October 30
So, our adventure started at 7:00 am as Don, Aunt Rose and I
headed to mom’s house in Ashburn to meet up with her and Debbie. We then UBER’d
to Dulles and had an easy check in with Ethiopian Airlines and headed to the
Turkish Airlines Lounge in Terminal B for some breakfast and mimosas before our
flight.
We chose Ethiopian Airlines based on recommendation from our tour agency. They have direct flights from IAD into Africa and their business class has the lay down bed figuration.
We boarded on time and we were off! 12+ hours in the sky with incredible service including Ethiopian lunch menu and then 8 hours later we were offered a 3-course breakfast prior to landing in Addis Ababa.
I think Don watched 4 full movies and I didn’t sleep at all for multiple reasons.
1.
We departed at 11:00 am Virginia time and were
landing at about midnight Virginia time. My body wasn’t very tired.
2.
And this is the big one….
#2 continued…about a month ago we registered for STEP – the travel
abroad program with the American Embassies. We registered as visiting Tanzania
and our dates of travel. We then started receiving update emails about the
presidential election happening on October 29-30 for the country of Tanzania
and how possible results could result in political unrest.
Well…we get through security at Dulles…we are in the lounge waiting to
board our flight and I get a call from the owner of the tour company we are using.
“The results were as expected, and the country is a mess!”
Lots of protesting in the capital city (11 hours from where our final stop will
be in about 30 hours), and it is spreading into neighboring cities including
Arusha where we are expected to land when we arrive in Tanzania. The incoming
president/also incumbent president shut off all communications infrastructure
for the whole country – wifi, internet, cell towers – indefinitely to prevent
further protests and destruction.
Our tour company owner asked if we wanted to move back our
trip and wait a couple days to see when things started to settle down…ummm…we
were through security; the airlines had our bags…so we moved to plan B.
Plan B: Board your plane, get to Ethiopia (safe and not
affected by the Tanzanian elections) and we will then see what your next steps
will be.
Oh, and the airports in Tanzania were currently closed and
they didn’t know when they would open again. The president also imposed a
6:00 pm curfew country wide.
It was definitely not part of our Africa bucket list to enter
into an area of political unrest AND then go on safari.
I spent the better part of our 12-hour flight on the free
wifi researching what was happening on the ground in Arusha, scouring Reddit
for first hand reports to see what the REAL story was and figuring how to share
this info with 3 80ish women and our families back home. I was also texting
with our tour company as they were trying to reach out to their people on the
ground in Africa for live updates. We were just hopping our families weren’t
seeing this information as it turns out it was a bit exaggerated (though I did
find CNN, AP and Reuters articles while on the plane).
October 31
So, the saga continues…we land on time in Addis Ababa and
have an 8 ½ hour layover before our scheduled flight into Tanzania and still no
firm decisions as to:
-
If the airport is open
-
If we can travel to our first stop after the curfew
(we were scheduled to land at 6:15 pm)
-
Is it still dangerous with protestors and closed
roads?
-
Will the tour company be able to still pick us
up?
-
Should we go or stay the night in Addis Ababa?
There were no new updates. Our flight was still scheduled.
The airport was supposedly open.
Don reached back out to our tour operators when we landed
about the curfew and safety. The response was that Safari companies are being
allowed to pick up and transport customers to their locations after arrival,
and will be escorted by police and the Tanzanian military if necessary, so that
they can travel throughout Arusha during the curfew hours and still no internet
or Wi-Fi throughout the country.
Due to our extended layover, the airlines offered us a day room at the in-airport hotel with food vouchers at no charge. We took advantage of that and it worked out very well. Don and I got a few hours sleep, were able to shower and freshen up and we met to make the final decision if we were getting on our flight or staying the night at the airport.
Safety was the primary concern. It looked like the airport
was open and our flight was going.
We made a group decision to do it! The words of reassurance
from our tour company was a deciding factor. We were interested in what this “escort”
might look like.
And the Amazing Race – RetiredRahns version begins…step by
step to get from Addis Ababa to Arusha and some of the amazing people (and their
stories) as we ventured out…
1.
We meet at 1:15 pm and headed to the business
class lounge before our flight. The lounge was right across from our “gate.”
2.
The walk to the lounge included 2 very long
escalators (or an elevator) and a very long walk through the airport to gate
A12 and the lounge at A13.
3.
Enjoyed an Ethiopian inspired buffet in the
lounge.
4.
Ask the receptionist at the lounge…what time
will they board at A12?
5.
Her response, they only use that gate in the morning,
your flight will board at “gate” B2.
6.
Gate B2 was very close to our airport hotel,
that LONG walk ago!
7.
We slowly head back to gate B2 and wait.
8.
It reminded me of a train station – the B
terminal – one big flight board and a huge waiting room. You see that your
flight number changes status and you watch for boarding and then go to the gate
door to board.
9.
After about 45 minutes, I wander over to the
flight board and it says BOARDING. I look at our flight door and there is no
one there.
10. I
wait.
11. I
go back to check the board and it says, LAST CALL.
12. I
wander to the gate door and meet two men from the Netherlands that are waiting.
They inform me that nothing is happening and the gate agent agent told them
that the flight is delayed. That was not announced to anyone.
13. I
then looked at the airline site and it did say delayed by 2 hours. ☹
14. We
sat and waited…
15. Then
the two men (our new friends), came over and said that our gate changed!
16. It
was official and we were moving BACK up the 2 escalators and down the LONG hallway
where we were 2 hours ago! Remember we are a group of 5 including 3 80ish women
with knee issues!! (funny, not funny)
17. We
SLOWLY make our way back to gate A15, right next to A13…and the gate boarding
sign says Tel Aviv. We were assured that our plane was at that gate and we
weren’t heading to Tel Aviv.
8. While waiting to board, and hoping they don’t change our gate again, I had a conversation with a young couple from Italy that were part of a tour group traveling to Tanzania. Their flights were cancelled, delayed and finally they were boarding. Well, the whole group made it on their plane EXCEPT for this young couple who had no idea what waited for them in Arusha, and if their tour group would even be there waiting for them.
19. We
board and are on our way into the unknown of our first political unrest country
and hoping that our tour company was correct and we would be safe.
20. The
flight was wonderful, even when delayed by 2 hours. We had a good meal and
watched a movie. The flight was over in 2 hours.
We land!
We land at Kilimanjaro National Airport and I remind everyone to keep your head down, stay together and don’t try to make friends. It was definitely a don’t speak unless spoken to situation. No pictures inside of the airport, we just wanted to find our driver and be on our way to our first stop!
We land at about 8:00 pm and enter into the small airport. As
we enter, I notice two HUGE crowds of people in the airport waiting to board
outgoing flights. I was nervous that they might be trying to get away from
something (spoiler: all turned out well)
Our first stop was a Yellow Fever vaccine card check.
Because we were coming in from Ethiopia which has Yellow Fever and requires a
vaccination to be there, everyone on the plane had to be checked. We made it
through when they saw my card – vaccine noted- they saw Don’s card – vaccine noted
and asked how long we were in Ethiopia. I said that we never left the airport,
about 10 hours. They let the other 3 ladies go without checking. Good because
mom and Aunt Rose had a Yellow Fever waiver and didn’t get the vaccine. That
could have become a conversation if they had to check their card.
Next stop, passport and visa check – Customs. We came out 5
for 5 on that and we were on our way to pick up our luggage.
Luggage success!
Now through the security check for luggage. Success!
Now it was time to exit the airport and we had no idea what
to expect.
We stayed together and exited and our driver from Roane
Travel, Francis, was right there waiting for us with a sign – L Rahn party of 5
– Roane Travel
I was never so happy to see anyone! We loaded all of our
bags into his safari jeep and got in. We were on our way.
He wanted to make sure that we were aware of what was happening
in his country right now and that we should have no issues on our drive to
Siringit Villa.
After a very bumpy ride on paved roads, dirt roads and
through the African dark, we arrived about 45 minutes later.
We were booked for 2 nights at Siringit Villa outside of
Arusha to “get our sea legs” before beginning our Safari adventure. They were
waiting for us and we had an incredible dinner at about 9:30 pm.
We checked out our room and Then enjoyed our wonderful dinner!
Siringit Villa is just that, a villa. It has 6 beautiful rooms with attached bathrooms and a huge living space and eating area. It also has beautiful outside eating and relaxing areas and a pool. It was the perfect place to regroup, refresh and recharge from our 30 hour adventure from Dulles to Arusha.
After dinner, bed was calling and we all said good night. I
was so happy that the tour company was now in charge and we made it to our
first stop without any crazy events. There were crazy events, just not directed
at us.
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