Hiccups at Heathrow
Posted: 19 June 2018
What. A. Journey.
Before we'd even made it through security at Heathrow, we were experiencing chaos and confusion. Ethiopian Airlines bag drop wasn't working, we got in the slowest security queue ever (the attendant was checking every liquid in every plastic bag!) and we all had to run for the plane as it was the final call! Phew.
We all collapsed on the plane, and had to wait until 11pm for them to run out of chicken and eat our mushroom pasta. With the team spread out across the plane, Jen took this opportunity to make a new friend. Barbara, 70+, was joining a tour group to visit Lake Victoria. Over dinner, Barbara revealed she had been researching her ancestry – and it transpired her grandma was from Nantwich (Jen's home town). Lovely. Rather like London buses, the air crew then brought out breakfast three hours later (2am). Barbara and Jen both shook their heads and tutted at this timing.
We arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at 6.30am and had seven (on Africa time, eight) hours to kill. Thankfully Naomi blagged us all into a lounge – nothing fancy but we had seats, table and breakfast! (And crucially for Jen's insta followers, WiFi) We got booted out of there at 10am, but thankfully the airport had now cleared and was more of a court waiting room at 3pm than a market at midday.
After sleeping on benches, wandering round overpriced gift shops and starting on our snacks, the sweatiest, smelliest set of lawyers eventually left Addis and touched down in Kigali at 4pm on Saturday – to the warmest welcome from the Lawyers of Hope delegation at the airport.
We're now at Solace Ministries hotel. We've got beds and hot water. We're clean and in good spirits. Let's get this show on the road! (After sleep)
