First Adventure....

After leaving our house over 24 hours earlier, we finally arrived in -- what I will refer to as "Narnia" -- because it certainly wasn't....

We knew Tim couldn't come into the airport to meet us and we'd have to negotiate customs, passports and luggage on our own. We are worldly travelers -- and English is spoken everywhere -- why, it's the universal language, isn't it?

Not so much.

But it wasn't bad. Once we got used to the pushing and shoving (McDonalds has never seen ANYTHING like this), we handed over our passports, had them stamped, and got out to get our luggage. All four suitcases were there!!

We went out into the steaming heat and darker than dark. It was about 8:15 pm.

No Tim.

English was spoken outside the terminal -- "Taxi! Taxi!! Taxi??"

I spoke the second of the three French words I knew: "Non."

Oops, four. I can say "oui" too.

No Tim.

9:00 -- No Tim.

9:30 -- No Tim.

What were our options? I had the phone number of his office, if we could sign language someone to let us use a phone. But of course it would be closed, and it was. I didn't have Tim's phone number -- never thought we'd need it. (Dumb. Always take a spare hankerchief and a phone number).

9:45 -- No Tim.

Cars were pulling into the airport and were pulling out. People were getting into and out of the cars. It's a small airport, and there is only one building and only one entrance to the building.

10:00 -- No Tim.

We decided that if worse came to worse, we'd sleep in the airport, and call the office in the morning.

Believe me, that would be WORST!

About 10:15 a man came up to me trying to communicate something -- what, we couldn't tell. He ran out of the airport with his buddy and came back with a cell phone which he thrust to my ear.

"Where ARE you?" shouted Tim.

"Where are YOU?"

The upshot of it was that he was not only not allowed in the terminal building, he couldn't get into the airport at all -- and had been waiting for over 2 hours outside the fence. The police assured him everyone spoke all sorts of languages in the airport -- English? No problem!!

"Taxi?"