January 2020 - A Whole New Decade!

Jan. 19, 2020 - tight connections

As we plan our (now annual) trip to Uganda this year, it becomes apparent that Susan & I will be the only travelers from the Kulikayo group of friends and supporters. This will give the adventure a different flavour. Flight options quickly disappear or become terribly expensive by mid-autumn, so we settle on Brussels Air itinerary with stops in Montreal & Brussels, leaving later in January than would be our wish.

Ontario gets a fair bit of snow on January 18, but the 19th proves to be pretty clear, so we are not so concerned about the tight connection time of 1h 40 min in Montreal. By the time we arrive at Pearson, our flight shows a delay of 20 mins with most of the other Montreal flights on the board showing delays also. After getting a bite to eat and arriving very early at the gate, we see the flight now shows 1h 20 m delayed. Fortunately, we speak with an Air Canada agent at the gate who very helpfully puts us on standby for the 1500h flight which is now just starting to board at 1730. We are the last 2 standbys called for the full flight, and have to quickly hustle to the gate in Montreal to catch the Brussels flight, realizing the chances of our checked bags accompanying us is very slim.

Happily, the flights are smooth but sleep does not come easily. I reflect on how far this journey has taken us and the amazing love and support from our friends in Uganda, our fantastic friends and family in Canada, and the many terrific people we have connected with along the way.

The agent in the lost luggage office in Entebbe confirms that our checked bags are still in Canada. Brussels air does not fly to Entebbe the next day, so we realize with some dread that it will be at least 48h before we see our luggage. Thankfully, Sue had the foresight to insist we pack one change of clothes and a bathing suit in our carry-ons plus a couple of single-use toothbrushes.

Joshua, a favourite employee from Banana Village (BV), has now started his own transport company, and he picks us up in a van borrowed from his brother. We arrive tired but happy at BV. Thankfully, there is no chanting from the cult to keep us up tonight.