Transit

This subject merits two posts.

As far as I can tell, there's very little rationale applied to any mode of travel on this continent. Whether crossing between countries or going a few kilometers down the road, each journey promises to be an adventure. I'm sure this lends to my fascination with Africa.

Flying
Apparently, I missed the memo that my flight from Kenya had changed gates at the last minute (thank you again Joe Biden; see previous post). There are no departure monitors in Nairobi. There are notices in Swahili, if you're so inclined. So I waltzed right up to an airplane on the tarmac, hopped on, and landed in...Bujumbura, Burundi. Where? Exactly. Burundi's capital (and only) airport is a single airstrip in the middle of the bush. The landscape was striking. Our jet set alone atop an asphalt pad, surrounded by scrubby, desolate hills - just what you might imagine the edge of the Serengeti bush to look like. Rwanda was only a short flight away; I made it after a small delay and found my bag waiting on me. It was worth the detour.

Commuting, Pt. I
When I'm 'in town' I have a driver named Karim to shuttle me when I'm unable to walk. We ride around in an old Datsun truck with rearview mirrors hot-glued to the front corner of the hood, and a column transmission missing the top gear. Typically, at the end of a workday, our commute home includes 6-12 people catching a ride back toward town in the truck bed. Streets here are mostly claimed by the host of people coming and going on bike or on foot. When driving, it is customary to drive down the middle of the road, and pass anywhere. If it's too crowded, you honk several times as fair warning, and people move over. You certainly don't slow down. If you pass within a foot of a person, you've left ample space. Typically the margin runs about six inches. Young children scamper along in lines, content for vehicles to zoom by within inches. It gets most interesting when you meet another oncoming vehicle. I think I'm used to it now; it doesn't bother me much. But during the first few rides, I spent half the trip clinching my ass cheeks, with my face buried in my hands.

Pt. II coming soon.