Near the end of the trip, my cold returned and I completely lost my voice. The last day we still had a game drive at 6:00 a.m. but by that time, between not feeling well and the anticipation of the long haul home, my enthusiasm had waned. Besides, my wish list of animals had been filled so whatever we saw although still amazing, lacked the excitement I felt at the beginning of the safari.
After the drive and breakfast, I settled our bill and paid out the appropriate gratuities. The shuttle to Joburg Tambo Airport had already been arranged, but it was picking us up at the gate, not at the lodge. In my anxiety to get home, I did not double check the pick up time and assumed that it was 11:00 the same time as the shuttle to Ezulwini had been a week earlier. Hector, our tracker at Billy's Lodge drove us to the gate with time to spare, but after waiting more than fifteen minutes and beginning to panic that we wouldn't be picked up as arranged, I decided checked my itinerary. Our pick up time was 11:30, but the panic did not completely dissipate until the van arrived exactly at 11:30.
The five hour trip was for the most part uneventful, that is until Gila, while taking a nap, overturned her water bottle. Some of the water soaked her pants, but the the majority of it poured into her purse. Unfortunately, it water logged all the many items and papers stored in that bag. As she emptied it, trying to dry everything, we both burst into uncontrollable laughter at the silliness of the entire situation. The others in the van probably thought that two lunatics were sitting in the back.
We arrived at the airport just before five for our 7:50 flight. We had lots of time before boarding at 7:05. First we had to find the international flights terminal and then only thing I wanted to do was to sit down near an outlet that was not in a restaurant so that I could nurse my cold and recharge my almost dead phone for the trip home. But that didn't happen, at least not for quite a while. First we needed a bathroom break and Gila did some rearranging and repacking of her bags in the area near the rest rooms. We asked about the location of electrical outlets and were told to go into a restaurant. Gila was willing to have something to eat at the Mugg and Bean that we had gone to on our initial arrival in Joburg, but they insisted that we leave our luggage outside and neither of us trusted that it would all be there after some recharging.
Checking our baggage at this point seemed to make a lot of sense. We found the right counter, ensured that our bags would follow us as we transferred first in London and then in Washington and put the bags on the scale. With the rocks and soil that she had collected, Gila's bag was overweight and so she had to rearrange and repack on more time. Papers and shoes were removed from the suitcase and the knapsack then had to be repacked as well to make room for these items. When she was done, I don't think that she could have forced even a grain of rice into that bag given how full it was. I was getting antsy. I just wanted to sit. Even recharging the phone lost its priority status.
As we headed for the departure gate, Gila realized that she had forgotten that she wanted a refund of the VAT on the camera she had purchased. We learned that the item had to be declared and the receipt had to be stamped before any refund was possible, so off we went looking for the right office. The customs officer stamped the photocopies of the receipt without asking to see the camera or the original bill and now we had to find the refund office. God forbid that these two related offices would be in close proximity to one another.
The time was slipping away quickly and I was feeling worse. Our next stop was security. Fortunately the checking was cursory and within minutes, we were exiting into the departure hall that led to the gates. My patience was just about gone, but we still had to find the refund office. I asked the person at the security exit and with a grunt she pointed in a general direction. I was beginning to lose it. Testily I told her that I had no idea where she was pointing so she added the words "in that direction". Only somewhat more helpful.
We found the office on another level far from the bustle of the passengers. Gila showed her stamped photocopy and was told she could not get a refund without the original receipt. Why weren't we told that by the person who stamped the photocopy? He must have known. I felt I couldn't last much longer without sitting by the time Gila was issued a Mastercard imbedded with the refund amount in American dollars. By now it was only half an hour before boarding and I snapped. Without saying a word, I stomped off like a five year old, determined to find a place to sit with a plug.
The only place I found was another Mugg and Bean. Yes it was a restaurant but by now I was sweating and parched and needed a cold drink. Gila found me before I entered the restaurant, but I moved ahead without speaking to her, There was only twenty minutes before boarding, hardly enough time to recharge, but I sat down and plugged in my phone. I got enough power to e-mail Josh asking him to book a doctor's appointment for me the morning of my return.
With my drink, I began to calm down somewhat and felt like such a jerk. I realized I hadn't had to accompany Gila on her quest. We each had a boarding pass and easily could have met at the gate. Sheepishly, I apologized. Since the plane didn't leave until 7:50, we had enough time to board even though we got to the gate at 7:30.
The trek through the airport had not gone well. The flight wasn't going to either. Our seats were the two centre ones in the central bank of four seats, hemmed in by passengers on both sides. Space was tight and even going to the bathroom was going to be an ordeal. Once seated, I checked the itinerary again. In London's Heathrow airport, we had one hour between the time our flight landed and the time our next flight took off. Here was another reason for anxiety. Was that enough time for the transfer? Would our luggage make the transfer as well?
After dinner was served, I took a sleeping pill, hoping that things would seem get on track while I was asleep. They didn't. It was seven o'clock the next morning and we were still in the air. The pilot announced that we would be a little late in landing. We were going to miss our connecting flight! Gila tried to reassure me that everything would be fine. If we missed the flight we would be placed on another. An attendant told us that we needed to tell ground crew about our connecting flight and they would expedite our dash through Heathrow. We were on the ground, but it was now 7:30 the same time that our flight was taking off. Before I could get really worked up, the passenger beside Gila reminded us that it was in fact only 6:30. in London. We did have an hour and if the someone would would help us, it was still possible to connect.
Heathrow is HUGE. We went along corridors, down escalators, stepped on a series of moving sidewalks and up the escalator once again before we saw any ground crew to speak to. She merely directed us in the right direction. I told the next security guard our plight but he just indicated that we had to pass through security again. Of course that was not going to go smoothly because my knee would set off the metal detector and I would be patted down. I was in a sweat. there was only a half hour before our flight left. I was put through the x-ray machine and thought we still had a chance, but neither my carry on, nor Gila's passed through the x-ray probe and we had to wait for others in front of us to empty their bags looking for the culprit, banned items. I asked the guard if he could put us at the beginning of the queue as our flight was going to leave in twenty-five minutes. Everyone else, he calmly explained also had a flight to catch we simply had to wait our turn.
On the plane my stress level had been at 152, but now it soared to 493. My bag was next and it was being dismantled. The iPad and camera were supposed to have been taken out like a computer, but there was a box of chocolate he was looking for. I had no chocolate! My stress level was over 500. There is a box in your bag. What is in it? the guard asked. A box? Yes, a small box of kleenex, no chocolate! I was finally allowed to repack my bag, but another guard was systematically emptying Gila's bag. There were liquids inside according to the x-ray. The toiletries were finally found in her makeup bag. There was now only five minutes before our plane took off. One of my nightmares had just happened. We were going to miss our flight.
Thank goodness, Gila was calm and philosophical about the situation. Yes the flight had left, but we would find seats on another plane and would still get home. We lined up at the United Airlines counter. We were assured that if we had missed the flight, so too had our luggage. Yes we could get home, Washington to New Jersey to Toronto. We would just land two hours later. There would be no charge as the delay of our plane had caused the situation. I asked about a direct flight to Toronto, but as the original flight was not direct, the attendant told us we were not eligible for a direct flight. Not so, interrupted another agent and she set off to arrange the flight with Air Canada. Finally, we had gotten a break. Although it was more than four hours before our flight left, there would be no more transfers and our arrival time was no later than the original.
With all that time, I could start to unwind. I wanted to have my Toronto sim card put back into my phone and then sit down to charge my phone so I could let Josh know when we were arriving. Outside of a restaurant, I found a plug and a seat and I was not going to move until it was necessary to find the terminal from which our flight left. Gila, too, took advantage of the situation to charge both her cell and iPad. The flight was going to leave at 12:05. Boarding was at 11:20. My plans were to head out for the boarding gate at 10:50. I wanted enough time to find the right place in this enormous airport. Just as I was about to look for Terminal 2 and our gate, Gila decided she wanted to do some shopping. This time I was not going to make the same mistake as I had in Joburg. I explained that to stay calm, I would prefer to wait at the gate. We had our own boarding passes, we would meet at the gate or on the plane
The route to the gate was convoluted, up and down escalators and then up and down once more. I got to the gate at 11:10 and was happy to know I was early, quelling my anxieties. I boarded before Gila got to the gate, but we met on the plane. Gila happy that she had bought a case for her iPad and me content that I had avoided a little of the stress I knew I would feel had I accompanied Gila. Both of us were in much better moods than we were on the plane from Joburg to London.
The flight was uneventful. I watched a movie although my stuffed nose and cough were uncomfortable. Gila slept. No one spilled any water and we arrived in Toronto still friends. The voyage home had been a marathon of 31 hours! I now know that when I travel with someone, it is better for my stress level and the friendship to meet at the gate instead of sticking together. We will already have been assigned our seats, we would have our own boarding passes. There was no need to stick together. Hopefully, I have learned how better to deal with my anxiety at the airport if not yet elsewhere.
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