Off to Visit Some Missionaries

I had been dreaming about and planning this trip for years - 4 weeks in East Africa, exploring Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, and Tanzania!

My sister and her 3 kids brought me to the airport in Toronto, so we parked in the farthest parking lot and rode the monorail all the way to Terminal 1, then back again to Terminal 3. After some hugs, they left me to find the KLM desk where I was happy to find that my bags could be checked all the way through to Entebbe ... I, on the other hand, only had boarding passes to Nairobi!

The flight to Amsterdam was uneventful, but even with a boring movie, I didn't get any sleep. I had 3 1/2 hours to wander around Schipol, so went to the Rijksmuseum exhibit (cows in Holland), found the comfy seats (which were all taken), and bought a McKroket at McDonalds (amazing!).

For the flight to Nairobi I got a window seat - definitely worth the hassle of having to climb over people to get to the bathroom. The views of the Alps, the Mediterranean, the Sahara desert, the Nile river, and Khartoum were amazing! The Nairobi airport ... not so amazing. I found the transfer desk without any problems and got my boarding pass for the flight to Entebbe, but there isn't much seating in the airport, and not much ventilation either, so I was happy to get out of there!

The flight to Entebbe was a bit more "interesting". Probably because of my aviation background (and the fact that I like to watch "Mayday"), I was noticing things on the plane that wouldn't meet North American safety regulations. It didn't help that the lady to my left pulled out her rosary and the lady to the right, her bible, when we started to taxi! The flight wasn't that bad actually, and even though it was less than an hour, we got fed!

Getting through customs in Entebbe was easy, just had to pay for my visa and smile for the camera! The flight arrived early, so my cousin, T, wasn't there to meet me, but she had told me to wait outside the airport for her, so that's what I did. I think the taxi drivers were a bit concerned about me - a lone white girl standing around by herself at 11:30 at night - but they were very friendly and not at all intimidating! The checked a few times to see if I needed a ride, then one even gave me his cell phone so that I could call and make sure T was on route. He was pleased to hear that she was, then went back to the group to let them know.

T arrived soon after that and it was off to her friend G's place, where there was no city power so I got to shower by candlelight! After 30 hours without sleep, it felt awesome to be able to lay down in a bed.