International travel… an exciting journey to an exotic
location. Or at least that's what one may think when they hear those words. The
reality of the situation is another story entirely.
On the way to the states, I was originally planning on
traveling to Maputo, from Quelimane on the 8th of December. . .after
arriving at the airport at noon, anticipating a flight at 1pm, I discovered it
had been delayed until 5pm. . .no issue, I had a good book with me, my phone,
and there is a café at the airport. So I settled in with my book, and a beer to
pass the time. 4pm rolls around and I’m informed that the flight was pushed
back to 9pm…. No point in going anywhere at this point, so I ordered myself
some food, and went back to my book. Check-in at 8pm finds me at the counter,
only to discover that my ticket, had not actually been purchased. DEEP SIGH.
So. I went back to my locked up apartment, where the energy and water had been
shut off for my trip home. . . and just laid in my bed.
Tuesday the 9th, I made my flight – barely –
because the airplane actually arrived an hour early. . . but all is good. I
made the flight, arrived in Maputo, and then went to the house of an ex-pat who
was willing to host a PCV. We had a lovely dinner together, and I went to bed
early, all prepped for my flight to the states the next day.
But of course, it wasn't that simple. . the next morning I
awoke, showered and went out to the craft market to look at some potential
gifts for friends/family. I returned to the house (mind you this is a beautiful
house in the nice part of Maputo) to find that the guest bedroom was completely
FLOODED. Apparently the shower faucet had detached from the wall, and flooded
the bathroom and then the room. All was ship-shape before I left for the craft
market, so I really don't know if it was something I did, or if it was just a
freak accident after use of the shower. . .either way. . this is why I can have nice things.
The flights to Pittsburgh were uneventful, some delays
getting into Atlanta that made me miss my first connecting flight, but
thankfully there was one that I could easily board right after getting through
customs. All was well. I landed safely and was greeted by one of my best
college friends. Couldn't have asked for a better homecoming.
The trip back . . . buckle up kids. This is a good one.
I left Pittsburgh on a day where it was 1 degree, bundled
up, arriving at the airport. . . checked in, and checked my bag through to
Maputo no issue (however they couldn't print out my boarding pass from Johannesburg
to Maputo … not sure why) and made it through security no issue. Arrived in
Atlanta to find that my flight had been delayed an hour or so, no issue, I got
a smoothie and settled in with my book.
The flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg was uneventful,
people beside me on each international flight were not interesting at all (such
a shame, I love to chat), and I arrived in Joberg with about 30 minutes to make
my connecting flight to Maputo. This is where shit hit the fan.
My bag was checked through to Maputo. But I didn't have a
boarding pass …. And the desk in front of security was already closed for the
evening. Fortunately a nice woman at South African Airlines took pity on me,
and booked me for a flight an hour later. UNfortunately that meant I had to go
through customs, collect my bag, pay the penalty fee for my ticket change, and
get back through customs, check my bag, and get through security. . . .in one
hour?? Ya ok.
Standing in line at customs, I watched the hands on my watch
pass the hour mark. . .and then keep going. Finally making it through, I went
to baggage claim. . of course my bag wasn't there. So I filed a claim, and went
to the ticket sales counter. Paid my penalty fee for a flight the next morning,
and tried to print out a boarding pass so I could get back through customs, and
sleep in a safer part of the airport. . . no dice. That's when it all started
hitting me. My bag was lost, I was stranded in a very unsafe airport/city, and
had no means of communication with anyone.
I allowed myself to have a quick mini-meltdown in the
bathroom… collected myself, and went back to the Delta desk to figure out a
game plan. I found a cheaper guest house, that offered free transport to and
from the airport, and checked myself in for the night. A hot shower, and a
comfortable bed later, I was feeling a bit better. I was jet lagged and
stressed, so sleep did not find me. . . but it was infinitely better than
sitting alone in an unsafe airport at the check-in desk.
My flight to Maputo was ok, still didn't know where my bag
was at that point, but Peace Corps granted me an evening in the capital city
until my bag was found. Later the afternoon on Monday it arrived on a flight
from Johannesburg. . . thankfully it had not been tampered with, and I was able
to check in for my morning flight on Tuesday to Quelimane. That flight was only
delayed two hours, which is a new record for shortest time spent in the
airport. Arrived in Quelimane no issue. And have been settling back into my
home here, getting things organized, sweeping up the dead cockroaches, getting
the musty smell out of things, cleaning up the water that leaked into my house.
Etc.
Unfortunately the northern part of Mozambique is totally
disjointed right now, due to HEAVY rains. Roads are flooded out, bridges washed
away etc. Some people have been trying to cross via ferry/canoe’s but those are
capsizing. . . many volunteers were mid-return travel back to their sites after
the holidays and have found themselves stranded at other sites. I have a
volunteer with me right now, who can’t return to site until Peace Corps says
so, because the road to his site is completely flooded out.
Every town north of me is without power or running water, so
I am incredibly thankful/counting the minutes until it cuts out here.
Quelimane is flooded in some places, and I find that I have
to wade around town, picking new routes to get to the places I need to. I’m heading back to work on Monday, so
just using these few days to settle back in, and get my house in order.
-tchau kiddos
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