Don’t Ever Count On “Africa Time” Working In Your Favor.

Africa time is slow. Almost nobody seems to be in a hurry. The traffic is terrible. You could make the mistake of thinking things are flexible and relaxed, but when that might serve you well, you’d be completely wrong. The common thread is not a relaxed attitude, but rather a lazy and completely unconcerned one. The whole “hakuna matata” thing definitely goes both ways: apparently you don’t need to be worried about them not being worried about something that is genuinely worrisome to you. The only time it seems you can count on locals being punctual is when it comes time to take a break. On top of that, Africans LOVE bureaucracy. So, other than complaining, how might that knowledge serve you? Africa has it’s charms, and we certainly plan on returning and checking off as many countries as we can. Outside of it seeming like a continent out to kill you, filled with anti-Western militants, man-eating animals, and deadly tropical diseases, it does provide some very interesting vacation destinations. Normally, extensive pre-trip planning has served us well. In high-volume destinations in southeast Asia, it’s been indispensable. In Africa, pre-booking flights and hotels worked against us in a couple of instances.

There are so many unpredictable variables in play that in many situations it just wasn’t worth it to prebook. When plans change, you end up being on the hook for a hotel deposit you didn’t use or, worse, the fare for a missed flight. We all talked about it and agreed that future Africa trips are going to be a bit more spontaneous. Researching available flights, average fares, best hotels with a few backups, etc. are still a good idea ahead of time. It just may not be necessary or advantageous to book them ahead of time. From our observations, the hotel costs and plane fares did not vary all that much. The flights we booked months ago on Kenya and Ethiopian still cost the exact same price as a walk-in at the airport. So, my advice, along with doing your research in general, is don’t spend too much prebooking for your Africa trip. Every flight we flew had many empty seats, and every hotel we showed up to had vacancies.

One benefit from an “Africa Time” related rerouting was an unexpected day tour of Zurich for the group on our last day, which otherwise would have been a repeat day in Nairobi. I guess the baby giraffes will have to wait until next time. Switzerland was certainly a change in pace. Christmas is in full swing there, and this is one place where it really fits. You can’t get upset about carolers and live bands at every corner. And streets full of Christmas lights that continue to a distant view of the Swiss Alps are just stunning. Walking around “old town” Zurich, enjoying pastries and hot chocolate, there’s a real holiday charm that seems lacking in the Wal-mart human tramplings I’m more accustomed to. If you want to go somewhere to get a real Christmas fix, Zurich seems as good a place as any. We had a great time and we’ll have to come back to venture a bit further afield. This was a great way to close out an exciting trip. Until next time!