Since we weren’t going to leave for the airport until just before 6:30 p.m., we had almost another complete day to be at Kundayo. John walked downtown on some last errands, most important to get enough money from the bank to put our tip for the staff into the big, wooden tip box. I stayed at Kundayo and continued our last minute packing. The big, purple plastic bin we had gotten from Terry Morton was barely large enough to hold the items we wanted to store until our return in 2020. In fact, we had to leave a few things in another big basin. I got all of my rocks in our suitcases, however.
John had wanted to eat out one last time at Taj, a wonderful Indian restaurant, but I really didn’t want to pay for another taxi ride and take the time to go to a restaurant. So, we ended up having the leftover chicken from Andrew’s and a wonderful avocado for lunch, and then vanilla ice cream with mangoes later in the afternoon.
We all went to give a short, final farewell to Mama Kundayo, who was out in her courtyard, probably waiting for us to show up. I’ll miss the almost daily conversations with her and pray that she will be in much better health when we return.
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| Bidding farewell to Mama |
Just before 6:30, Ray arrived in a nice SUV he had leased from someone. We loaded up all of our luggage: 6 large suitcases, 2 carry-ons, and 2 computer bags. Then, soon after we left Kundayo, we stopped along the highway to pick up Honorina and Anitha, so they could ride with us. I guess the hour-long drive to the airport is a treat for them.
At the airport, Ray helped us to get all our luggage onto carts and up to the security check point. Once we got through that procedure, we remarked that there was not the usual crush of passengers in lines for check-in. Then, we found out that because of problems in Amsterdam, our plane would be 2 hours late. Oh bother! However, this gave us time to have a fairly decent meal in the main restaurant at about 8:00 p.m. Also delayed was a large group of young teenagers, almost all of whom wore identical light blue tee-shirts with “Faith Moves Mountains” on the front and an outline of Africa with all their names in it on the back. We never did find out which mountain they moved—Meru, Kilimanjaro..?
Finally, at a few minuted before midnight, we were boarded. Since the plane that was eventually sent to Kilimanjaro was a 747, there were about 180 empty seats on it. After our stop in Dar es Salaam—where we were not allowed to deplane—to pick up the passengers there, we could all move about and find plenty of space. John and I ended up with a complete middle row, which allowed us to lie down to sleep for some of the night.
The flight to Amsterdam took 8 and a half hours, so our connection was super tight. because I can ride on the handicap shuttle cart, I thought I would be taken very quickly to our gate. John and MaryLou took off quickly, too. They made it to the new gate with time to spare, but I made it just when the gate was going to close because my handler, Fiona, kept changing her plans and our vehicle. I had no idea what she was trying to accomplish, and she certainly seemed to be the most befuddled airport helper I have ever had. John was waiting at the gate for me, and we were last on the plane for Seattle.
The Amsterdam to Seattle flight takes over 9 hours, during some of which I slept. I also watched the movies “Green Card” and “The Favorite.” I drank a lot of white wine and did my best to stay sane. My handler in SeaTac, Meron from Ethiopia, was super, and the whole re-entry/security checking went very smoothly. Then, we had a couple of hours before out final flight to Spokane, so we got salads at MacDonalds’s for lunch.
The short fight to Spokane was anti-climactic, as it always is. Soon, we were grounded again in Spokane, and Terry Mitchell, who picked us up, came in her cute red SUV to pack us home. After a quick stop at a grocery store for eggs, milk, bread, and cereal, we sped across 5-Mile Prairie and down out little dirt road, and there was our house, looking as solid as always. We did do some packing before we ate some frozen lasagna John heated up. Then we went to bed and, in spite of the drastic flip-over time change, slept quite well until the next morning, Wednesday, which would be a day dedicated to lots of laundry.
Miscellaneous photos:
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| Enjoying our meal of roasted goat from Mama Kundayo |
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| Getting my head wrapped at the Albino Peacemakers |
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| MaryLou and I in our shukas with Arafa |
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| Me in my new chef hat |
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| Mary Bura and I at ACC |
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