OUTBOUND (cont'd)

I didn’t see much of Addis Ababa except from the air it appears a very large modern city with a huge tin shack suburb, presumably a slum area that took at least a few minutes to fly over at 3-400 miles per hour. Our next leg of the trip took us for a short 1 hour stop-over in Entebbe, Uganda to pick up 8 passengers for Kigali. We weren’t allowed off the plane but some of us stood at the doors for some fresh air. We arrived at Kigali International Airport at 1:30 pm only 15 minutes behind schedule after 41 hours of travelling time…not bad! Now if only my bags have travelled as expediently can we cheer for a great trip! After seeing almost everyone’s bag on the carousel I did begin to wonder…until almost the last: there they were!

As planned, Dr. Otto Muhinda (got to get used to these African names…this is an easy one!) was all smiles (I had sent him picture) as I walked through the door into the common area. He brought me to the Umubano Hotel, a beautiful resort like hotel with large spacious rooms (king bed), beautiful gardens, pool, tennis courts, etc. and etc. as a number of shops and a great restaurant. The lunch and dinner price range is $18 Cdn (includes taxes and tips) for a full buffet including two soups, numerous salads with cold meats and cheese, 6 or 7 hot dishes and a delicious looking (I haven’t indulged as yet…) dessert table. Just a cold salad buffet is half price which I have utilized and found quite sufficient.