We went via Mombassa on the way to our destination, crossed from the island on a bustling ferry, and then flew via Ukunda Airstrip to Jomo Kenyatta Airport on the way home.
I should have been bursting at the seams with good food and happiness after that delightful weekend with She Who Must Wear Kevlar and her Fiancee, instead I was desperately sad.
Desperately sad that Kenya was so thriving and yet Zimbabwe is dying before our eyes.
At all three Kenyan airports the runways were jam packed with planes of all shapes and sizes, coming and going. The aprons were almost clogged to a point of overcrowding, with planes leaving for the coast, planes coming in from the Masai Mara, planes to and frowing from dozens of international destinations.
At tiny Ukunda airstrip, eight planes were landing and taking off every single hour - it was crazy busy showing a great deal of organised chaos manned by a mere handful of efficient staff unlike our airports which have an over abundance of staff lurking around doing absolutely nothing!!
Why are our Zimbabwe airports not bristling with planes and tourists
We have brilliant tourist destinations too. We have Mana Pools, Gona Re Zhou, Hwange Game Reserve. We even have one of the seven wonders of the world!! We have the enchanting Eastern Highlands, and the Chimanimanis, We have the mystical Great Zimbabwe and the Matopos, but we have no tourists!!
When we arrived in Harare there was but one solitary plane in the whole place, a Fastjet at the domestic side and our Kenya Airways flight made two in total on the whole vast Harare aprons both domestic and international!!!!!!
On arrival at Harare International every single person disembarking had to climb 18 steep stairs hauling their hand luggage, even the elderly and infirm like me!! Then they had the Port Screening in the most inefficient place so that half the passengers were clambering around still trying to leverage themselves up the 18 stairs while toe 'Port' officials were screening the passports!!
Chaos at Immigration - one man receiving a long line of returning residents, and four men receiving two visitors!!
The baggage carousel was an enigma, an officious ZIMRA lady insisted we haul our cases through a security x ray machine, but on closer inspection, there was no one monitoring the screens. It was a joke!!
One day, one day, hopefully soon, we will have tourists thronging our country again, I pray it is in the very near future.
