Learning To Fly

Same airport, same city. So many times, so many times deja vu, so many times. And always at the starting point, and always learning to fly, literally and metaphorically... Learning to fly, conquering again and again and again fear of the well known unknown... I feel sad this morning, I feel tense and apprehensive, knowing where I am heading, heading back to where I belong (really?) to continue what is elevating me and killing at the same time... I have no words to explain, I don't even try... just listening to the long forgotten music I once was so fond of which came back suddenly at this particular point of time.... yes, learning to fly. Will I ever succeed? Or is it simply a momentary lapse of reason?

Last Day

Last day before I fly back to Musoma tomorrow (hopefully, it will be Musoma, as sometimes Precision Air takes you to unexpected destinations, changing schedules without warning, and flying us, poor folk heading for Musoma to Mwanza instead, then hauling us to Musoma by minibus, which means three hours of traveling). Last 24 hours of preparations before I finally reach home...

Home, Sweet Home!

I'm back home in Kiabakari. Eventually, our plane departed at 3pm from Dar es Salaam and after uneventful flight which took some two hours (watching Mr. Bones movie all the way onboard), we landed safely at gravel airstrip called Musoma Airport, right in the middle of the Municipality. I always get stressed when approaching Musoma by air. There usually are quite strong crosswinds in evening, blowing from west, northwest, making for a bumpy descent. The runway is made of gravel, poorly maintained, so i always wonder how pilots keep plane straight, feeling how it shakes and wants to go sideways. It scares .... out of me, to be honest! This afternoon at least it was not so bad and - because I was busy taking pictures of Musoma and the Lake Victoria, I didn't pay to much attention to what was going on with the aircraft...

Precision In Constant Changes

I should have known and choose to fly to Mwanza instead of Musoma... I should have known! Aaaargh! It happened again... Precision In Constant Changes should be the new name of Precision Air. I was all in smiles when checked in to Musoma and sitting comfortably in the domestic departures lounge waiting to board ATR 42 enroute to Mwanza via Musoma at 1.30 pm. Then, precisely at 1.30 pm THEY announced. The plane will be delayed two hours due to technical problems. Ouch! So, here I am, continuing my wait and training yet another time in patience as Precision Air won again... With a cup of coffee and veggie samosas...

Ambivalence

This is exactly how I feel getting ready for my return flight to Musoma early afternoon today and then a short drive (some 40 km by car from Musoma) to Kiabakari. Ambivalence is a right word to describe my state of mind as I brace what awaits me there back 'home' in Kia (as we got used to say in short)...

Random Snippets

Yeah, random snippets on my way from Kiabakari to Dar es Salaam via Mwanza today. If you are chicken hearted or sensitive, please do not read further after this first paragraph as some images may be disturbing to you...You have been warned!

Mombasa

The short hop to Mombasa from Dar es Salaam via Zanzibar (15 minutes to Zanzibar, then 50 minutes further to Mombasa) was uneventful, thank God! Though the weather made for some bumpy ride over Zanzibar Channel and on our final to Moi International Airport in Mombasa.