70. Our Trip From Kananga back to Kinshasa

 

We were to have been on a 2:30 flight. But the airlines called Sunday afternoon and told  ( Congo’s version of customer service?) us to be there by 8:30AM Monday for a 10:00 flight.  It was fine with us since we didn’t want to have any issues to make us miss our Sunday flight to Brussels and from there on home to Texas and PK!!  Since John Fletcher’s wife was also on the same flight, he gave the three of us a ride and Marcia got to have a nice quiet house all to herself by 7:30 AM!!  I guess some important people needed the seats on the later flight. Fine by us- we’d get to miss the 5PM traffic at Spaghetti Junction.

 So I was still in a dress for a few more hours. John’s Toyota Land Cruiser had FOUR passenger doors -as in 1-2-3-4!!, shock absorbers and Air conditioning! One just stepped on the running board and into the back seat area and sat on a complete seat that was actually facing the windshield!  The seat did not attack my dress! Plus the car was clean and washed. Bid Marcia and her staff good bye after hugs and paying a tip according to their “station”- one more than the other. ;)

 We took a different route than we had taken before in our trips to and from Kananga.

This time we went through a village and on a road that had been ok until the horrible rain the other night. The sides are now caving in and horrible ruts have washed into it. But it is still better than the other two we had traveled and a gazillion times better than the road to Lubondai. It costs $7 to go into the airport so John asked if we minded stopping at the gate and letting a baggage guy get our luggage and carry it in for us. Of course we said no. Now, dear Friends, what are you picturing?? Yep so were we! NOT!! Oh, sooo NOT!!

 We are on the edge of the airport. There is a little stand selling cell phones and vegetables. “ Hello, White Mama” the Baba greets me. Then I see the security gate- a bamboo pole and some wire and a policeman. He opened the “gate” and we walk right in. Guess he just knew we were passengers since he asked for no tickets! Ken tips him 50 cents and you’d think we’d given a million! The baggage guys are carrying our luggage on their heads leading and we are walking -single file along a tiny dirt path worn in the grass-through to the front of the airport. So Africa looking! ;) Security? Yea, right. But bribery is down to a science!

 There is no security yet so we leave our luggage with the baggage guys and  we go to sit in the waiting area. Well, a young Babba is sweeping it with a straw hand broom - all done in a stooped position- just like they hoe. We have a seat- trying to stay out of her way.  Some workers come in carrying a bunch of long tangled ropes and begin to untangle them-which they do every time since they just ball them up at the end of the day. They then tie the ropes around metal poles to mark the area to walk to and from the plane area- which no one obeyed when we arrived.

 Meanwhile we look out the open doors and coming across the tarmac are villagers from the village along the edge of the airfield. It is the short cut to the gate through which we had entered. Their heads are all loaded with goods. It is the short cut!  Geese! Security! Got to Love it!

 “Parked” out in front along the edge of the area  where we will walk to get to the plane are two old Bruss Air bi-planes from the 1950s. Reminds me of an old Indiana Jones plane. The cowling is so high one can’t see out to the runway until the tail is up.Pilots use the side windows!

 Next thing to happen as we sit and wait is that two UN fire trucks ride the runway to be sure it is ok since our flight will be the first of the day. Then they left. People continue to cross the airfield.  So no telling if it is still clear from dropped stuff. Guess they too can hear the only approaching plane and dodge it!  The one airport fire truck is not working.-doesn't look like it has in awhile. Flight attendants in red miniskirts are beginning to arrive.

 Another scam at the airport is telling you that you will need another one or two passport pictures for some form and they can do it for you. A young guy approaches Ken and wants to take pictures. Ken tells him I won’t let him pay for it. So he asks me and I tell him if they need a picture I can take it with my phone. He tells me it has to be a passport type picture. So I tell him we had been warned and I had 15 of each of us so we didn’t really need any. He left. People were bringing pineapples and mangoes all packed for travel. At least it was not chickens and ducks.

 Two large room type osculating fans are suddenly being carried out to the tarmac- through one of the many open doors- Security, right!!- plus two long extension cords and a huge generator. You will NEVER, NEVER guess what they were for!  As soon as the plane landed the fans were put by the plane’s tires and turned on to cool them off! (Maybe Arizona needs to do this in the summer??) Gwenda Fletcher told us that neither UN nor US official personnel are allowed to travel on these CAA planes. Lovely. Nor will the USA allow them to enter our country. Geese.

 Cops are everywhere. They are a real joke. Masking tape guns are back- So funny- have that toy gun from Walmart look.  But they are strutting with their guns like an old, over the hill banty rooster – only with such a gun they are so tike the ancient rooster with his tail feathers all missing or gone and still strutting.

 The plane finally gets here- villagers run and clear the airfield- and all is very confused. In the terminal. Arrivals and departure are trying to come and go from the same room since the “Security” workers were all late getting to work and had not gotten the Arrival “lounge” ready. The police are trying to keep arrivals out. A lady pushes by and the cop blocks her older son from going with her. She comes back, grabs the cop’s arm and hits him and pulls her son t on through!  Next to come in is a butler dressed like Mr. French carrying two silver colored carry one size suitcases. His boss is dressed in a double breasted, liver colored suit with gold buttons, orange tie, and an orange pocket handkerchief. Dark glasses. He is also carrying a Lady’s fake, Louis Vuitton , oversized  purse!. Pointed shoes. In US he’d be taken for a manager of ‘Ladies of the Night.” It was hard not to laugh and to keep from asking- “What were you thinking? Did you look in a mirror?” Teeth clicking  in the waiting room showed locals were not impressed either.

 Our protocol guy comes to get us for luggage check with security. He asks me to unlock the first one. I do. Security unzips it part way looks in and tells me I can relock it. I tell him thank you in Tshiluba as I am getting ready to open the second one. “ No, Mama, it’s fine”, and he marks it clear too. He then, without looking, also clears my carryon luggage .We have TSA locks but they don’t have a key in Congo. The guy behind me gets all up upset because I get our things through so easily. It's that southern smile, thank you in their language and acting old. ;) The Congolese traveling with us has two HUGE pineapples and mangoes in his carry on. It is too heavy so they have him remove one of the pineapples and re-weigh it. They declare it under the required weight and give him the cleared tag with kilos on it. Then they have him put the other pineapple back in and off he goes!! Yep. With both pineapples!! ;)) Then it is the sound of strapping tape being pulled and torn. Pulled and torn over and over. One can pay extra and have it put on your luggage to protect it from thieves in transit!! Unreal! It’s Congo!!

 The corruption game gets old in a hurry out here. The bribe game gets even older and in a big hurry for me! All four of us- three whites and one Congolese- are called back to see the man that hassled Ken on arrival. The man is the Director of Migration. When one switches from one town to another they have to and/or can have to check in. (They flat out refuse to believe we don’t have to do that State to State in the US.)

  I'm not a third world girl even after five months. Not enough patient panties in the world to deal with the many colors of gray-these folks live by. It’s this forcing the payment of bribes because they can and folks cower that drives me nuts. In Kinshasa the following warning is posted all over the airport: “The Corruptee is charged the same fine as the Corruptor.“ If I go back again to Kananga I will take a picture of the sign with my phone!!

 “Mr. Murr… ree . Good to see u again,“ he wickedly smiles- like the evil cobra in the cartoon movie. Six phones are on his desk. I’m not impressed and show it with a shake of my head.(found out later he has them set to pretend he is getting text messages and uses making one wait longer as an intimidation tactic.Evil man!) When we walk in he already has Ken’s passport separated. He tells the Congolese to leave. Tells Ken to sit-but there are only two chairs so Gwenda and I sit. He handed Gwenda and me our passports and told us we could leave. She stood up and in French told him he had no honor- or words to that effect. I told him I would NOT leave but would wait with my husband. He made the mistake of handing Ken his passport so I knew we were out of there ASAP!  “Why are you here? Where did you go? When did you get here?” Ken started to answer in Tshiluba. I spoke up and told him with a “look” and in sassy French that he knew good and well when we got there since he had brought Ken to his office 11 days ago and that we were really sorry we did not have time to just sit and “visit” with him today- but  we had a plane to catch. I stood up and let Ken- who was still standing behind me- go first and I followed. And out we went. In perfect English, Evil One says "Have a good trip!" and laughs. No bribe paid. Protocol man- who had been standing in the doorway during all of this- met us with a grin and gave us the rest of our passes and we headed to the plane.

 We then had the “because the form says we have to do this” pre-board checks. So we get a non-working wand, sloppy check of carry-ons, turn in forms and are on the plane. Villagers are still wandering through all of this “ Security!” Unreal! It is what it is!! We left at 11- on time for here.

 "Cheated death one more time" as I say after every landing- except when in Ron's plane. ;)) (This plane was at least not like an Air Mexico we flew awhile back – when going to Mexico was fun and  still safe-with oil running sideways on the  window on our way to Monterrey.) We actually arrive in Kinshasa 20 minutes –good tail wind- early. Jeffrey Travel met us and took us to the AC waiting room while they went to get our bags. Gwenda showed me a secret and clean, free- not counting 50 cent tip-Women’s RR with no men peeing by me. There was water, flushing worked, toilet paper, soap and the doors locked and there were two stalls!! Security man that unlocked it for us stayed outside the restroom, had it cleaned and then relocked it.

 The ride through town was no different. Cars, filth and filth! I still can’t really describe it for you or get a picture that shows it. I guess- go to your city garbage dump area where it is all spread out by huge bull dozers  and imagine that several inches deep all over everywhere  in the town in which you live ! (Well, maybe in DC area you can picture it with no garbage pick-up with the US government shut down-  Oh I’m Sorry! I hadn’t realized it was “open” lately! ;)- ) 

 MPH Sentry greeted us with a big smile and we got the three hugs from all inside to welcome us back -was so sweet! When we got to MPH Cindy had kept lunch for us. Yea Cindy!  And Bless her Heart, she had turned the AC on in our room for me!! ( We Managers have to stick together!)

 It was a two blanket night for Ken and just a sheet for me! Lovely. No real plans for the day- just RNR!  Breakfast of French toast. Good. Lunch will be fried chicken and tonight will be Hamburgers or Sloppy Joes. Cindy asked us if we would like to come back next August for their vacation and I told her “No ,thanks.” So the job is open. ;) Contact Cindy and Clay!

 I am going to post this and then try to do pictures. Hopefully……

 Have a great week!

Love ya! Me