Trouble getting to Africa

It was quite an ordeal getting to Africa. The school year was coming to an end and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do before going back to Montana. Once again, I was a little short on funds to get my scuba instructor cert, so I ended up deciding to go to Africa instead. I have been wanting to go to Africa for well over a decade and the time felt right. (It was also my last continent to visit). Once the idea was in my head, nothing else would do. Indonesia would have to wait until I had enough money to dive. I bought a ticket ten days before my departure and found a good deal flying through Ethiopia to Johannesburg, South Africa.

When I arrived at the airport, they asked to see my yellow fever vaccination card. You don't need one to get into South Africa and I didn't realize that you needed one just for a connecting flight. (Apparently yellow fever has broken out in the airports of Ethiopia). They wouldn't let me on the plane. I was in shock.

I had to wait a few hours to contact people about how to change my flight. Ethiopian Airlines said it would be a week or two before I could get on a flight and that I still needed that vaccination. I really didn't know what to do. (I only had 3 weeks to travel and the vaccination takes 10 days to kick in)

There was a guy in line behind me who heard the whole conversation. Afterwards he came up to me in the hall and said he could help me out. He was a man with connections and one of the few black men in Thailand. I was desperate with nothing to lose, so I followed him and we headed to his office. He said he could get me the yellow fever vaccination card that day. We walked down some dodgy allies and into a sketchy building in a crappy part of town. It takes a lot to make me nervous, but I was. The guy seemed nice enough, but I was about to turn back. I left my stuff at his place while we ran some errands and then ate lunch while waiting for his friend to show up. I was able to get the card for about $20 and was able to get back to the Ethiopian Airlines office before they closed. They were still pretty useless and said I could wait each night at airport incase there was an open seat on the one flight a day, but they wouldn't put me on any other flight or give me a refund.

That night I called the company I booked the ticket through and I was able to get a full refund because no where did it mention you needed a yellow fever vaccination for the flight. That was great news. At an internet cafe I found another flight going through Cairo, Egypt for the same price that left in less than 24 hours. I booked it.

When I arrived at the airport the following evening, they didn't even need the yellow fever vaccination card. While waiting for the plane to arrive I fixed a giant tear in my favorite shorts. I've been wearing them for a decade and there was no way they were going in the bin before a visit to Africa.