Calgary -> Montreal -> Istanbul -> Zanzibar -> Kilimanjaro-> Arusha

3.5 hours in Calgary + 4.5 hours + 13 hours in Montreal + 9.5 hours + 5.5 hours in Instanbul + 6.5 hours + 0.75 hours in Zanzibar + 1 hour + 0.5 hours in airport + 1.25 hours driving

=21.5 hours of flying,1.25 hours driving, 23.25 hours of waiting

=46.25 hours of travelling

It is finally time. Months of preparation. Hours of researching. Weeks of discussions. Endless dollars exiting our bank accounts. But it is here. It is finally here. Our suitcases, backpacks and daypacks are packed. Checked and rechecked. Organized and reorganized. Weighed and…nope, no need to reweigh; we packed light – ish.

We have a long journey ahead of us, but we are ready. We have built in long rest periods so we can get some actual sleep and hopefully feel more rested when we arrive in Arusha at 6:00am. Fingers crossed.

Our daughter plays taxi for us and takes us to the airport in Calgary for 9:30pm on the 22^nd. We check in and get boarding passes only as far as Montreal. For some reason, we are unable to be cleared all the way, but our luggage is going to Africa regardless – they were tagged all the way through. No worries. We have time. For now, we will enjoy the goodies The Maple Leaf lounge has to offer and be grateful that we are going on this amazing adventure.

The red-eye to Montreal is uneventful and we even manage to get an hour or so of shut-eye. It is 7:30am when we land and we don’t fly again until 7:45pm. All kinds of time to get boarding passes for our next two legs and then we can spend all day in the lounge relaxing. Just like we planned.

Hahaha. The universe had other plans for us.

1. There is no Turkish Airlines desk/counter on the secure side of the airport.
2. We landed in the Domestic Terminal and need a boarding pass to get into the International Terminal.
3. We are unable to check in online.
4. We cannot enjoy any of the lounges because we do not have a boarding pass to anywhere.
5. If we go to the other side of security, we don’t know how long it will take for us to be able to get through again. And the Turkish Airlines gates won’t open until 3:45pm.
6. Essentially, we are stuck. Between a rock and a hard place. And for one of the only times in my life, without a deck of cards.

This is not how we planned this trip. We were supposed to be showering now. Having wine and snacks. A nap! Instead, we are fighting for seats in one of the loudest airports we have ever been in. And we are there for at least 8 hours. We are still grateful. We are STILL grateful! Because eventually, the time does pass and we make the commitment to exit the secure side and wait in line at the Turkish Airlines counter.

We soon discover why we couldn’t get boarding passes in Calgary.

1. We changed airlines – from Air Canada to Turkish Airlines (not normally an issue, but because of reason #2, an issue today)
2. We need a Visa to enter Tanzania, which we have, but the actual airline bringing us has to enter that information.

This information would have been nice to know ahead of time as it may have altered some of our travel plans. But, no matter. Once we talked with the agents at the Turkish Airlines counter, (who were absolutely amazing and friendly and helpful and happy and patient) all of this was taken care of. It did take over 20 minutes and a lot of paperwork for the poor lady, but it all got done. And then, they gave us the lounge pass. Aaaahhhh, exactly what we were looking forward to. A few hours in the International Maple Leaf Lounge. This is going to be amazing.

Except. Nope. Their partner Star Alliance lounge is not with Air Canada, but with Air France. Normally this would have been excellent. We would have been more than happy to be there. It is a lounge with free wine and food – perfection no matter what. Except that we were really looking forward to experiencing the other one. You know, the flagship, the home grown, the crowning jewel of Canadian lounges. Sigh. (Don’t worry, we aren’t such princesses that we couldn’t appreciate the awesomeness that we were still experiencing!)

Before long, we were boarding, for the first time, Turkish Airlines. This, this is the experience and feeling we were expecting to have! It was awesome. The only time we have ever,and likely will ever have an actual chef on board taking care of our meals. What an experience. Our appetizer selections came out on a trolley through the aisles and we could choose whatever we wanted. Our meals were made to order and the selection was large. Then the dessert trolley came by. Unlimited sweets to finish off our already enormous meal. This is not a weight loss journey folks.

Once we were on our way, the crew came through to make up our pods with a comfortable mattress layer and fresh sheets for our seats and pillows. We were taken care of from the moment we walked on board until the moment we left. It sounds over the top, but only because it was! Sure, we could have chosen a more direct route to get to Kilimanjaro, but we would have had to sacrifice some of those airplane and airport luxuries. We opted to take the longer route, so we could have more fun doing it and hopefully not feel so exhausted and wrecked upon arrival. We’ll see, I guess.

Arriving in Istanbul was a pleasant shock to the system. We were able to appreciate the multitude of cultures that were passing through this world hub of travel. And those who visit merely for the plastic surgery. Yep, lots of those bandaged folks walking around the airport.

The piece de resistance? The Turkish Airlines business lounge. Wowza. It felt like we were in another world. The Istanbul airport itself is already crazy amazing. Modern. Beautiful. Spacious. Quiet. QUIET! Hundreds of thousands of people, yet it was so quiet. Take notes Montreal-Trudeau International Airport, take notes.

We were able to take our much needed and anticipated shower. Aaahhh. We are finally new and revived humans. Then we got to explore the plethora of food stations, bbq’s, grills and kiosks. Feel like a round of golf?

They’ve got you covered. Wanna know what it feels like to fly a plane? Again, they’ve got you covered. Wanna try 17 different teas and coffees? Yep, got you covered. Wanna pray? Covered. Wanna watch any of the sports events happening in the world? Yep, they have that too. Feeling stressed? Need a massage? No worries, there are masseuses walking around giving out free shoulder massages. Why oh why is our layover here only 5.5 hours? And seeing as how we fell asleep for at least an hour and a half, our time to take advantage of all of this was significantly reduced. Oh, I know, boo hoo.

As they say, all good things must come to an end. Or do they???

We are now boarding (a smaller plane) for Zanzibar. The plane is nowhere near capacity. All kinds of space around to stretch out, relax and take over the space beside us. Once again, we are treated to the best customer service. It is a smaller plane so the amenities cannot possibly compare, but the friendliness and attentiveness of our purser was top notch. I don’t even know what time it is, what time is should be, nor what time it feels like. But, it felt like nap time, so I crashed again. To be honest, we both fell asleep three times during our movie. Sheesh. It took us 6.5 hours to watch one movie. Embarrassing.

This was also my first time on a direct (but not non-stop) flight. We landed in Zanzibar and people got off the plane, others boarded. We were ordered, uhm, asked, uhm requested, uhm, well, told, to stay put.

And then we were taking off again. There was barely enough time to finish the delicious raspberry lemonade and then we were in the process of landing. Finally. We are at our destination. Our vacation can begin. We have left the land of airports and airplanes. We are in the land of, well, everything. We are here. We are in the motherland. We are in Africa.

Hello Tanzania. We look forward to meeting you.