AFRICA – THE TRIP HOME

11 of us were on the same flight back to London. We all agreed to stick together and look out for each other. This point becomes relevant later on. A shuttle van collected us from the Genocide Memorial and took us to the airport. Fred decided to come with us, even though his flight was later that night. He said he’s rather chill at the airport than wander Kigali for 7 hours and risk being late. Personally, I think it was because he’s 75 years old and felt more comfortable with others looking out for him – which is exactly what happened. When the shuttle stopped, 3 valets came rushing over to put our bags onto trolleys. When we got into the airport, they unloaded them all. Fred wandered off to a coffee shop before any of us had a chance to say a proper goodbye. A few minutes later, security came up to us and said we had left a bag behind. Oh no! It was Fred’s! He had wandered off without it! A couple of girls tracked him down in a nearby coffee shop and returned his bag. Thankfully, the airport was not busy and they let the girls back in without delay.

The valets then had the audacity to ask for tips. We did not ask for them to bring our bags in. They just grabbed them from the shuttle before we had a chance to do anything. Maybe Fred would not have forgotten his bag if he had been transporting it himself. None of us had much if any money left. We told them we were on the way home and broke. However, some of us scraped up a couple of dollars and gave it to the guys. They were very unimpressed. Cheeky buggers.

The Kigali airport was very small and super chilled. We were all having a coffee when a security guard came to inform us that it was time for us to board. I have NEVER had that happen before. Maybe it was because we were a large group and there weren’t many people on that leg of the flight.

We weren’t in the air for 30 minutes when we noticed the plane turning and descending. We could see a mountain top a bit too close for comfort and above the plane! Everyone thought there was something wrong with the plane and we had to land. We were merely stopping in Burundi to pick up more passengers. At no time were we informed of this stopover. Weird. The plane got refuelled, more passengers got on and we continued to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to catch our connecting flight to London.

Ethiopian Air had changed our flight from a four-hour layover to a 12-hour layover. Initially, we found a spot on the designated carpeted area and prepared to bed down for the night. However, Sara managed to get everyone a hotel room and food vouchers. Hooray! Perfect! Any airline initiated delay over 8 hours and the airline is required by law to do this. They don’t offer, you have to ask.

Another adventure begins! We had to go downstairs to get the vouchers. We were queued up like good little lambs when a lady jumps the queue. At this point, we were tired, dusty, and sore from our “African massage” in a bumpy bus/truck, did a border crossing and were a wee bit cranky. Kevin went up to her and politely said there was a queue and that we had been already waiting several minutes. She says “I’m business class!” Well, that may be, honey, but you obviously have NO class. No one said this, but we were all thinking it. She would not stop chirping at us, saying she felt sorry for us then shrug with an “it sucks to be you” attitude. This set Sue off and she made a comment to which the “lady” pulls the racist card. OMG! Seriously!? But what could we say or do? We were all white. She could have made a huge scene and caused trouble for us. Had I been alone, I would have challenged her. There was absolutely no reason to accuse us of racism. She jumped the queue. Just rude human behaviour.

From the voucher desk, we had to go through immigration to allow us to exit the airport. More waiting. Alas, no entry stamp to Ethiopia. Then on to the shuttle van to take us to the Debere Domo Hotel. NOT SO FAST!!

We had to go through a luggage scan before exiting the airport. Three people had binoculars in their carry-on luggage. Binoculars are a security risk in Ethiopia. HUH?? They had to surrender them to a guard to be placed in the luggage storage. The guard was dressed in blue jeans and a hoodie and had it not been for his security badge we would have thought him to be some random con artist off the street. The three were assured they could collect them in the morning.

On to the shuttle van…. or not. We then had to go to a desk for someone to review our vouchers, then to another desk to have our vouchers stamped. NOTE: If this ever happens to you, take a picture of the voucher. It could have come in handy later for me when trying to apply for missing air miles. Sara and I breezed through and headed down the outdoor ramp to the shuttle buses. We waited several minutes. Where was everyone else? I finally went back up the ramp where I was not allowed back into the airport, but I managed to wave the others over to me. They were told to wait inside the terminal for the shuttle. NO! The shuttles were all down there. We all went down the ramp and the van arrived shortly.

We charged to the van to all get a spot and not leave anyone behind. Other people were also trying to squeeze in. Vicky was almost left to wait for the next van. We all banded together and insisted that she HAD to be with us.

Addis by night is a sketchy place. Not many streetlights, rows upon rows of galvanized shacks, padlocked shops, homeless and hookers. Our hotel was nice, though. They were super efficient in checking us in. Everyone collected a bottle of water, said no thanks to the dinner offered and headed straight to bed. The entire process took 3 hours. The carpeted floor in the airport was looking good at that point.

After a restless night, we got a wake-up call at 5:15am. We met in the dining hall. The breakfast buffet consisted of rice, potatoes, fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers, steamed cauliflower and zucchini, pancakes and a spicy meat goulash. Only the fresh veggies and pancakes were edible. Never mind, we can grab something at the airport.

There was a security check, before entering the airport, complete with baggage scan, remove shoes and full body scan. But the water was OK?? We were inside the terminal now. The three whose binoculars were taken into protective custody went to retrieve them. We waited…..and waited….and waited. Finally, those of us who were not waiting for a spouse decided we had to go. It was only an hour to boarding. “Sorry guys. We can’t risk missing our flight.” No worries.

Deb and Sue went in search of their husbands. In the meantime, we had to go through immigration again. More waiting. Alas, no exit stamp for Ethiopia. Then another luggage scan, shoes off, full body scan. What could we have smuggled in during that 50-yard walk from the last scanner? Never mind! We are past security! We looked for our gate on the screen and off we went. WAIT! Another luggage scan, shoes off, full body scan. We all started to laugh. This was beyond ridiculous!

There is our gate! Wait. What’s that in front of the boarding lounge? Why it’s another scanner. OMG! We howled with laughter. We were all so tired at this point, we were at the point of hysterics. However, the machines were not working so we simply walked through. We were almost disappointed. It took an hour for us to make our way to this point.

Suddenly, we saw Mandy coming from the last scanner. There was hope for our 3 lost travellers! A moment later, we spotted Kevin and Martin; but no sign of Deb and Sue. We found 3 but lost 2.

Martin told us that when they went to get their binoculars back, first of all they got trapped in the lift (You really can’t make this stuff up, can you?) Then when they finally got to the luggage storage there was a lady in front of them that was collecting a whole raft of luggage that was spread all over the unit. They finally retrieved their binoculars and had to go through customs where they were told that binoculars were a security risk in Ethiopia and would have to be confiscated. “Oh no, you don’t! We just got them back from lock-up. And we are leaving the country!”

In the meantime, they could see Deb and Sue on the other side of a glass, waving frantically. ”Can our wives join us?” NO. The binocular smugglers got escorted through a different set of scanners, security and immigration. Deb and Sue had to backtrack to where we had left them and go through the gong show I described earlier. In the end, we all made it onto our flight. I think we bonded in the process. LOL

MORAL OF THE STORY

NEVER EVER assume things are as simple and easy as they are in your home country! Allow LOTS of time to maneuver through foreign airports. It is less stressful to wait in the airport, past security and all the scanners than to be stressed.