In this new series about cultural observations, our expert Sosauce traveler and family man, Howard will be introducing stories about his encounters with interesting people in his travels. This first 4-part story is about John Kago, a travel guide from Tanzania.



Getting from Nairobi to the Serengeti National Park was truly a process. Five 6-seater propeller planes, 4 stops, 3 ashen faces, 2 countries, and 1 crazy pilot.

At the Tanzania border, we deplaned and waited in a shack of a customs office. Security wasn’t necessary. The borders were only stakes in the ground. Time ticked away in 15 minutes increments. When the custom officers showed up, they walked straight out of the gritty Daniel Craig version of the 007 movies, and you guessed it, carrying one over-sized, shiny 007 briefcase. One officer opened the case with 2 piles of paper – forms on the right, money on the left. I prepaid, but how would the trip be a process if someone didn’t screw up? A couple on the plane didn’t pay properly. Bad idea, and the waiting continued. It was pure entertainment sitting back and watching the couple sweat it out in the oppressive heat. Probably sweating cold sweat too, as their faces were stricken with panic. I guess they were glad they brought extra cash. Another hour later, they were square.

Escaping the lions den invariably landed us in the crocodile’s jaws. When we got on board our next flight, the Italian pilot was steaming mad. The delay had meant that he was missing out on his fares, and he took it out on the ascend. During the 2-stop flight, the pilot cursed at regular two-minute intervals, but he saved his best for last. As we finally saw the Serengeti plains, the pilot made a dive and did a fly by over the dirt and grass runway that would make Maverick very proud. I didn’t think I could feel G forces riding a propeller plane, but I stood corrected. As the plane pulled back up, I turned around to survey my travel companions. The Asian yellow faces were white, and the white faces were whiter. On a scale of 1-10, the fear level was 11. On the second pass, the pilot dished out enough vengeance, and he finally decided to land. As we jammed through the small exit door, there waiting in the bright sunlight was our guide, John Kago.

Howard is a dreamer distance places, and he would like to take his daughter to see the world some day soon. Howard’s blog series is about the people he meets on his travels.

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 2:45 PM and is filed under Africa, Community Interest, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.