"FLY DAY,...With a 'Toilet Tsunami' en Route!!"....."

Sept. 5, 2012: Wednesday: "Going Home to Texas, by way of Rwanda, Uganda, Amsterdam, Detroit, to DFW"

     Awoke pretty excited,..with a mix of nostalgia & sadness that I was leaving the Congo!  Tom & I would have to leave the apt. for the Congo border with Rwanda at about Noon.   My series of flights to Texas would  take the better part of 24 hours,...& lose a day on the way. 

     BTW, the power came on in Bukavu from 10pm-6am!  YAY!!  Charged up 'devices',..and the apt. battery power system.  Four Balega came to see me & wish me safe travels.  Afterwards, we ate a lunch of instant potatoes, bananas, meatballs & gravy, Grenadine drink, & pineapple.  YUMMY. 

     I forgot to say that yesterday Kathy & I went to a store downtown & I was able to buy 2 African shirts to take home with me.  We also went to a religious store to buy some souvenirs........

     Tom & I left his apt. by taxi around 12:30pm,..to go to Congo Immigration @ the border. Tom helped with Customs & Immigration, first on the Congo side, then, on the Rwanda side.  Again, I cannot TELL you how important it is to have a "protocol",-someone like Tom,-who knows the ropes and can smooth out the red tape!  Thank you Tom!!!!  Rwanda Customs wanted to look thru my backpack, so while that took place Tom got a taxi for me to use to go the 8km to Rwanda's Kamembe Airport,-my point of departure.  The taxi ride was about $5.50US-6,000 francs Rwandan money-,..driven by a man who knew passable English.  When I got to Kamembe, I had to wait until 1:30pm,-sitting outside on the steps of the "building",- for the Security & check in to open.  Here in Africa, one cannot enter those areas at all until 2 hours before flight time. 

     My Rwandair 3:30pm flight to Kigali, Rwanda, arrived at about 3:25pm. Oh,.we would be late leaving,...
T I A !!!.  There were 28 passengers on a 37 seat Dash 8,..mostly Africans.  In fact, this time there were only 4 of us Caucasians.  We finally took off about 4pm,..-30 min. late.  Flight to Kigali, Rwanda was uneventful, but very rough.  At Kigali International Airport,.-in the capital of Rwanda,-I had about a 3.5 hr wait.  At the 2 hour advance checkin & security rule,..I gained access to my gate for KLM's flight to Entebbe, Uganda, & on to Amsterdam. 

     In Kigali, 2 interesting things happened:  1). My newly acquired Delta/KLM Medallion Frequent Flyer status got me access into the Elite Pearl Lounge for free food, drinks, rest & free WiFi.  A man came to announce each flight, so no one misses theirs!!   2).  As I used the restroom downstairs,  something CRAZY happened.  When I flushed the toilet flush button stuck somehow,..and water began to overflow out onto the floor!!!!  YIKES,.....I had to high tail it outta there, before I was 'washed' away by the toilet Tsunami'!!!!!!!  UGH.   Anyway, I got out with a sigh of relief!   From Kigali Airport I was able to get my International Phone going again,..& texted the kids in the States.  My youngest granddaughter, Reese, texted me 'good nite!' How nice!!   Michelle texted that she would meet me the next day at DFW, USA!   How nice again!!   This was the first my kids knew for sure that I was then out of the Congo,....after all those days!! 

     As I boarded KLM, I met my seatmate, a really nice middle aged man from Cologne.  This gentleman, Mr. Jorg Weyer, is a Catholic who owns a  hospital equipment company for caring for premature babies. He had just been to the far corner near Rwanda/Congo border installing incubators!!   At that particular hospital there is only electricity 4 hours a day & the water supply is 'sketchy',too,.......so his job was longer than he expected,.....Mr. Weyer was very interested in my work with orphans in Uganda & Congo,..& we enjoyed a great sharing time. 

     Our flight attendant for the 35 min. flight to Entebbe, Uganda, stayed seated most of the time so we got to chat with her.  She is a veteran with KLM, very nice lady, with two kids @ home,....& works 'part-time'.  She can name her flights & destinations pretty much after 15 years!  She goes to places like Amsterdam, Uganda, Rwanda, Accra, Dubai, Shanghai, Narita Japan,...and, only flies International routes.

     At Entebbe, we had a 1 hr. layover, which we stayed on the plane.  A whole new crew came on for the flight to Amsterdam,..scheduled for 10 hours,....Both Mr. Weyer, my seatmate, & I tried to sleep during the long trip,..but only got maybe 3 hrs. at best.  KLM feeds you what seems like "all the time",..at least every 2 hours!   Our 'dinner' was served @ 11pm!   Amsterdam was overcast,-not unusual,-when we arrived.  I said goodbye to Mr. Weyer, & went to await my next flight,..from AMS to Detroit,.....

     But,..I'm getting ahead of myself,.....that story is for tomorrow's blog,......Stay tuned,...
Rogers/Banuamazi