Amsterdam to Nairobi - My Pampered Sky Life

In what could possibly be the greatest decision of my life, I upgraded to business class for the 2nd leg of my trip to Nairobi. This allowed me access to KLM's Crown Lounge in Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. This meant a quiet escape from great masses of backpackers, tourists, and value travelers that sprawl across 4 or 5 seats in lounges scattered about the airport. After a warm welcome from a veteran flight attendant in a baby blue uniform, I found a comfortable chair, an open bar, plenty of snacks, and spotty wi-fi. Sadly, my body clock was so confused from the bright sunshine and lack of sleep, that the thought of drinking heavily with strangers was highly unappealing. After a few emails and a few hours, I headed down to the assigned gate and found yet another 747 waiting. This one was named simply "Nairobi". Again, it was comforting, as though the plane knew where it was going.



The boarding chaos at Toronto was nothing like the disaster that was boarding at Amsterdam. An announcement was made for business class to board and there was an orderly gathering at the gate. Another announcement was made a few minutes later indicating that the first was made in error and that no boarding was taking place. This seemed to confuse the crowd and a surge toward the gate occurred. It ended with yet another call to board that had flight attendants at the gate asking those in and caught up in the surge whether or not they had a business class ticket. Those that did were allowed to pass and those that did not were looked upon with disdain and cast aside.

Once safely ensconced in the the upper level of the 747 with my business class peers, champagne was offered and taken and taken and, uh, taken. Shortly after, we took to the air and when offered dining options, I felt the best course of action was to nap. Upon waking a few hours later, my friendly and caring flight attendant informed me that they had kept each of the entree choices warm for me until I was ready to dine. The rest of the flight was uneventful (as they all should be), with the time filled by occasional glances out the window, some light reading, and attempts at watching movies I had no interest in.

8+ hours of flying later, the large aluminum tube with wings began its descent into Nairobi and I had arrived on the African continent. I was greeted at the gate by a handler with my name on a sign (about time!!!) and whisked through immigration, baggage claim and customs to the welcoming arms of my sister Sue and niece Kaila. They jumped into my arms and I carried them both through the airport much to the amusement of those gathered at the arrivals concourse. The jet lag, lack of sleep, high blood-alcohol level, and darkness that had set in made for a surreal and distant feeling despite the recognizable faces. After a short drive through the dark streets of outer Nairobi, we arrived at Sue's place and a time to sleep and recover.

Toronto to Amsterdam or Traveling With The Dutch

I have stopped counting days and miles as both categories have accelerated and seem less applicable to the story these days. After being dropped off by my inn-keeper, driver and life-long friend, I ran the check-in and security gauntlets at Pearson airport in Toronto before waiting patiently to board my KLM flight to Amsterdam. Staring out at the 747 that would be my conveyance for the next 7+ hours, I noticed it was named "City of Nairobi". Kismet, karma, or just a wild coincidence? Who knows, but it felt oddly comforting, like the plane knew the way.


As is the case with so much of modern life, the call to board the plane was utter chaos despite the Canadian expertise at queueing. I blame all the non-Canadians for creating the mess. The clear announcements of who should board when were ignored and I, of course, grew angry. My anger momentarily subsided as I found my window seat in the "Comfort Economy" section. My hopes for extra comfort were temporarily raised as the 2 seats to my right remained empty as the rest of the section filled. It was all for naught as an elderly Dutch couple eventually arrived at my row and claimed their seats.

Fortunately, they weren't talkers and it was quickly established that our flight would be gloriously free of small talk. I think it may have been their aversion to the English language that was the biggest hint. Sadly, the gentleman took the middle seat and rested his elbow just over and onto my side of the armrest, resulting in the ever slightest yet constant poke in my ribs. Damned Dutch. Did I mention the thick, dark hairs growing from his ears? Or perhaps the fact that he required frequent trips to the rest rooms and made his wife get out of her seat each time? I'm also pretty sure there were anti-Canadian messages in his Dutch newspaper.

The flight was uneventful and 7+ hours later, we began our descent into Amsterdam while flying over off-shore wind farms, farmland, and the vast shipping infrastructure. After a long taxi and a quick de-planing, I roamed the airport in search of a lounge for my 3 hour layover.

Back Online

So it turns out that things move a little slower here in Kenya and it takes a few days (or a couple of weeks) to get up and running again. And now that my brief technical interlude has concluded, we take you back to our regularly scheduled programming of blog posts, rants, photographs and the sharing of my adventure as and when I feel like it. Enjoy.

MJF

Day 60 - Edmundston, NB to Burlington, ON

Days on the road: 60.
Miles today: 740.
Miles to date: 14,604.


Well, there it is. 60 days on the road and almost 15,000 miles. 23 states and 6 provinces. I crossed the Great Divide 4 times, the Mississippi River twice, and the Canada/US border 4 times. I went up, over, around, along and under mountains, hills, passes, gulches, canyons, deserts, rivers, lakes, creeks, streams, and oceans. My car was searched just once by authorities and I wasn't charged with any moving violations. I'm not saying I didn't commit any, I'm just saying "The Man" didn't catch me.

My last day on the road was an epic 740 mile run back to the GTA from Northern New Brunswick. It was the single longest day in both mileage and time terms, and it felt like it. The need to return to the GTA for 3 days of running around prior to my Kenyan departure necessitated the long run.

My good friend, LR will be happy to learn that I didn't even come close to the mileage allowance on my lease (but I've still got 3 days before I get on a plane - anybody want to drive to Northern Manitoba????).

And while the road trip is over, the adventure has just begun. I'll continue posting while in Kenya, but perhaps not with the frequency you've come to expect with this finest of web publications. So check back often and anticipate stories of a man in a white linen suit as he makes his way across the dark continent.

I shall return...

Maybe.

Day 59 - Annapolis Royal, NS to Edmundston, NB

Days on the road: 59.
Miles today: 543.
Miles to date: 13,864.

No pictures today. Too dang busy storming through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to try to get back to the GTA with time to do a bunch of running around before my Kenyan departure. Here's a map for all you budding cartographers out there:

Day 58 - Annapolis Royal to Victoria Beach, NS & Back.

Days on the road: 58.
Miles today: 32.
Miles to date: 13,321.


Bay of Fundy, natural wonder - even UNESCO might agree one day soon. And here's the photographic proof:

The same place (Annapolis Royal Wharf), on the same day, at 3 different times (9:30 AM, 3PM, and 8PM):



Remarkable.

Day 57 - Saint John, NB to Annapolis Royal, NS

Days on the road: 57.
Miles today: 41.
Miles to date: 13,289.



Day 57 was a Wednesday and the big adventure for the day involved a 3+ hour ride on the St. John-Digby ferry. A brief drive around the St. John waterfront led me to accidentally discover a ship being unloaded of its shipment of wind turbine blades and pylons. Very interesting to see and I tried to capture a few shots, but couldn't quite get the right perspective to best showcase this most "of our times" deliveries.





Following the photo stop, I headed off to the ferry terminal to sit in one of many line-ups of vacation goers, RVers, commercial truckers, and various State plated vehicles to board the Princess of Acadia. I was also fortunate enough to be beside some loud Americans who seemed to think discussing the details of a family member's rather ugly divorce with their windows down and speaking loudly on their cell phone was enjoyable to all those in a blue Audi TT.





Once aboard, I lounged in the, ah, lounge and we were soon sailing away from port. Not 15 minutes into our voyage, our captain came across the PA system to announce that we would be returning to the ferry dock to offload a passenger that was experiencing a family emergency. Ugh, could my life get any worse?!?!? About 20 minutes later, we departed St. John for the second time and steamed steadily across the Bay of Fundy and into Digby, NS. A short drive later and I found myself in the sprawling metropolis of Annapolis Royal, population 440. I checked into the Bailey House B&B and ended one of my easiest travel days with dinner with friends T&S who have been building a house across the way in Victoria Beach. Nicey nice.