Since our first update, we have been non-stop globetrotting through London and Johannesburg to our final airport destination of Lusaka.
During our 7+ hour layover in London, the group split up and went about their own way of coping with jet-lag and boredom. A couple of the group members pampered themselves within Heathrow with pedicures and a mid-day breakfast while a couple of us took the Heathrow Express into London and saw the sights and experienced some of London’s best.
Some quality London fare (a lobster roll with a delicious cider and an ale).
For those of us that went into London, the weather was great (which was unexpected), and the beer was better (which was far less unexpected). Rene and I grabbed a quick bite and a few pints and then proceeded to explore the Waterloo area (Big Ben, The London Eye, etc.), while Joe made his way to the northernmost tip of London to his favorite soccer team’s stadium in order to pick up some souvenirs.
Big Ben – just one of the stops on our short sightseeing tour.
London’s famous Underground on the way back from Waterloo.
All in all, not such a bad layover. Perhaps a bit shorter than one would have liked, but you know what they say… “When in London…” right?
After the flight to Johannesburg, a bit of a layover, and our final short flight to Lusaka, we were finally in Zambia! Excitement was high and smiles were appearing on some fairly tired faces, but as the title alluded to, this is where the hiccups came into play. Of our 16 bags that we checked from Seattle exactly 0 (yes, zero) made it through to Lusaka. So we waited while Beth did her best to figure the situation out.
The luggage fiasco with Beth in the middle attempting to save the day.
Joe attempting to get some shut-eye during our downtime.
After everyone did their best to describe the bags that they specifically checked onto the flight (which was a bit difficult considering most of the bags were full of supplies and not actually our personal bags), we left for the hotel. We all ended up heading to our rooms and are now showering, cleaning up, and relaxing prior to our dinner this evening with some very important people. Can’t wait to continue our adventure in the morning!
The lack of bags on this carousel is a metaphor for… well… our lack of bags.
Stay tuned for more to come.
Cheers,
Ryan
