Elforlima

I finally got my round the world tickets all booked and paid for. What an ordeal that was. Pretty complicated. But I’m very excited now. It started in Toronto when I tried to purchase them in October. This round the world ticket works through the One World Airline Alliance. So you can use any of their carriers on this ticket. Convenient. British Airways told me to book my ticket through a travel agent. Problem: travel agents don’t seem to know what they’re doing in that regard. Not many of these tickets are purchased it seems. And so my plan got botched up in Toronto meaning I had to buy the ticket from Germany and take a separate flight to Paris. So this time I thought I’d go through American Airlines. They have a whole round the world department and they know what they’re doing. But calling them at first here last week meant frustration anew. I spoke to Onkel Willi Mustafa who told me I couldn’t be on the British Airways flight from London to Uganda because there was no Elforlima. And for round the world I needed to have Elforlima. What in the world was that?? I asked. Elforlima is Elforlima and he was frustrated that I didn’t get it. It wasn’t until after much probing when he said Elforlima is Elforlima just like Deefordelta is Deefordelta. OHHH!! L for Lima and D for Delta. Apparently economy class also has a series of L class seats, which this flight that I wanted to be on didn’t have available. But I could get a Teefortango seat for another 500Euros. Well I was frustrated! I tried other avenues, British Airways again, Qantas neither of which were any more help. Less in fact…so I had to go back to American. The next time I called I got another operator who was much more patient, a lovely Bavarian sounding fellow. I got all my other flights organized and then we went back to the London Uganda problem. So over the week things got hashed out, routes developed depending on where the airlines fly and yesterday I paid it all. Still don’t have a seat on that flight but I do for two days later and call regularly to see if one becomes available. The reason I really want to be on that flight is that the friends from Trafalgar Church that I’m going to Uganda with are on that flight. I thought it would be better for us to all arrive together. But I now have a good back-up plan in the works too. I have a connection now that lives in Uganda (the nephew of Katharina Moeller, German Lutheran minister in Toronto). He and his wife are willing to help me and pick me up from the airport too. So I’m relieved. Still I’ll try to get that Elforlima seat. :-)

Now I just need to get a ticket from Nairobi to Johannesburg where my plane to Australia will leave from. Not many carriers in this alliance fly in Africa. So I’m taking a South African Airlines flight from Nairobi to Johannesburg extra. I’ll book that in the next days.

I’ve also booked myself on two camping adventure tours. Almost back to back actually. It’s with an organization called Intrepid Travel or Guerba that Marika and Bob recommended to me. The first camping adventure is in Eastern Africa; Kenya and Tanzania…the Serengeti…Masai villages… http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trips/YSW

Then I fly to Australia for an Outback adventure from Adelaide to Alice Springs. I think one is 15 days and the other 11 days long. http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trips/POA

In the next weeks I just have to make sure that I have everything I need and then I’m off to new parts.