Wenesday 24 april 2013
Pretty smooth sailing. Pleasant Haitian cab driver talking politics and the importance of good sleep habits ;-) The the shortest line in all our travels so far - as in NO one in line! And such pleasant service. "What's the deal? Is the flight kinda empty?" Jeff asks. "Pretty much..." nods the ticket lady. Even the security check is relatively well organized, and without overdue delay. Are you sure we're in Paris?
"What day is today?" Jeff muses, "Note to self - remember to make a habit of traveling on Wednesday mornings."
A quick coffee in the lounge, and we're boarding. There's an average of less than one person to a row, and we're advised by the lovely finely chiseled Kenyan hostess that we can reseat ourselves at leisure and stretch ourselves out.
Though I only got 1 1/2 hours sleep last night, I do my best to stay up till after lunch is served so that I don't overdo it, and screw myself out of a good night's sleep upon arrival. The instant I'm startled out of my perusing of the inflight magazine (which, incidentally, has a lot of really interesting articles about the rising power of the African continent) I'm glad I've made the attempt to keep awake. I've glanced up by chance and am overwhelmed by a stunning view of the snow swept Alps (see above). I'm suddenly teleported back to my childhood, which must be the last time I saw such a spectacle on our annual stops in Switzerland for our "repatriation" vacations back home from Saudi Arabia. Truly an amazing sight.
Still, I'm grateful to have managed to sleep through about 2/3rds of the 9 hour leg to Nairobi, where we deplane and have a wander around the International terminal which is hopping, even at this late hour - full of peoples from the four corners of the earth. We suss out the gift shops to consider options for our return flight, then grab a couple of savory pies to share - 1 spicy minced meat, the other herbed cheese - before heading on down to the non-descript waiting area for our 1 hour hop to Tanzania. The cool breeze coming through the open terminal doors carries hints of rich soil and lush vegetation just out of view in the cover of darkness - despite the fleeting overtones of airplane fuel, it's still a welcome change from Paris' stoney weather, and all-too-late spring.
Another painless flight, and we're greeted by Patrick, the VIP expediter from the Embassy whose job it is to whisk us through customs. That said, the airport is surprisingly unbusy, so we make it through rather quickly anyway. Then we catch the eye of a smiling young man from the hotel shuttle service whose holding a sign with our names on it. We're handed over into his capable hands, and driven back to our hotel - the self-styled romanesque Colosseum. Clean, new, and spacious... and most importantly... FREE WI-FI! I think I'm gonna like it here ;-)
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