Travel days

I am giving a warning today to those following along on the blog.  It is Sunday and the first time I have really had the chance to sit and process and write.  So my next several post are going to be more of an accounting and reporting of the days since I left Texarkana.  This will be mostly for me, so in the coming days and weeks I won’t forget the people and experiences and my feelings at this point.  But for you, reading this, it may just be long and tedious. Sorry, just skip ahead.

Wayne and I went into Dallas the night before I left.  I will openly admit now that I was fully opposed to the idea.  I was liking the idea of getting ready a final time in the comfort of my home/bathroom and slowly finishing packing.  However, realizing the sacrifice or normal that Wayne is also making without the benefits of the adventures, I wanted to show him one small kindness, so I agreed to the night trip to Dallas.  He had expressed his reasons for going and he was absolutely right. It allowed us a few hours alone together to put aside the worries and just enjoy and talk of past adventures and hopes for future ones.  It also took away the worries that the car trip would have brought to the departure. Lastly, it forced me to finish the packing but still have hours to review and pick up forgotten items.

On Tuesday morning, we slept in a little and I got ready for the long travels ahead.  We went and had a long late breakfast together and headed to the airport. I had booked my travel through United but was actually flying with Lufthansa first and the Ethiopian Airlines. We went to check in with all three bags and found we needed to go to another terminal.  Again, I was so pleased that my sweet hubby had made allowances for time so that there was no urgency. We arrived at the appropriate check in with plenty of time. The baggage seemed a problem at first but with a few calls the three were accepted at little bit of a steep cost but all of it expected.  Then I was asked about my visa and immediately things got tense. I explained that the process in Malawi was to purchase the visa at arrival to the airport, but my ticket agents computer was saying that I was not cleared to board without one. There was a tense 20 minutes or so of phone calls. Lufthansa does not fly into Malawi so there was a lot unknown.  Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinaly, I was told that they would give me the boarding pass to Frankfurt and then I would need to check back with Ethiopian Airlines for further boarding passes. Not exactly the travel plans I was hoping for, but at least I had started.

Saying goodbye to Wayne was so hard!  It was reminiscent of our college days and crying into cocktail napkins on the plane that were grossly not sufficient.  However, I love that I love him so much that my heart breaks to leave him.  

The trip to Frankfurt takes about 10 hours.  A very long trip but very nice service and even the food was good.  After dinner was served, I tried to quickly get some sleep. I was able to get an hour or so of sleep.  Between the anxiety of what was to come and a few loud talkers, sleep was difficult to grasp. The plane landed at 8am local time in Germany and so we were awakened early to get breakfast served before deplaning.  

My layover in Frankfurt was over 13 hours.  I know that seems crazy but I did not want to end in Ethiopia’s airport for overnight.  Germany in the day was much safer.

I did a lot of walking and looking and a little napping in Frankfurt.  My main issue and stress there was that the only Ethiopian Airline flight was mine at 10 pm and I needed my boarding pass.  I was concerned that if I left the secure area to go to the ticket counter, I might find no one there and would not be able to get back in through security without a boarding pass.  So I waited, and waited, and waited. 45 minutes before the flight agents showed at the gate and I was able to get both of my boarding passes without trouble. As is true most of the time, a lot of nervous energy for nothing. This flight was fine as well and there were some empty seats so at least we were not all touching elbows.  Someone should talk to the chef about serving up a curry dish on a long flight, however.

We arrived in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and I was very glad I did not have an overnight layover there.  The older terminal looked like a refugee camp with people on cots and on the floor everywhere. We quickly were funneled into specific gate areas with security checks and then entered a nice new terminal area.  The number of people packed in was amazing and 3 vending machines were the only source of food/beverage. Luckily, Wayne had researched this and I had food and water in my bag. Buses arrived at the gates and people filed in and you were taken to your plane.  A bus left about every 10 minutes so you had to pay attention.

The last flight was only 4 hours but a screw sticking up in my line of vision along the wing was the only point of concern and I new it to be trivial but a little amusing.  We landed in Lilongmwe and road another bus about 30 yards ( I am not kidding) to the terminal. It was interesting that the group from Frankfurt to Ethiopia was very multicultural but the group deplaning in Lilongwe were mainly Europeans and Americans.  I assume not many Malawians are flying in and out.

The visa was easy to purchase as I had been told but just required a fairly long line but I was in the front.  Then I went on to baggage claim. One bag, the last packed and the one with no essential items came through first.  I watched as most of the other passengers collected bags but mine did not show. A priest I had befriended collected his last bag and said his goodbyes. I watched the same bags circle around over and over.  Then I checked all those in plastic. One bag that I was waiting for was bright turquoise and could not easily be missed. Still nothing. I truly prayed.  Then checked again. Then started looking for an employee. Then the bags appeared!! Praise the Lord! I headed for customs a little in dread of possible baggage search with inventory lists in hands and my tax money in my pocket.  No one even looked up at me. No question and even a cart to carry my bags. Better yet, my driver and a student nurse and friend were all waiting with a sign and an ambulance to carry me to my temporary home.

God is good. Africa is beautiful. Rides are bumpy.