long way across…

The flight from Paris to Nairobi was uneventful.  As was Nairobi airport (though they did have a duty free shop).  The flight to Entebbe was a pleasant surprise, it didn’t go via Kigali (Rwanda).  Landed at 0150, yes, very late (or very early) and by the time I cleared immigration, collected my bag, customs and got a local SIM card, it was just before 3 (take note Miami, worst airport I have ever had the misfortune to have used).  So I just had the 3 or so hours to kill before getting a cab across to the airfield for my final flight.  Fortunately there was wifi, and coffee. Lots of coffee, I couldn’t afford to nod off!

Just before 6 I packed up and got a cab to the small airfield across town for my final flight, via Mission Aviation Fellowship (the ‘MAF’ flight).  I (and many others) are extremely grateful for this little Christian Charity that fly folk around developing countries to do aid (mission) work, and for the other similar organisations around the world.  In Haiti, we had “Agape” and could get them to bring in stuff from ‘Amazon’, yes. really.  Though you can’t just book these flights, you have to be affiliated, vetted, sign their charter, adhere to their values, etc, etc.  The use (hijacking) of the term, “Christian” by the Evangelical conservative church is for another time, but anyway, Bless them. 

Anyway, back to the story.  I admit to having ‘a moment’ at check-in.  On the way back from ‘the field’, the pilot just weighs the bags to be sure he’s not overweight and you jump in.  Here they had an airport-style scanner, and a guy went through each of my bags, slowly.  Not sure either of us knew exactly what he was looking for, but he spent a particularly long time scrutinising the bottle of Cognac I bought in Nairobi airport…  But then I realised ‘MAF’ are cool, its ‘MFI’ (Missionary Flights International) who have a strict no-alcohol policy.  And I don’t just mean that they don’t allow you to carry alcohol, but that your entire organisation must be abstinent!  Looks like I’m going to hell…

So I left my hotel in Dallas around 0930 on Monday.  I arrived at our Disability Centre in the Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement, near Yumbe in NW Uganda just in time for lunch (ideal) at 1300.  On Wednesday.  In between, a series of sleepless and uncomfortable airline seats left me with a very stiff neck.  And the 4ish hours at Entebbe airport in the early hours waiting for my final flight left me ridiculously tired.  Yet strangely on the last leg, I couldn’t manage to doze off in the car.  I guess the adrenaline was still rushing around my system.  A word of advice, flying to Australia (even with 1 stop) is one thing; but please do not repeat my mistake of crossing 7 time zones via 4 aeroplanes (in decreasing size order) interspersed with 3 car journeys (of increasing length) on roads (decreasing in quality).