Adventures on Rwandan Air Express...

Ok, so we posted that we got here safely, but now that we have better internet for a few minutes at least, I have to share some more about our ridiculously amusing travel experience.

So we switched back and forth a few times between flying from Kigali to Bujumbura or taking the bus. Finally, we decided to fly since that way all of our bags wouldn't be a problem, as they probably would on the public bus. So we call the airline (the illustrious Rwandan Air Express, whose stated aim is to "be the airline of obvious choice...in the markets we serve" - not an ambitious goal, since they are practically a monopoly in the markets they serve, but anyway, I digress). The airline tells us, no problem, you don't need tickets in advance. Just come to the airport, they tell us. The flight is practically empty, they tell us. Just come and pay and you will be taken care of. This is the way things are done in Africa, they say.

So we show up the next day at the airport and no one at the ticket office has any clue what we're talking about. They protest loudly that this is not the way they like to do things, oh no it isn't. They have order around here, they say. We like to do these things in advance. Hmph.

So, they eventually give us the handwritten tickets. Yes, handwritten airline tickets. Flying in an aircraft when the company lacks typewriting technology is enough to make me skittish, but we're trying to go with the flow at this point. So, an hour and half later, we have our two tickets. (We were, by the way, the only customers so we shudder to think of what would have happened if there was actually a line!). They finally call us to board, and we walk what feels like halfway to Bujumbura on the tarmac, and we line up next to this tiny plane that Ron thinks may actually be powered by remote control. Of course, while waiting to board this thing, there was a downpour and we got soaked.

We made it off the ground okay and shuddered to our cruising altitude of a measly 16,000 feet, while I look out the window and wonder lazily if we are going to collide with a child's kite at some point during this flight. Ron muses that a rock from a well-aimed slingshot would probably do it. The flight is only 30 minutes long, and the flight attendant basically pours us a glass of water, waits for us to drink it, then hand her the cup back. Unreal.

And so ended what (hopefully) will go down in the annals of the Gonskis as officially the Sketchiest Flight Ever.

And the real rub is this: at the eleventh hour, we were told that Rwandan Air Express only allows one bag per person...sorry. So our extra bags are coming to Bujumbura with a friend on Sunday. Ish. Sundayish.

Oh, Africa.

Gotta love it.