Sea Cliff

Back at the gorgeous Sea Cliff Hotel in Dar es Salaam.  With my early morning flight from Mtwara to Dar, and my late evening flight out to Zurich then on to Canada, I had over ten hours to kill.  This is the place to do it.  The flight up was uneventful, apart from a large group of local school kids lined up along the ramp for a class trip to the airport, posing for photos and waving at those bound for the clouds.  The hour and a half drive to the hotel due to heavy traffic was painful, but the aggressiveness of our driver made it rather entertaining.  Dark skies threaten to open the heavens, thwarting my attempts to deepen my tan prior to heading back to wintry Canada.  Still, it's a pleasant layover.  While I love Mtwara, after six weeks of, shall we say, "rustic" living, first tour I bypassed this lovely reprieve and went straight to Switzerland.  In the executive lounge at Zurich's International airport, it was reverse culture shock; everything in bright white plastic and glass and chrome, pristine and orderly.  Sterile.  Overly so in fact.  This is a more pleasant transition.

I had done more flying this tour than any the previous year in Africa, so that in itself has made it a great tour, but I also went through some very good training to gain TRE status, and I feel that I am a better pilot because of it.  Top the tour off with time well spent with good friends, certainly not missing the tight chest and need to "decompress" after a tour of managing the operation, and this touring life can be downright pleasant.

As the Masai security guard, in traditional robe with staff on hand, originally crafted to keep lions and other predators at bay while herding their cattle and goats, opens the door for me, and I walk through the opulent hotel in flip flops, plopping myself down on a poolside lounger, palm trees and the Indian Ocean for the view, ultra modern yachts zipping amongst the numerous supply tankers, I can't help but feel a little like...dare I say it....James Bond.....