ExpaT-TraveL
bout a third of the way from Nairobi to Kinshasa, the pilot comes on the public address system interrupting the soothing music that I was listening to. “Dear passengers,” he begins with a concerning tone, “We have noted that the cabin pressure appears slightly abnormal and we will therefore have to return to Nairobi to change aircrafts before resuming our journey. This is just for safety reasons; you should have no cause for alarm.”
I shut my eyes to avoid feeling dizzy as the plane does several laps around the hills I once climbed as a boy. Twenty minutes later we touch down at our original point of departure. There are several confused looks from the Congolese passengers who do not have an adequate command of the English language to have grasped the pilot’s commentary. Those who do, explain the situation to their fellow countrymen who have a late introduction to the unfolding drama.
Our journey to the city encounters a small glitch when our green Landover is stopped by some hungry looking policeman. The driver explains something to the officer in Lingala before pointing at me. The officer salutes respectfully and sends us on our way. We had barely accelerated when I was stunned by some profound roar of laughter. I later found out that the driver had claimed that I was a senior member of the presidential army. T h e following day was a Sunday and to pass time, the local staff took me to a sanctuary by the Congolese river for a rare species of monkey known as the Bonobo. It was an interesting experience, the highlight of it was when I met these group of women who had been retained by the Park to take care of young abandoned monkeys, each of them acting as the ‘mother’ of two or three of these creatures.
“The pilot stunned us by saying: It is difficult to land the aircraft when it is On returning to this heavy and we therefore have to fly Kenyan airspace, his now familiar voice around these hills in a circular motion returns. to combust some fuel before landing....” “Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately the aircraft is full of fuel. It is difficult to land the aircraft when it is this heavy and we therefore have to fly around the Ngong Hills in a circular motion to combust some fuel before landing. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Bottles of mineral water are passed around as we board a different aircraft which proceeds uninterrupted to Ndjili Airport Kinshasa. The diamond mining company that has retained the services of my employer have sent someone (and a few ten dollar bills) to escort me out of the airport.
M o n d a y arrived