North Woods River Runner: Africa - Day#2 (Keep It Together-6-4-17)

Sunset Over The Atlantic

The Cool Clock In Amsterdam

Sunday, June 4^th, 2017

If yesterday was a normal day of surreal and somewhat romanticized notions, today was tough. Throughout our travels, it was difficult to decide what was day or night. Do we follow the internal clock that was telling us it was in the middle of the night, or watch the rising sun?

Our transatlantic flight had rocked. Todd and I had two seats next to the south facing windows. As we left land and soared high above the ocean, the darkness of the night fell upon us. Ironically, those who sat on the north side of the plane saw a constant sunset, as light shown up and over the top crest of Earth, while from our side we could only see stars. After journaling, I tried relaxing while listening to Dvorak’s Symphony #9 (“From The New World”). It was fitting music. I fell asleep for about 15 to 20 minutes towards the end of the composition. When I stirred, I did watch one movie to pass the time.

Crossing the British Isles, you could see the lights of cities and towns far below. As we began our decent into Amsterdam, a line of freighters were heading from the channel into the North Sea. Being a farm boy, I also noticed first cutting hay in some of the fields while we prepared to land.

In Amsterdam we eventually met up with Noah Dellamater who came in on a later flight; to complete our traveling team of nine. We had a six hour layover there in the airport. I was so exhausted; I had to get up several times to walk around. I wanted to close my eyes but couldn’t find a comfortable place to lean against. Several other members of our Team did, by simply laying down directly on the cement floor of the terminal. Finally it was time, and once we loaded onto our plane, I quickly fell asleep as did many of the others. I vaguely remember having the sensation of the plane taking off, but that was it. I slept for about an hour before they delivered a meal. Todd and I were in the middle row between two other Team members (Nyles Bates and Paul Fay). It was so tight that you had to keep your arms in front of you and your knees together. I decided that if I lifted my knees just six inches higher I would have technically been in a prenatal position. We had to mentally hold it together like that for almost eight hours. I occasionally shut my eyes in a driftless stupor, and did watch a movie. Deep breaths warded off panic throughout the tight quartered flight. Our steward was awesome though; helpful, funny, and with a waxed, curly mustache that looked pretty cool.

After landing in Nairobi, Kenya, we waited about 90 minutes in a hot line of people crowded together until we could present our visas and passports. We got our bags and met up with Brian Dellamater and his son Gabe who had arrived in Kenya the week before us to prepare for our group. We loaded up around 11:30 at night, and headed for “67 Airport Hotel.” The hotel was a breath of fresh air and had a courtyard much like a fancier version of the dorms I lived in at college. We talked and made plans as a team. I sent some messages to my wife Cindy back in the States, who was living in Sunday afternoon while we were in early Monday. She transferred some money into Todd’s account so we could use his bank card to get our currency in shillings tomorrow. I couldn’t use my card as I don’t know the PIN number. Back home I don’t use it a lot, and when I do, I use it as a credit card so I don’t have to use the PIN number. Ignorant bliss can be crippling sometimes, but we figured out a solution while we could still stand. Todd and I each showered and went to bed around 1:00 a.m. I had slept only a little over 6 hours since Friday morning. Under the light mosquito netting around my bed, and in the coolness of the air, we slept like the dead; now on the flip side.

See you along The Way…