We left our home in Brooksville Maine at 11:03 on Thursday morning, June 6, 2013. The drive to Pam’s house in Belmont, Massachusetts (Boston) took 4 ¾ hours.  After unloading the minivan and dropping off the keys we headed to Logan airport at 4:05. Our 7:15 pm flight schedule meant we had plenty of time. “Bing Bing” Anne’s phone signaled that we had an e-mail from Delta. Our flight had been pushed forward to 6:55. Still plenty of time.

Anne has this thing for using public transportation. She thinks it is romantic or it keeps us in touch with the common folk or it is the challenge she likes or maybe it is just cheaper than a cab. To the bus stop we went, carrying backpacks and dragging our suitcases behind us. After a short bus ride we caught the Red Line (subway) at Harvard Square. After traveling six stops we disembarked at South Station to transfer to the Silver Line (Actually a bus not a subway train.) Hopping off the Red Line we scurried through the door and up the stairs to find that we were supposed to walk to a different set of stairs to get to the Silver Line. Sign, what sign? So we circled outside the gates trying in vain to reach the entrance to the next leg of our trip. Fortunately, we spied a subway attendant and explained our predicament. “I’ll believe you this time,” she muttered as she let us through the gate.

Now with the waits for the bus, the Red Line and then the Silver Line combined with the ride times and the “I’m stuck in South Station” time it was 4:55 pm. Since we were on an international flight we were starting to push the time limit.

Climbing on to the Silver Line bus we were off to the airport. Then at 5:10 we realized the bus had stopped. “John, find out what is going on!” Anne said. “It’s just traffic.” I responded. Ten minutes later we still hadn’t moved. “John, find out why we aren’t moving!!!” Anne said a bit, ok a lot, more insistently. It turns out that the traffic was condensing from two lanes to one and the bus and a black Audi had brushed. We never did find out which driver was at fault but the Audi driver had stopped right in front of the bus holding us hostage and wouldn’t move until a transit official or the police showed up to take a report. The bus driver, in turn, could not let us off the bus to find alternative transport. So we waited. At one point the Audi driver yelled into the bus at fifty to sixty people who were potentially going to miss their flights and incur 100’s if not 1000’s of dollars of expenses, a sarcastic “Sorry, if I inconvenienced you.”  4:30 came and went. At about 4:45 pm another bus arrived, pulled up beside us, and with the police stopping traffic, we switched over and finished our trip to the airport. Arriving at 6:05, we dashed for the check-in counter.

“It may be too late to get you on the flight,” was the agent’s first reaction. “But we only have carry-on,” Anne explained. That worked. If we had needed to check bags we might have missed the flight.

Seven hours later we were in Amsterdam. A three hour layover and an 8½ hour flight put us in Nairobi, Kenya. It then took about 45 minutes to get through immigration, customs and get our bags. Anne and I were very impressed by how friendly and welcoming everyone we dealt with in that process was.

While waiting for our bags (we had to gate check them in Amsterdam) we had a small world experience. “Hey, John. What are you doing here?” a voice called out from behind me. Turning I was surprised to see Ali Adan, a math teacher from Southwest High School whom I had taught with for many years. His wife and kids had moved back to Africa a couple of years ago and he was joining them for the summer. We just happened to be on the same flight. Amazing, in Nairobi, running into someone I knew from Minneapolis. It is a small world.

But back to The Long Trip. After getting our bags we were met by Anthony who drove us to the Fairview Hotel, 30 kilometers that took 45 minutes. After grabbing a bite to eat, we got horizontal for the first time in, it seemed, forever. The next day we were picked up at 9:00 am for the final harrowing 4 hour drive to the Lewa Conservancy.

So after 31½ hours of travel time (not counting the time in the Fairview Hotel) we had arrived. Five minutes after we entered the Lewa gates we were greeted by this sight:

It was worth it!