Bunia, DRC and a visit with my aunt in Kampala, Uganda

After finishing up in Dungu, we landed in Bunia on February 24th for a nice weekend off. The next week was spent doing an inventory of the emergency preparedness stock, including things like jerrycans and tent poles…

Jerrycans stacked against a wall. Bunia, DR Congo
Tent poles. Bunia, DR Congo

On March 2nd, I flew to Kampala, Uganda. First, the plane took us to Entebbe International Airport to clear customs, then a very short seven minute flight from Entebbe to Kajjansi Airfield.

Leaving Bunia:

Bunia from above

The mountains just outside Bunia:

Mountains just outside Bunia, DR Congo

A mountain-top village just outside Bunia:

Mountain village just outside Bunia, DR Congo

Landing at Entebbe International Airport, Uganda:

Landing at Entebbe International Airport, Uganda

Looking back toward Entebbe as we flew to Kajjansi:

Flying from Entebbe to Kajjansi, Uganda

One of many opulent homes seen from above when flying from Entebbe to Kajjansi:

Rich person

Kajjansi Airfield from above:

Kajjansi Airfield, Uganda

Aside from the one night spent in transit in early January, I hadn’t been to Uganda since my three week visit over Christmas at the end of 2002. This time around I only had four days, but it was a welcome chance to spend a lot of time with my Aunty Jo and some of the other wonderful Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Kampala. We had a great time catching up and chatting about a million different topics, and they fed me really, really well!

Me and my aunt:

Me and Aunty Jo, Kampala, Uganda

Aunty Jo with sisters Ursula and Lynette, beside Lake Victoria:

Aunty Jo, Ursula, and Lynette in Kampala, Uganda

Despite being a huge city, Kampala still has a fair few animals, both domestic and wild, such as these Ankole-Watusi cattle (long-horned zebu):

Ankole-Watusi cattle in Kampala, Uganda

I also spotted a chipmunk eating a peanut, just like in a cartoon:

Chipmunk eating a peanut in Kampala, Uganda

In a tree, about six feet from the ground, I spotted a tiny little tree frog:

Tree frog in Kampala, Uganda
Tree frog in Kampala, Uganda

When I returned to the house on foot after having lunch with a friend in another part of the city, I found about fifteen or twenty banded mongooses running through the area and managed to catch a pair of the slower ones as they ran away:

Banded mongooses in Kampala, Uganda

Pretty soon my time in Uganda was up, and I was off to the airport once more…

Vancouver to Frankfurt to Geneva to Brussels to Kigali to Kampala to Bunia to Faradje in 5 days

Back on January 5th, I got a call from MSF Canada asking me to leave on the 7th for a short contract in DR Congo with the emergency team. I quickly finished typing up my annual update, then proceeded to cancel all the plans I’d made to meet up with friends. Having spent only two weeks in Vancouver after six months abroad, I first flew to Geneva, Switzerland for a briefing and to get my Congolese visa.

Sunset over the clouds en route to Frankfurt, Germany

Of course, what would a flight to Geneva be without a stopover in Frankfurt, Germany? With about five hours to spare before the second leg of my flight, I was through customs and in the airport train station within minutes of landing. I’d never been to Frankfurt before, only the airport (the only time in my entire life that I missed a flight, in March 2008, due to a late connection, I spent many hours in the Frankfurt airport) and train station, so this was a great chance to have a quick look. As luck would have it, while I looked for the right train to take me into town, I got a phone call from a random German number. It turned out to be none other than my good friend Darren Peets, who was already in the airport waiting to surprise me!

Darren and me in Frankfurt

This was a terrific surprise, and really made my day! Not only was it great to see an old friend in an unfamiliar place, but it also meant I had to put zero effort into figuring out the trains and various signs in German, as Darren handled all that with ease. Together, we visited an old church, strolled around the old town centre admiring neat old buildings, walked over and quite a ways along the river, ate German food outside while the restaurant staff looked at us as if we were a pair of crazy Canadians, and caught up on each others’ lives over the course of about three hours hanging out.

Frankfurt old town centre, with massive Christmas tree
Frankfurt old town centre
Neat tower in Frankfurt, Germany

This bridge over the river is decorated with thousands of padlocks, each symbolic of a couple’s love. Every once in a while, they’re all removed by the city.

Pedestrian bridge with love locks in Frankfurt, Germany

After Darren and I returned to the airport and said our goodbyes, I caught a quick flight to Geneva and headed to my hotel to sleep. I spent the next day at the MSF Switzerland office meeting a few people for briefings, getting my documents in order, and generally appearing out of place. Early the next morning, before the sun had shown his face to the snow-covered Swiss Alps, I caught a taxi to the airport with two colleagues. After downing a much-needed coffee, we were soon up in the air over Geneva.

Taking off from Geneva, Switzerland
Flying out of Switzerland

That first flight took us only a short distance, to Brussels, Belgium where we rushed from one side of the airport to the other, with the typical Brussels Airport ridiculously long queue to get through security. We then flew to Kampala, Uganda with a one hour stopover in Kigali, Rwanda. After a night’s sleep in Kampala, we headed to Kajjansi Airfield and boarded a tiny little Cessna 206 to head to DR Congo.

Preparing to board a Cessna 206 at Kajjansi Airfield, Uganda

From Kajjansi Airfield we first flew seven minutes to Entebbe International Airport to clear customs, during which time I was in the co-pilot seat for the first time in my life.

Cessna 206 interior design

At Entebbe Airport, pictured below, we went through customs and bought food from the duty free store, then continued on to Bunia, DR Congo.

Entebbe International Airport, Uganda

Heading out of Entebbe, and over Lake Victoria:

Fishing boats line the shore of Lake Victoria

Winding road just outside Bunia, Province Orientale, Democratic Republic of Congo:

Winding road just outside Bunia, Province Orientale, Democratic Republic of Congo

We landed happily in Bunia on January 10th and by the 12th were back at the airport, this time to board a slightly larger Cessna 208 Caravan I, which would take us from Bunia to Faradje, in the northeast corner of DR Congo, not far from South Sudan and Uganda.

Loading cargo on a Cessna 208 Caravan I at Bunia Murongo Airport

For this final flight, I was seated the farthest back, just in front of the rear door. This turned out to be an excellent seat choice: as the plane began to pick up speed, there was a loud click, and a warning light on the pilot’s dashboard lit up red. The pilot looked back toward me, with the unhappy grimace of a father trying to manage some semblance of control over his difficult children on the drive to school in the morning. “OK, who left the door open?” he says. Of course, the answer was obviously his ground crew, but I figured out how to close and latch the door pretty quickly, the red light turned off, and within seconds we were climbing high into the sky.

The flight from Bunia to Faradje took exactly 60 minutes. The large Catholic church is visible near the top of this photo of Faradje from above, as we did a quick pass over the town before landing. Just below and to the left of the church is the parish centre where the priests live, and where we slept during our time in Faradje:

Faradje from above

Having landed in Faradje, we went straight to work organising a measles vaccination campaign for the town. More on that in the next post.