Getting there part II

We went straight to Nakumatt (Kenyan walmart) for some snacks to get us through the night in case the kids woke up at 2 AM ready to start the day. We crashed hard at the Anglican Guest house around 10pm. Thankfully, both kids slept till 10AM. I love this picture of w. sleeping under the big mosquito net with her bottom up in the air. 

The next day we went back to Nakumatt for some basic things that we can't live without (good coffee, cheese, cell phone service, internet service, local currency) and all went fairly well except we could not get money because it was still a bank holiday for New Years. We ate lunch at the Java House and got back to the hotel around 5pm. If we ran these same errands at home it probably would have taken an hour, maybe two. In Africa it took all day.

After a fairly decent night of sleep we got up, packed and headed to Wilson Airport for our charter flight to the Kenyan border. Wilson is a very small airport that services primarily missionary airplanes and tour companies. There were about 50 people there boarding different little planes when we arrived, and all but 2 appeared to be going on safari. The other 2 were peace corp volunteers headed to Marsabit, Kenya, which is very close to Gatab, where we have worked before. They are REALLY out in the bush. The amazing thing was that our government paid for them to fly to Marsabit on an enormous airplane—just the two of them. They looked like rock stars getting on that huge Cessna Caravan! We on the other hand, boarded a very shiny and new 6 seater from AIM Air, the Cessna 206.

Big T was feeling a little sick that morning and asked to ride cockpit (at least he claimed to be sick but we know he wanted to fly the plane). Imani and t. rode in the middle. w. and I rode in the back. I don't know if you have ever been on such a small plane but it is truly thrilling and exhilarating to take off in one of those. When the pilot turned on the engines and made like we were going to take off I was pretty worried because there was very little straightaway in front of us. But off we went. It felt like we were accelerating on the tarmac for 10 seconds or so and then LIFT OFF!

The one hour flight was fairly uneventful until about 10 minutes before landing. Poor t. was so excited to be on the plane but he could not see out the windows because he is so little so I felt sorry for him and gave him the ipod so he could play a puzzle game. Now I know that this was a very bad idea. It only took about 5 minutes for him to get sick and throw up on himself. The ipod was spared but he made quite a mess. And of course it's my mommy duty to clean up vomit and the like but I was strapped into my seat and holding a sleeping w. so I was useless. I handed Imani a cloth diaper and asked him to “help”. The next time t. threw up it dutifully went into the sick bag.

When we landed on the airstrip (a flat gravel lane in the middle of the bush) we were greeted unenthusiastically by some cows, goats and villagers. I guess they see this kind of thing regularly. We were picked up by a very kind City of Hope staff member and we were off to register at immigration/border patrol. Besides being quite hot and paying too much money to use a public toilet (which was a hole in the ground) it all went very smoothly and we walked across the Kenyan border into Tanzania with little fanfare. From there we rode to the City of Hope on a very rough dirt road, which has recently been beaten up quite badly by the rains.

Arriving at City of Hope was delightful. The children from the children's home were all together singing and clapping and the staff was present. We were very warmly welcomed. Little t. was kind of mobbed and looked nervous but the kids were trying to be nice and friendly. Big T. was encouraged to give a speech (make note, always be prepared to give an extemporaneous speech when visiting Africa. Some cultures really love this and will insist on it.) and I think he did a great job but he was not thrilled by it. He told the people that we are so happy to be there, that we were thankful for their invitation, and that together we would discover how to bring heath and wellness to their community. They cheered and whooped and looked very pleased.

So now we just have to figure out how to do that. Any ideas?