i was flying ALL DAY TODAY, seriously. On the map it's not that far to go form Burundi to Mozambique but egh, it was not pretty. Bujumbura, Kigali, Nairobi, where we had a 4 hour layover, then on to Pemba, Mozambique (where we deplaned and ran around like that game people play when they stop the car at the stoplight and everyone has to switch places... Except this was: stop the plane and then everyone gets off the plane at a swift walk to get ahead of the crowd... because then you have to: get in the transfer-to-maputo-line and get a big red card. Then you get your temperature taken and they make sure you're not coming from West Africa. Then fill out an ebola form, show your yellow fever vaccination card, go to a desk and show your proof of invitation to work from the government, pay for your visa, wait for the change, go to another place and get your photo taken and get fingerprinted, fill out another form, go to a desk and a guy reads all your docs and stamps your passport, go to another place and pick up your bags and put them through a scanner then carry them to somewhere else, then go to another place and go through security again, and then you get back on the plane.

phew, and oh, by the way there are no signs and it's all in one big room so you can't tell the order that you're supposed to do these tasks. And the people in charge don't speak too much english and i definitely don't speak portuguese. Oh, and everyone is doing all of this in a crazy rush because the plane leaves in 30 minutes. I felt like I was watching people pour out of a clown car at the circus and run around in circles.

And then eventually back on the plane (30 minutes later) we waited an hour for unspecified reasons before we took off, which was classic.

ah. it's all very entertaining, truly. As we flew over green green farmland, the sky was gorgeous and red. I watched the sun slowly set and had that awed feeling i sometimes get when i realize *i am in the air. this plane is in the middle of the sky*. The plane wasn't too full, and just as the sun finished setting, I saw a muslim man in front of me face west and start his prayers, which must be kind of an amazing thing to do in the sky.

and now i'm in a really nice hotel, which is a real treat. I can tell that across the road there are palm trees and then black and i'm almost certain that means i am across the street from the indian ocean. so looking forward to waking up tomorrow and going for a walk.

*
so it's all fun and interesting, but i just called BT and they're all watching ladies wrestling in mtl tonight for someone's birthday so i was sad but can't have everything, etc.

3:01 a.m. - 2014-10-26