A Continent and a Half

Well… it’s over. The flight from hell is behind us. It was everything we anticipated and then some… but it’s over.

We left the hotel in Cairo at noon in order to arrive within the specified time for our flight. The transfer went smoothly with only a brief delay for an accident along the way. We went to the check-in desk and asked to send the luggage all the way through to Johannesburg, but were told that we must first claim them and clear customs in one of the EU stops so we opted for Athens. The customer service agent for Aegean, Anagnostopoulos Vasilios, said that since the layover in Athens was only one and a half hours, he would tag the bags as priority to expedite the claim process at Athens. All set.

While sitting in the gate area at the Cairo airport (from where the previous post was sent) Mr. Vasilios approached us and advised that the flight to Athens was going to be late because the flight FROM Athens (which does a turnaround) already was late. That meant that the collect-the-bags-in-Athens-and-clear-customs-there plan was not going to work. As a bonus, it was beginning to look like the ability to make the connection to Frankfurt was becoming doubtful. Mr. V collected our baggage claim checks, said he would work on it and then he disappeared.

After some time, our newest best friend returned with a fresh set of claim checks indicating the bags now were checked all the way through to JNB, but that we were to collect them in FRA and do the customs thing there. Also, there would be an airline rep to meet us in Athens and escort us to the Lufthansa check-in counter, as the connection time was still a little skosh. Mr. Vasilios was most helpful to us and is a large part of the reason that Aegean is our current favorite airline.

The flight to Athens went well in good weather. This was another of those that park at a hardstand and the passengers are taken to the terminal via bus. On the bus an airline rep named Sofia found us and said she was the promised escort to the Lufthansa counter. We arrived at the counter with about ten minutes to go before the flight was to board, so we were still cutting it close. At check-in, we asked the agent about getting the bags in Frankfurt and going through customs. He indicated that they were checked all the way through to Johannesburg and that we did NOT need to do anything with them. That was good news. We then hurried on through security to get to the gate in time to stand around for a while before finally boarding and sitting at the gate waiting for our “release time” some thirty minutes later. The reason… ATC delay due to current weather over the former Yugoslavia.

Upon arrival in Frankfurt, we went to the information desk to find out where our onward flight was and to ask again about retrieving the bags and clearing customs. The answer about the bags was the same as in Athens (do nothing with the bags… they are checked through to JNB… you American fools) so we proceeded to the next flight.

A side note here about security. We have, of course, been through the checkpoints a lot. The major difference here is that the checkpoints tend to be scattered about the airport with one set up for each gate or group of gates rather than having a single, massive checkpoint for the entire airport. The upside to that is that the lines are often very short and move quickly. There are some down sides to that system and I’ll comment more about them after I’ve had a little more time to mull them over.

The flight to JNB was a B747 and although the service was typical of Lufthansa’s high standards, the configuration of the seating was horrible. The airplane was essentially full and we passengers were crammed into every available cubic centimeter of space. Here comes a brief rant… I know nothing about operating an airline. I am fully aware that more spacious seating is available in other cabins at other fare structures. However for a flight that lasts 10 hours, I think that a little more room could be afforded to the “cheap seats” without bankrupting the company. I have no idea after this round the world journey is completed when, where or if I will ever fly again. I am, however, based upon our experiences on this trip, compiling a list of airlines I would be willing to utilize again… Lufthansa isn’t very high up on it. End of rant.

During the flight to Johannesburg, on June 14, 2007 at 5:18 in the morning local time, each of the four of us for the first time ever, crossed the Equator

We could barely contain our excitement. By the end of this trip, we will have done it three more times.

On a related note, later in the trip, I will be crossing the 180th meridian for the fourth time, making it an equal number of times in each direction and after forty-five years, no longer having to try to figure out if I’m a day ahead or behind of everyone else. Susan and the boys, on the other hand, will have done it once… eastbound. That means they each will have seen one more sunrise than the number of days they have lived.

The flight arrived in Johannesburg on time and you will never guess what happened to our luggage… all four pieces arrived with us. We collected them and went through immigration and customs and were met by the tour rep who saw us through to our connecting flight to Cape Town. There, we were met by the tour rep on that end who gave us a ride to our lodging for the next three nights.

Here is a quick recap of the FFH:

• total time from Cairo hotel to Grootbos lodging – 29.5 hours
• total time aloft – 16.5 hours
• total time ground transport – 2.5 hours
• time spent hurrying from arrival gate in Athens airport to ticket counter for onward flight – 10 minutes
• time spent at departure gate waiting to board/sitting on airplane waiting for departure clearance (immediately after hurrying) – 1.25 hours

Once we finally arrived at the Grootbos Nature reserve, all the hassle of getting there suddenly became inconsequential… next post will shed some light as to how.


Meanwhile, the boys and I are charting our progress.