I haven't talked with a lot of people, but the tragedy in Boston does not seem to show up on many people's radar probably because it is so far away. I have seen a few snipits from news programs which certainly includes it, but I feel kind of isolated. Patty and I talk about it with one another and are praying for those who have lost loved ones and those injured, but it's hard being so far away when something like this happens. I want to be home, which brings me to the subject of this blog.
We had a long and good day on Tuesday. Our day started in earnest at devotions at 8:00 am and finished when we arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport at 5:00 pm. Our flight took off at 7:30 pm and we landed in Nairobi an hour later. We immediately got in line to process through security for our KLM flight to Amsterdam. We're flying in a 747 and it was packed. We left about an hour late because (if understood the explanation) they were held up in bad traffic congestion trying to get to the airport. The flight was supposed to leave at 10:25 pm and I think we took off around 11:55 pm. About 1/2 hour into the flight the captain came on the public address system and told us that the wing flaps were not operating and we would have to return to Nairobi. Before we could do that we had to dump a lot of fuel because it was too heavy too land. We arrived back at the airport around 12:30 a.m. The captain was good about keeping us informed. He told us that someone from maintenance would check it out to see if it could be repaired in a timely manner. I estimate that we spent an additional half hour on the plane. He finally said that it couldn't be repaired in time so they cancelled the flight.
We had to disembark to the waiting room. When everyone had gathered, he told us that they would take us to several hotels and that the flight would be rescheduled for midnight today. In order to get to the hotel, we had to get a transit visa from Kenya. It wasn't hard, but we had to fill out a form and then they put the visa in our passports.
The chaotic part was after this. Someone told me there were 800 passengers on this aircraft. I don't know if that's true, but boy were there a lot of people. So after picking up our checked baggage we went out to the curbside. Business class and priority fliers were going to a different hotel, but it wasn't really clear where you were supposed to go. Instructions were as clear as mud, to use a trite phrase and we must have waited for 1-2 hours. Patty and I got the name of the hotel that the economy passengers were staying and took a taxi there. We got to the hotel around 4:00 am and had to stand in line again to get our rooms. The hotel is lovely and KLM is picking up the bill for lodging and food. I finally crashed at 4:30 am and awoke at 7:00. At 2:00 pm we are supposed to hear the status of the aircraft and the time of departure (hopefully) and when they will be transporting us back to the airport.
I have to say that as packed as the aircraft was an as tired and disappointed as everyone was, people behaved politely. I didn't observe or hear anyone being ugly with others.
I would ask you to pray that they will be able to repair the aircraft and that we can continue our journey home. I miss being with you. And I continue to pray for you.
We had a long and good day on Tuesday. Our day started in earnest at devotions at 8:00 am and finished when we arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport at 5:00 pm. Our flight took off at 7:30 pm and we landed in Nairobi an hour later. We immediately got in line to process through security for our KLM flight to Amsterdam. We're flying in a 747 and it was packed. We left about an hour late because (if understood the explanation) they were held up in bad traffic congestion trying to get to the airport. The flight was supposed to leave at 10:25 pm and I think we took off around 11:55 pm. About 1/2 hour into the flight the captain came on the public address system and told us that the wing flaps were not operating and we would have to return to Nairobi. Before we could do that we had to dump a lot of fuel because it was too heavy too land. We arrived back at the airport around 12:30 a.m. The captain was good about keeping us informed. He told us that someone from maintenance would check it out to see if it could be repaired in a timely manner. I estimate that we spent an additional half hour on the plane. He finally said that it couldn't be repaired in time so they cancelled the flight.
We had to disembark to the waiting room. When everyone had gathered, he told us that they would take us to several hotels and that the flight would be rescheduled for midnight today. In order to get to the hotel, we had to get a transit visa from Kenya. It wasn't hard, but we had to fill out a form and then they put the visa in our passports.
The chaotic part was after this. Someone told me there were 800 passengers on this aircraft. I don't know if that's true, but boy were there a lot of people. So after picking up our checked baggage we went out to the curbside. Business class and priority fliers were going to a different hotel, but it wasn't really clear where you were supposed to go. Instructions were as clear as mud, to use a trite phrase and we must have waited for 1-2 hours. Patty and I got the name of the hotel that the economy passengers were staying and took a taxi there. We got to the hotel around 4:00 am and had to stand in line again to get our rooms. The hotel is lovely and KLM is picking up the bill for lodging and food. I finally crashed at 4:30 am and awoke at 7:00. At 2:00 pm we are supposed to hear the status of the aircraft and the time of departure (hopefully) and when they will be transporting us back to the airport.
I have to say that as packed as the aircraft was an as tired and disappointed as everyone was, people behaved politely. I didn't observe or hear anyone being ugly with others.
I would ask you to pray that they will be able to repair the aircraft and that we can continue our journey home. I miss being with you. And I continue to pray for you.
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