Ethiopia - Day 1 Addis
Today was an utterly wasted day. V joins me tomorrow and things will start to get back to travel normal. V and I are on different schedules partly because I had a credit with Air Canada for a trip that I had cancelled some time ago and that needed to be used within a year or be lost. I made my flight bookings with Air Canada and the only flight combination that worked for me was the flight that I described yesterday. As an aside don't ever make the mistake that I did and book flights with an airline who books all the flight itineraries on other airlines. My ticketing carrier is AC but my flights were with Lufthansa going out and will be with Air Brussels returning. When you need to talk with someone or make any changes AC and the other airline point at each other, wink, and say, Not my problem. You need to be a certified hostage negotiator in order to make any adjustments or get current information.
V had a couple of commitments at her firm and couldn't get away until a couple of days after I left and is coming in tomorrow on Emirates through Dubai. Can't happen too soon.
Awoke late and managed to grab breakfast just as the hotel restaurant was closing to prepare for lunch. Painful conversation with our travel agency and still in the midst of sorting out issues with them and very tired and dopey. One of those days when you should not be let out on your own without an armed guard and lots of padded clothing.
Went down to the courtyard area of the hotel to read and doze, spent an hour or so, wandered back to my room and dozed some more. Suddenly realized that I had left my day pack with one of my cameras and my ipad in the courtyard. Rushed down to see if it was still there, and it wasn't. By now in major panic mode, since Ethiopian customs has all my Canon cameras and at that moment I was sure that I have lost one of my two Fujis with my best lens. Ready to email V, throw up my hands and get the next plane home, this trip is clearly not fated to be easy.
Fortunately a waiter seeing my distress came over and told me that he had found my bag and kept it for me. I felt like that character in a Christmas Carol who joyfully exclaims, "Reprieved, reprieved, the curfew shall not ring tonight!" or some such. Properly chastened and knowing how lucky I had been, I returned to my room, huddled for safety under the covers where I shall remain until tomorrow, and with luck, a brighter day.
