Adventures Above the Clouds...

Traveling in Africa is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get.

I was recently able to have a really short get-a-way to South Africa with my parents. It was such an amazing experience, but I'll have to save that for another post.

It wasn't until right after we said our good-byes that the fun really started.

Although Malawi as a country has completely caught all my love and affection, the airline that represents it (Air Malawi) has yet to woo me.

After rushing to get to Johannesburg to catch my connecting flight back up to Blantyre, I arrive in just enough time to check in my baggage, enjoy high-speed internet, and a surprisingly nice airport lunch. After literally stuffing my face as quickly as I could, I picked up all my carry-ons and made my way to the gate... in just 2 hours, I would be back at my house and enjoying a nice, relaxing night.

As I approached the gate, the vacancy of the area caused my heart rate to pick up a little. I run to the nearest person in a bright green vest and inquire about my Air Malawi flight. They just kinda look at me and say, "Oh yeah... they just delayed it like 4 hours."

A bit aggravated, I make my way to the nearest coffee shop, plug in my computer and loose myself in the world of Photoshop for about 2-1/2 hours (my personal paradise) while enjoying a nice hot Irish Cream Latte that broke the bitter cold that surprised me when deboarding the plane in Joburg.

Finally, by 7:40 pm, my 3:00 flight had arrived!!

Fighting back hypothermia, I boarded the plane and knew that the next point of contact would be a nice, warm, beautiful Blantyre, Malawi.

WRONG!

Just as we were swooping down to Chileka Intl. Airport in Blantyre, the pilot makes an announcement that we are going to land in a different city instead, because he can't see the runway.

No problem, it's not like any of the 50+ people on the plane actually had a purpose for being in Blantyre on that particular day. Why not just take an air-tour of the country.

The airport wasn't expecting anyone that late, so pretty much all the staff had already hit the sack. But, lucky for us, there was one lone customs agent and a friendly fellow to drive us in a rickety old bus to the "hotel" that the airline was putting us up in.

Well... around 11:30 pm, we arrive at what was not exactly a "hotel"... it was more like a rest house (a step down from a "motel").

I wasn't too upset... in fact, it kind of made me just sit back and laugh to myself because I love how things work in Malawi. I mean, I have slept in much worse places here in Malawi, so a few hours in this place wasn't gonna break me. However, the plane full of business people from around the world were not as excited about the experience.

When the hotel informed us that they had almost enough "beds" for us, but not enough "rooms", people got really aggravated. "How do you expect us to share a room with someone we don't know!?! Some people are light sleepers, others snore!!", shouted one fellow with a funny accent. He, along with a few other selfish people, demanded that they get a whole room to themselves.

I, being the young, crazy, adventurous one of the group opted to just crash on the couch in the lounge of the place.

Around 1:00 am, I finally got some shut-eye... and them shortly after at 3:45 am, it was time to get up for breakfast and head back to the airport for an early flight.

The 25 minute flight between the two cities was the quietest flight I have been on. Everyone was out!

I arrived in my city a mere 12+ hours behind schedule, without an apology or even an admission that there was ever a problem. I mean, it's Air Malawi, what else would one expect... to actually get where you're going when you want to be there? Hahahahahaha... right!

Cheers to you Air Malawi... thanks for the adventure and soggy sandwich!