july 25th, 2006

Almost there. Two (possibly three) more Africa posts to go after today. If you have been reading all of them, you make my heart happy. If you haven't, I kind of don't blame you. Some of these posts have been pretty wordy. But, either way, this is for me. Because I like to remember.

July 25th, 2006
"Abelio was revving the engine at the gate by 5:15am. We had planned to spend the last morning watching the sun rise on the beach. While Jenna woke the girls and guys, I search for the guard to unlock the gate. Within 15 minutes, Cuca, Jenna, Jess, Nikki, Eric, and I were on our way to the beach in the beloved Landrover. The [land] was clouded in mist and fog. It was like driving through a white world. The only things that peered through the whiteness were the black outlines of the palm trees. It was crazy. I rested my head down on the passenger head rest and woke up to Abelio driving down a bumpy road. Before I had my bearings, we stopped. The seven of us, including Abelio, scrambled out of the vehicle with blankets wrapped tightly around us and headed for the shore. I couldn't figure out in which direction the shore was - everything was covered by the cloud of fog. I started walking toward the upturned boats, assuming I was headed toward the water. It was a creepy, beautiful sight to see the ocean covered completely by fog. The only water that was visible was the water that lapped along the shoreline. Every few minutes, a line of men would walk across the shore, pulling rope that trailed into the sea. It took me a second to realize that the men were fishing... The six of us sat huddled on the beach while lines of fishermen passed. Eric suddenly shot up and ran towards a line. Out of no where, the kid started pulling the rope with the fishermen. He just went! I half expected him to walk a few yards and return, but he walked quite a ways... We had been at the beach for quite some time without ever seeing the sunrise. We never saw anything but the fog."The closer it got to 12pm - when we needed to leave for the airport - the more motivated I became. I had to rearrange some of my belongings to accommodate for newer possessions. About 10 minutes before leaving, I was completely ready with all my bags packed and organized. A few people had last minute errands. I french braided Nikki's hair for the ride home and then had her come with me to buy some rolls to take back to the U.S. It was sad walking down the road by ourselves - knowing that it would be the last time we walked along the road... Everything felt so perfect about walking there; the air, the culture, the smell, the language, the weather, the colors. And it was the end... Although I had tears in my eyes, I did not let them fall.
"When we got to the airport, Augusto - a CFL zone leader - helped us unload our luggage and bring it inside. Cuca and Eric were there to help, too. The process was slightly long. We had to check baggage and get tickets. That took a good 45 minutes for all 8 traveling companions to accomplish. After we got our tickets, we had to walk across the Beira airport (it is tiny) and pay flight taxes. When all of that was said and done, we had a good 45 minutes before boarding time... I walked through the door on the verge of tears. It was hard to say goodbye... It was over. I was officially leaving Mozambique. I walked to the small terminal/waiting area and just bawled... I followed Julie and Jess to the other side of the lobby to talk to Jenna and Nikki. As we were standing there talking, I looked up at the glass wall to see Cuca! He had gone over to the arrival portion of the airport to surprise us... When the PA clicked on to tell us to go to the door for boarding, I rushed back and gave Cuca a huge hug. After wards, I walked back to my luggage, gave my ticket to the attendant, and followed the line out to the plane. The plane situation was almost identical to the situation coming in to Beira. Although the seats were arranged in the same manner, our plane to Joburg was slightly larger than the plane into Beira. All rolling luggage that was carry-on had to be stowed beneath the plane. I climbed up the airplane's stairs and made my way to the back of the plane. I was excited to sit next to Nikki... The only hard part about the flight was the take off when I realized that we were REALLY leaving. I cried for a while. My heart ached because I knew I would probably never see Elaina, Dote, or Eric again."Johannesburg was quick and convenient. The bus picked us up and brought us right to International Transfers. Our group stayed together at check-in until Jody and Linda assisted a man from Mexico who didn't speak English. While waiting, us girls went on ahead on our own but only managed to make it so far before being confused. We finally figured things out and headed to our gate. Erik was already there, watching over his and his wife [Stacy]'s bags. We dumped ours and ran to the restroom. I can't express how nice the bathrooms were compared to anything in Mozambique!... I barely made it on time, our group was on the move to board the plane! We are all seated near each other - 8 of us split 2 x 4. Nikki and I are together again and having a great time... This flight will be 100% better than flying to Africa."

Reading this and typing it out make me cry all over again for leaving Africa. I can still feel that sinking feeling of having to say goodbye. It was terrible.