attendant said, “Now,” and pointed to the short line of people. After looking up at the sign, he replaced it with another that said “Kigali.”
At the front of the line, we were told we would have to check our carry-ons due to the small size of the plane. Again we went through security and to another waiting room, for about 5 minutes - our layover had been taken up by criss-crossing Italy! We had our boarding passes, but the attendant asked us for boarding “cards” and did not believe we hadn’t been given any. Looking around, we saw that other passengers had laminated cards that said “Boarding Card.” We pointed out our luggage sitting nearby, waiting to be taken to the cargo hold, so there was no doubt we had gone through security. She told us to take a seat and once other passengers had gone down the stairs to cross the tarmac, she said we could go ahead. I have no explanation, unless it was to demonstrate that we were not completely appropriate in our boarding procedures!
The Kenya Airways flight was the best of our journey. The food was good, the service smiling, and the seats comfortable. It certainly didn’t hurt that it was the last leg of the trip and that when we left Nairobi we were only a little over an hour away from seeing Carson for the first time since April! When we entered the terminal building, one of the first faces we saw inside was his. What joy! And except for one missing piece of luggage that we retrieved when another plane from Nairobi arrived the next morning, we had everything we had brought with us. Our African Adventure was actually beginning. :) :) :)
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