I was in luck and Cathy, Sian, Karl, Ian and Suzanne hadn’t
had breakfast yet, after we all did some small house keeping so we walked to a
place where Ian and Suzanne had eaten breakfast yesterday. It was a very western place and had just
about everything you could dream of on the menu. I figured that I would most likely not get
any food at the airport and I wouldn’t be fed on the plane until at least 6pm,
at 9.45am in the morning I ordered a Royal Burger and a coke for my ‘brunch’ to
get me through until dinner and it came with a side of the best wedges I have
eaten in a long time! It’s always midday
in the world for an alcoholic drink and I figured the same rule applies for
burgers and coke as well. It was
delicious and after settling the bill I walked back to the hotel with Karl as
the other went off to spend their last hours seeing more of the city, so my
goodbyes were said to Ian and Suzanne and the girls said that they would see me
off at 1pm. It was a Sunday today and
the city was like a ghost town, hardly any traffic, 99% of the shops were
closed, which was a blessing as I went straight back to my room to pack what
seemed like a lot of things to fit into 2 bags.
It took me one hour and 45 minutes, and both of my bags were at bursting
point. I wasn’t worried about my
backpack, as it has been this chocked before, but the cheap 2 buck bag (the
stripy ones) was at maximum and I was just hoping that there is a plastic wrap
service at the airport as I know for a fact the bag would not survive intact
unless it was wrapped. I had 20 minutes
to shower, Helen knocked on the door to say goodbye and when I stumbled out of
the lift at 1pm Cathy and Sian were there with tears in their eyes (well
pretending anyway) as they helped me with my 2 checked bags, I had my day
backpack and my handbag. I may have
arrived in Ghana and started my trip with 17kg but I am pretty sure I have over
40kg for my return and all of that is the material that I have bought, oh and
maybe the 8 masks and a few other ‘things’.
While I was on the Kenyan Airways web site reconfirming my flights I
also reconfirmed my baggage allowance and it was still 2 pieces so I had
nothing to worry about. I settled my
bill and with a number swap and a final wave to the girls I was in the cab
ready to leave.
As the price had changed with the guy from yesterday I
wanted to reconfirm the price before we drove off, so with his broken English and
my nonexistent French we agreed on the 7,000CFA but then he was trying to
charge an additional 3000CFA for my bags in the boot, which he did not help
carry or pack. I said no, I wasn’t paying
that and he reiterated the price and I said no and got to get out of the car
and I would get another taxi. He stopped
me as I got out and agreed and when they do agree you have to ask on what
price, as it is a catch that they try and get you on. So after a rocky start and the final agreement
on 7000CFA we were on the road to the airport.
There was hardly any traffic on the roads and with a broken conversation
of taxi man asking if I liked Senegal and I lied and said yes, I was at the
airport at 1.35pm. When we pulled up
there were a lot of men standing around which was a little daunting along with
some baggage cart people and I hate when you get out of a car they all stare,
but I walked with confidence to get a trolley from the ramp (they are free) and
walked back and loaded the bags and I paid my taxi guy and gave him an extra
500CFA to say thanks and I am glad he didn’t try and hit me up for more money
after we had arrived, he may have been scared of my angry face back at the
hotel. I just hate getting ripped off
and when I knew I was already paying 2000 more than the normal price, to hit me
up again was a little rich in my books.
At least he was smart enough to not push me.
I was directed to the side of the building where the
entrance was located and after passing some security at the sliding doors that didn’t
look twice at ID or my bags I was in the main hall and immediately a guy came
over to me asking if I wanted my bags wrapped, well actually I do. So he took the trolley and we walked to the
plastic wrap section and I told him I just needed the one bag done as he pulled
off my backpack, I was about to tell him that I didn’t need that one wrapped
when I saw he was just weighing the bags for me so I could see how heavy they
were. My backpack was 20.5kg and the souvenir
bag was 23.5kg. He said I was 4 kg over,
but knowing I was on a piece system I knew I could get around the weight and if
I had to pay 4kg, then so be it. So I
was wrapped, packed and after I paid the 1500CFA (3AUD) I then made my way to
the TV screen to see what counters where I could check-in. I could see my flight, but no counter number
and my bag guy came over and asked who I was flying and said that the counters wouldn’t
open for another 20 minutes (3 hours prior) until 2pm and it was counters
26-29. So I took a seat and 10 minutes
later he came over and handed me the departure card that had to be filled
in. He was so helpful that I dished out
the rest of my remaining coins that I had in my purse and as he walked past
again with another trolley I tipped him for all the help that he had given me. I observed the airport as it started to get
busy and I tell you the plastic wrap business was in a flurry of activity. I think if you had a plastic wrap business
anywhere in Africa it would be a money maker with everyone so paranoid that
things get stolen out of people’s bags.
They were wrapping like the elves at Santa’s house Christmas Eve!!!!!
The counter for my flight opened at 2.15pm and my ticket was
checked by a staff member to get through to a small mobile counter where my
passport and ticket were checked and written on a form and then I was at the
ticket counter. I got a cow of a
check-in chick, she didn’t smile, she slapped my passport on the counter and when
I popped my first bag on the scales she told me to take a step back, nastily,
and I knew that I was going to have a problem with weight on the bags. The first bag moved on the belt and the
second I put on the second bag she said immediately that I have excess
baggage. At this point I just thought that
the second bag was over in weight, but then she said it was 17kg over. I then realized she was assuming that I was
only allowed one piece at 30kg, so I knew I was going to be okay on weight as I
knew what the bags were; it was the 2 pieces that was the issue. So I pointed to my ticket, where it clearly
states 2 pieces and she checked with a colleague, told me again that I had
excess to which I said I was not going to pay because I was allowed to have 2
pieces. A supervisor was called over and
I thought now here comes some-one who will see sense and after looking at the
screen and speaking French she also reiterated that I had to pay excess
baggage. I said my ticket says I can
have 2 pieces and I was told that that particular rule does not apply in
Senegal. Well listen here sister, my
ticket says 2 pieces and I will check in 2 pieces without paying. I explained I have already travelled on the
ticket from London to Nairobi and Nairobi to Ghana and I had no issues with 2
pieces and I asked to see a higher superior as I was NOT going to pay a
cent. She said that was fine and after
some more chit chat with the check-in lady, 5 minutes later I was given my
boarding pass and 2 baggage tags, with no explanation, no ‘have a good flight’
and I just hoped that both of my bags make it to Nairobi. I did have the 2 baggage tags and I can only
put the incident down to them trying to get some money out of me. Well they barked up the wrong tree there with
taxi man warming me up this morning and I was NOT going to pay for 17kg of
excess baggage when I was entitled to 2 pieces.
I had just left the counter when Suzanne and Ian arrived
and 10 minutes later so did Karl and Lord Byron. It was a little funny that I had left so
early to only have to wait and I just checked in the same time as they
arrived. I really could have got a lift
with one of them. Thankfully the taxi
was only 14AUD, if it had of been more then I probably would have tried to
organize it all a little better. I was
glad to have some company after the confrontation with the check-in staff and
they could see that I knew people and that just made me feel better for some
reason even though the 4 of them were all flying Emirates and not Kenyan. We asked the information desk if there was a
money changer after immigration and was told no, so with a little bit of money
left over and not knowing if it was worth anything when I left Senegal, I
decided to just change it all now and if I needed cash at the shops then I
would use USD and I had some Patrick EUR also left. The check-in counters for the other guys was
not due to open for another hour, so I told them that I would see them on the
other side and I proceeded my way through immigration, which only had 3 people
in line, and security and then I was air side.
Dakar’s international airport is called Léopold Sédar Senghor
International Airport (what a mouthful) and has quite a few duty free shops,
the old fashioned kind selling souvenirs and a few that sold perfume and
alcohol. I was able to buy a few more
small gifts for the house mothers, I got my hat pin, a sticker, a magnet and a
necklace that seemed quite cheap and it all came to 10EUR which I was able to
pay with a 20 note and given change. I
found this small shop tucked away at the back that wasn’t staffed and the guy
in the next shop called the lady and she came back with food on a plate and I
asked her how much the children’s dresses were as they were made out of the beautiful
West African material. She told me
11,000 (22AUD) which I was happy to pay, even though a little risky as the
girls are getting older now and I don’t want to be the Godmother that starts
buying clothes that they don’t like. But
I thought they were cool and the styles were what they wear so I was going to
take the plunge. I also found a beautiful
leather jewelry box and when I finished looking, I had to go to another shop to
use their EFTpos and when I reconfirmed the cost before I left, the dresses
jumped up to 18,000 each (36AUD) and on the chance that the girls would not
like them for a 40AUD dress each, I put them back reluctantly and just got the jewelry
box. I want to get my Christmas presents
from Kenya this year and have a few ideas in mind, so I will get cracking on my
Christmas shopping during the week with a visit to the Masai market on Friday. I wonder if my Masai friends that I made at
the start of the year are still around.
So after my shop fest I found a seat and found a free
Wi-Fi connection and had been on it for long enough to check-on and Suzanne and
Ian found me and Karl and Lord Byron not far behind. We had a great view of my plane and the African
Renaissance Monument behind it. It is a
49m tall bronze statue
located on top of one of the twin hills known as Collines des Mamelles, outside of Dakar and built
overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
The site preparation on top of the 100-meter high hill began in 2006,
and construction of the bronze statue began 3 April 2008. Originally scheduled for completion in
December 2009, delays stretched into early 2010, and the formal dedication
occurred on 4 April 2010, Senegal's "National Day", commemorating the
50th anniversary of the country's independence from France. It is the tallest statue in Africa and it looked
massive from where I was sitting. So we
sat and chatted until my flight was finally called at 4.30pm and with hugs
again from everyone and promises to keep in touch I joined the end of the queue
to be processed onto the waiting bus. I
was actually scanned by sour check-in lady which didn’t faze me when I took one
last look over my shoulder, it was really sweet to see my friends smiling and
waving back as I stepped onto the bus. I
can’t remember the last time I had some-one say goodbye to me at a gate. Has it ever happened? I’m going to miss those guys. So we waited for the bus to fill and then we
were driven the 500m to the plane. There
must have been someone important arriving or departing as there was a lot of
security, they looked like Army, with weapons drawn and placed every 100m
around the run way. It is always a
little daunting when you see security that tight and hope that it was for some-one
important and not just the normal security detail of the airport as that would
be alarming if that was the case!!!!!It was a front and rear load and where the
bus had pulled up I was at the front stairs and with my seat number being 20, I
didn’t think it would matter what stairs I boarded on. Well we were all told to make a single line
before a single person could get a foot on a step and when it came to me I was
told I had to use the back stairs….. really…….
But looking over my shoulder it seemed only the business class people
were getting on via the front stairs.
Well I guess that is okay. I had
my wonderful window and because the camera I normally use when I fly was stolen
out of my bag in Freetown I had a brain wave and pulled out my Bloggie, which
is primarily used for videoing, it also has a photo option and made a perfect
stand-in without me having to bring out my big camera to snap my window and
flying shots. We were flying on a
737-700 with a 3x3 configuration and there were no in-seat TV’s, which being a
night flight I was okay with that and even happier when they closed the doors
and it was not a full flight and we had a middle seat spare! It was a tentative happiness as the flight
travels via Bamako in Mali and we could in fact pick up more people and have a
full flight from there, which would be unlucky as the flight from Bamako to
Nairobi was the longest section of the flights.
We departed on time and had a grand view of the city and
the bay where it is located before heading into the clouds for the 1 hour and
30 minute flight. We were served a hot
meal (which they called a snack); a drink and I watched the last few episodes
of Candid Camera on the overhead TV screens before we started our decent into
Mali. As the stop was to only take 40
minutes, the people who were continuing onto Nairobi were asked to stay on the
flight for the stop. I like this idea and
when we had landed more than half of the plane got off, so I was hoping that we
wouldn’t be picking up too many new people and I could still have the spare
seat for the remaining 6.5 hours of fly time.
The stop took longer and after 55 minutes and the doors had closed I had
the whole row to myself and at 7.55pm we were back in the air for the final
push home. It was dark by the time we
were back in the air and after dinner service, with another hot meal was served
and drinks given freely, the lights went off and the plane went to bed. I pulled out my laptop and pumped out some
more blog to try and make up some days when I saw some flashes out of the
corner of my eye. Normally I would think
it was just the plane’s wings lights flashing at night, but I kept seeing them
out of the corner of my eye, so I shut down my laptop and I then saw a lightning
storm flicking like a light that would have been 1km away. Every 3 seconds some bolts would flash from
the dark clouds and it was quite spectacular to watch until we passed the storm
and I couldn’t see it any more. I have
never seen anything like it in all my travel experience and it was quite a
show!
I was hoping that we would come into Nairobi as the sun
rose over Mt Kenya, which I have seen on previous morning arrivals, but we were
a little early for that and we were tyres down at 5.30am, exactly on time. There was a bus waiting to take us to the
arrivals hall, which I have not seen the new area since the fire ripped through
the old arrivals terminal in July this year. What they have done is used what
was a car park and turned the ground floor into the new arrivals hall. It is all painted, fresh signs, new toilets
and a well-organized and maintained arrival machine! It certainly surpassed the old arrivals hall
and this is a perfect example that something good did come out of what was a
terrible accident. I had been given the
arrival card and visa application on the flight so I could bypass the counters
of where there were people furiously filling in forms and I breezed through,
paid my 40EUR for my 90 day tourist visa for what I hoped was the last time and
I was straight out into the new spanking new baggage collection area where
there were new trollies waiting with new TV’s telling you what carousel to wait
at. I was to head to carousel 3 and I waited and waited, some people that weren’t
on my flight turned up, but there were 3 flight numbers on my belt, so I didn’t
think my of it and then the Kenyan Rugby team turned up which kept me occupied
for a while and then I saw my bag circling around on carousel 1…….. and there weren’t many bags left, so it had
more than likely been circling for a while and I am happy to report that BOTH
bags made it!!! So with my trolley
packed I followed the signs to the exit, got pulled up my customs asking what I
had in my bags and I replied clothes, knowing if they opened the bags and all
the material bulged out I may have been up for some duty, but after a quick
talk with a colleague I was s=waved through and into the throng of people all
holding signs with names. I was about to
pull out my phone to call Steve when I saw him waving with his contagious smile
and I knew that I was home.
I AM BACK NAIROBI-AND IT FEELS GREAT TO BE HOME.
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