Remember how we told Job that the car needed to leave the Guest House by 6:45? Well, it showed up at 7pm. Then we needed to find a way to transport the luggage, because there wasn't enough room. By the time we got loaded, and had another car coming to get the luggage (Job waited with the bags), we left the Guest House at 7:15... our flight leaves at 7:50. Our driver Moses (yes, Moses) was very entertained by us. He asked where we were going and volunteered that he had driven to Keekorok many times and, "the next time you need to go there, I will drive you and save you money." We'll get to that later.
By the time we got to the airport, and our bags arrived, the plane had already left. We were all sitting in front of the counter as our bags came through. We double checked the count and I proceeded to the counter. We still had some time before the plane was scheduled to leave, but when I got to the counter, the woman took the tickets and said, "It has left." "Why didn't you tell us it was leaving early? You saw us all standing over there?" She simply repeated, "It has left," and handed me back the documentation. If you couldn't already tell, they're a little weak in the customer service department. She wasn't remotely helpful in finding us an alternate flight either. Her facial expression continued to be completely apathetic as I left the counter.
The hits kept coming.
There was only one other flight that was leaving in the morning. All the other flights out didn't leave until that evening. I went to the Kenya Airways counter to find out that they had room on the plane for 9 passengers. There were 13 of us. I called to Ann to fill her in on the situation. She, very wisely, suggested that she, Katie, DJ and Holly drive to Masai Mara, since the four of them had already been there. It sounded like a great plan (Holly and DJ agreed), so we had Job call Moses to come back. He would bring the other 4 and drive the 5 hours it would take to get to Masai Mara. We wouldn't be landing on the Mara until 1:30, so they would be 30 minutes behind us. Or so we thought. As we waited for our departing flight from Kisumu, I got a call from Ann - she was incredibly upset. Tears rolled down her face as she explained that she didn't think about Holly and DJ driving with her through Kenya. Nancy (and most likely David) were very nervous about them driving because of Jim's accident. She felt responsible for the stress that Nancy was now under. I tried to reassure her that the decision was made for all the right reasons. This was a different route from Jim's and it's during the day as opposed to traveling in the dark of night. It did little to calm her nerves. I spoke with Nancy and David, and they understood the reasoning behind the 4 selected to travel by car, and told us not to worry about it. I reassured them that they'd be fine. Andrea was still angry with herself for not considering Jim's accident when selecting travelers to accompany her. When we were talking about it at the Kisumu airport, I didn't consider it, either. We would later find out that Nancy and her family thought Andrea was crying because she was leaving me. As flattering as that may be, the reality is she was saddened by the stress that she put Nancy under, not that we would be separated for the next 5 (or 10) hours.
We landed in Nairobi and were picked up by our friends from Gracepatt Ecotours. Patrick helped us load our bags into the bus before the 20 minute drive to Wilson regional airport where are charter was. We checked in, left additional luggage in lock-up and were off. We landed on time at 1:30pm, and Isaac and his friend Dennis were there waiting for us. I explained the whereabouts of the other travelers, and called to see how they were progressing. They said they were still 3 hours away!
Three hours later, they said the same thing. We didn't actually meet up with them until 8:30 at night. Isaac and I went to pick them up at Keekorok Lodge. Here's what we learned.
Before they even began their trip, Moses first had to replace two tires and fix the spare. They then went to his home so he could say goodbye to his family. Not, "See you later." Not, "I'll talk to you tonight." Rather, "Goodbye." That was not encouraging to the passengers. It got better, or worse, depending on your perspective. Understand, though, that as I was hearing the story of their journey, they were laughing (perhaps to keep from crying).
During the trip, the fan belt broke. I don't know how, but they got a replacement. Then they lost the bumper (which was placed inside the van with the passengers). It was too big, though, so part of it hung outside the window. Next, the muffler was beginning to fall off. Although Andrea volunteered her headphone wires to help tie it back up, they decided that DJ's belt would make a more reliable fix. Well, it lasted for a little while before falling off, too.
You probably think that this was the worst of it. It wasn't. I will preface this next part by saying that the Tanzanians do not really get along with the Kenyans. They each have their own views of each other, neither of which are ever favorable. Now back to the story. As they were driving, apparently lost, Moses said, "Look, the Tanzania border sign. Want to get out and take a picture?" "No," explained Job, "We need to get out of here fast." You see, while the border sign would have made a nice picture, they were on the wrong side of it! God knows how long they'd been traveling in Tanzania, but everyone was thankful that they weren't stopped. Did I mention that Andrea didn't have her passport? Yes, she was the only one, but I think it would have been worse for Job and Moses.
(Insert your own Old Testament joke here)
Andrea insisted that Job and Moses begin their journey back to Kisumu immediately rather than waiting for us to come get them. We knew this because Isaac and I passed them on the way to the lodge. They were still lost. We would later learn that they spent the night in the van in Narok because there were no rooms available anywhere. By the time Isaac and I found them, they were retelling the story over and over again. That process continued as we traveled with them back to Entumoto. They kept adding pieces (relying heavily on poetic license) to make the story even more interesting than it already was. DJ was planning on telling stories to women back in Rochester as to why his belt smelled of Kenya and motor oil. Job became a Tanzanian refugee whom the other 4 refused to allow to fall back into the hands of his captors... and so on and so on. It was very late by the time we arrived at Entumoto. Everyone ate and retold their individual stories during dinner. Everyone was near tears with laughter. Now exhausted, everyone retired to their "tents" to sleep. Here are some pictures of the accommodations.
Although it pains me to do so, here are the pictures that Ann took while traveling from Kisumu to Masai Mara.
At one point, while refueling, Andrea looked out the window to see a man next to the van lowering a bucket into the underground fuel tank, hoisting the bucket back out and dumping the diesel into another basin for transport. Nobody light a match... or talk on a cell phone.
If it makes anyone feel any better, the spider on the left was on the wall of our tent... every day.
When we woke, there was no hot water... then there was no water. We cleaned up as best we could using the bottled water that was in the rooms when we arrived. Katie showered the night before, so 1 of 4 of us was clean. Andrea, who had been driving for 12 hours through the rift valley the day before, was incredibly agreeable after she realized she wasn't going to be able to stand under hot water. The staff explained that there was air in the lines, but it would be fixed by the time we got back. Everyone crossed their fingers. Karibu Kenya. Nothing is guaranteed. Nothing... except maybe the heat.
No comments:
Post a Comment