On Our Way

We used frequent flyer miles to get to Tanzania, which meant several layovers.  We had fears of missing connections, meaning we chose LOOONNNGG layovers.  First it was a 12 hour flight to Frankfurt, with a 7 hour layover, and then 8 hours to Addis Ababa, with a 3.5 hour layover in Ethopia, and then a final 2.5 hours to Kilimanjaro Airport. It was as exhausting as it sounds.  

Our first round of waiting in airports, SFO.

Frankfurt airport is a labyrinth.  We had heard that you need at least 2 hours to make a connecting flight.  It’s true (good thing we had 7 hours to burn).  The highlight was the coffee. Would

Addis Ababa was an adventure for those used to airports in the west.  First, we arrived and stuffed on to a bus (‘stuffed’ is intentional and accurate).  We then entered a holding area with a single guy directing traffic based on connecting flight destinations (if you were lucky enough to see him and know this was his role).  This sounds much more orderly than it really was.  Bus after bus kept arriving to deposit passengers and eventually the waiting area was packed full, only to then would we be loaded on to another bus to drive 100 yards (yes, it would have been MUCH faster to walk).  The boarding process was similar, with more stuffing-- narrow staircases and crammed buses. 

That said, it was amazing people watching.  You see good diversity in most international airports, but in Addis Ababa it was the diversity of the African continent that was represented with a smattering of western interlopers.