32 Hours Later

We finally made it home to Georgia this morning. The return flight is always ten times worse than the flight over and this flight was no different. Our trip started in Cape Town on Friday morning around 8:30 a.m. (SAST - 6 hours ahead of EDT). With everything loaded in our VW minibus, we departed for the airport. Our flight back to Johannesburg was on Mango, they're very similar to Airtran. Wheels up at 11:00, wheels down in J'burg about 1. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to return to the Howes residence for a quick bite to eat and a shower, so we camped out in the J'burg airpot.

Four hours later and Delta is finally checking in for flight 35 to Atlanta. Good-byes are said to the Howes and dad (he's staying for another 2 weeks and going with Dale to Zimbabwe this weekend) and we make our way to the plane. Let the fun begin. The boarding gate area is closed and there is a huge mass of humanity standing around. We're obviously not leaving on time. J'burg has their own security in the airport similar to security stateside. Delta also has their own security. We go through a total of 3 different checks before we actually get on the plane. The final is a hand inspection of your carry-on luggage as you actually get on the plane. I won't rant too much, but when are folks going to take a nod from the Isrealis and start using some proven techniques for security screening? Oh well...

All of our carry-on bags are finally approved and we actually board the aircraft. The aircraft door is closed and then we sit and wait. Finally the pilot comes on with some news.

*WARNING - AVIATION NERD SPEAK COMING*
Evidently, the prevailing winds on 21R shifted and died down. JNB only has 2 parallel runways, so there was no runway facing directly into the wind. JNB is also at 5558 feet, so the density altitude is much higher than most runways. High density altitude + full load of passengers + full fuel + full freight - prevailing winds for takeoff = not enough runway to get off the ground.
*END NERD SPEAK*

The news was that the freight had to come off the plane so we would be below max takeoff weight. We now have to wait on the ramp workers to get the freight containers unloaded. While we're waiting, I look out the window to see how things are going and notice that things are eerily dark for an active ramp. I see the amber flashing lights of ramps trucks and baggage carts, but everything else is pitch black. About that time, the pilot announces that the airport has blown a main transformer and is now without primary power. So, the ramp guys trying to take off freight so we can leave are now working in the dark. Oh, and the computers at the gate that recalculate the total freight and luggage loads are without power, so the calculations are taking "a bit longer than normal," says the pilot. Having done some flight training, that's code for doing the calculations by hand.

Finally the extra freight is off, power is restored to the terminal and we push back to takeoff. 9 hours later we land in Dakar, go through their rather intrusive security check, pickup a few thousand pounds of fuel and change out our crew and head for the ATL. Fast forward 8.5 hours and we're wheels down on 27L after almost 30 continuous hours of travel. We clear customs, recheck our baggage (long story, look for another post), take the train, re-claim our baggage, meet Kristen and head for Canton. Wow, what a day.

In closing, despite where your travels may take you, there are always a few things to look forward to when you get back home. For me, hearing people say "y'all" and a Chik-fil-a bisquit for breakfast were enough. Upon my return, I now have 35GB (yes, gigabytes) worth of pictures to process and go through, 2 suitcases of laundry to wash and a whole bunch of stories to type and share with you. One last thing I'm really looking forward to: crawling into my own bed tonight and sleeping in tomorrow morning...