I woke up early, to the roar of engines overhead. Momentarily forgetting that the plane would be making three trips to us that day I stumbled out of my tent and frantically grabbed my half-damp clothing from the washing line. It wasn't until I'd stuffed one bag full of damp clothes that I remembered. Cue sniggering from the rest of the team.
I headed straight to the clinic. As I entered the treatment room the bench on which our child with malaria had been set now lay empty. My hearty sunk into my shoes. What had happened? Had the nurses not been checking his breathing during the night? Why didn't anyone say he'd died? As I left the treatment room in search of answers a small child gingerly walking with the help of his mother confronted me. For a while I didn't appreciate who this was... then it dawned on me. From critically ill to walking and talking in three days. "God is great," said the childs mother, and I couldn't agree more, adding, "as are anti-malarials!"
The noise of the plane was in the morning air again. Soon it was away and back and then it was my turn. As I climbed into the small twin prop plane only one seat remained. That of the co-pilot! "I don't mind sitting there as long as you don't want me to do anything!" I said. "Ah no worries mate" came the thick Kiwi drawl from the pilot "this baby flies herself."
As we climbed through the air It became very unnerving flying when you can view the direction of travel. We skimmed through fluffy white water and around giant columns of formulating thunderstomrs. "That's an anvil formation," said the pilot pointing to a large cloudbank ahead of us. It did indeed look a bit like an anvil, but it looked more like another lump of cloud. Clearly I have some reading on clouds to do. "It would snap the wings off this aircraft in two seconds" he informed me as it rushed forward to meet us. I was therefore more than a little pleased when he decided it was best avoided and produced a 'top-gun' style turn to the right that made my head feel like it was going to pop.
A night of pizza, beers and cards then a very tedious flight from there to Nairobi, Kenya. Which is were I'm sat right now. Tonight I'm getting the night train to Mombassa. So I'll let you know how that goes. Though all I can say about things at the moment is that the brutal switch from impoverished surroundings to a cosmopolitan city has jarred a little. More later, I've got a train to catch!
