Into Africa - Take Three

The attendant led us out of the KLM Lounge down the glass hall to the gate. With boarding passes and passports checked and swiped one last time, we confidently entered the plane and were walking to our seats. Seats that were within our reach, when "Ladies and Gentlemen," the lead attendant said announced with determined authority, "All crew and passengers are instructed to leave the plane as quickly as possible.  Please turn around and exit through the door you entered."  She repeated it for emphasis.  This time there was strain in her voice.  We spun around and marched to the exit door.  John and I looked at our  colleague who was traveling with us to Botswana.  Our faces spoke to each other, "What the F---?"

Like kids pressing our faces to the window to see into the night, we stood in the glass hall looking out onto the plane.   It was over.  We smelled the fuel before we witnessed the expanding spill on the tarmac.  A leaky fuel tank valve, the captain told us minutes later, The flight cancelled an hour later after two promises of repair.  Betrayed again. We dragged ourselves out of the lounge area, sat a small table, put phones to ears and did it all over again.  Time was running out.  We had to get to Gaborone by Monday.

Dateline: It's 9:30PM Sunday in London where we have just taken off. We arrived about 11AM into Heathrow.  Now it's an 11 hour flight to Johannesburg, then a four hour wait to get our flight to Gabarone.  In total, I will have spent over 36 hours in same underwear and makeup by the time I arrive.  Makes you put international travel into perspective and yearn for a shower all at the same time.

Dateline:  Arrived at hotel at 3:30PM Monday.  Quick shower to revive me and I joined the last hour of the conference.  In Africa at last.