Planes, Trains (Boats), and Automobiles

It only took 44 hours and stops in 5 countries via 5 taxis, 3 flights, 3 cars, 1 overnight bus, and 1 ferry, but I finally made it to Egypt! What’s more, for all that this trip’s travel plan was definitely far more ambitious/complicated than any of my previous ones (to Uganda, South Africa, etc.), it went just about as smoothly as traveling around in Africa can! Things got off to an encouraging start when I caught a ride out of Kibondo Friday morning in another agency’s car (much faster/more comfortable than the bus), and then things just kept falling neatly into place. The car arrived at Kamanga with just enough time to have some tea and chapati before the next ferry left. That day’s rainstorm held off long enough for me to find the Akamba office, book my seat on Saturday’s bus to Nairobi, and settle in to a room at the guesthouse a friend had recommended (I gave it 3 out of 3 stars: 1 for being really clean and quite nice, 1 for being quite cheap, and 1 for being within walking distance of the bus stand). The bus to Kenya might have also been cheap but it certainly didn’t earn any stars for being particularly clean or comfortable (or for having a functioning heater) ... however, in addition to actually leaving Mwanza on time (i.e. only 20 minutes behind schedule) and not leaving without me while I dealt with getting a transit visa, it also made it to Nairobi without breaking down. Having arrived in Kenya 13 hours before my flight, I was then rescued from the prospect of spending a long day in the airport or trying to sightsee while carrying my baggage with me by a phone call from a Kenyan colleague (who works for another agency in Kibondo – and had flown into town for the holiday weekend). So instead of heading straight to the airport, I ended up spending the morning getting to know his wife and playing with their adorable new son – and even squeezed in a little sightseeing during the afternoon with a trip to the Nairobi Animal Orphanage. I hit the first and only (so far!) hitch of the trip while trying to check in for my flight, but since it worked itself out in time for me to catch the flight I’ve just chalked it up to being part of the unbroken streak of bad luck with booking flights that’s been plaguing me since July. The actual flight to Addis Ababa went smoothly though, as did the one to Khartoum and the one to Cairo. It was about 2am by the time we landed in Egypt, so there wasn’t much of a view to take in from the plane ... but the very first thing I saw while walking out of the airport was more than enough to make up for that: a smiling Lisa (and the two Egyptian friends she’d talked into coming to pick me up) :-D