Rumbek Airport Circus

Because we did not make our flight from Rumbek to Juba yesterday on South Supreme, we went back this morning around 9:00 to try again. The plane was supposed to come yesterday evening but that did not happen. The next understanding was that it would come from Juba this morning, maybe leave early, no, now leave at 11:00, no, now not sure when or if. Picture the airport. A large group of people sitting on benches under a tin roof structure with screened sides, several other smaller groups sitting under trees drinking tea. There is one building about 20 X 20 that serves as the terminal. We did not even enter that space as we already had our boarding passes and luggage checked from yesterday. That is where luggage is processed and tickets sold. Boarding passes are laminated (for reuse) paper with no seat number printed on them. The runway is orange dirt and wind is blowing orange dust over everything, but the breeze does keep the 100 degrees a bit cooler. There is a local woman selling soft drinks and water out of a cooler.The 3 of us and one man from Australia are the only white people to be seen but many speak English so we can carry on conversations. We entertain ourselves by playing with a couple of babies and small children also waiting to fly. OK, back to the 3 ring circus. In the first ring is South Supreme and the two-day waiting. As the hours ticked by that seemed less and less a possibility. But then the spotlight turned to the center ring and the possibility of a helicopter ride. For only 1,000 SSP (really a pretty small amount) we could fly to Juba on that. I (Marg) was game! I have never ridden on a helicopter and at my age (67) one does not have many "fun firsts". The helicopter landed. It was a large military cargo transport. This was going to be a story in the making. Bev had ridden on quite a few of these so was not that thrilled but Mary and I were ready to go! Alas, the General would not allow foreigners on a South Sudan military helicopter. Go figure! A number of nationals went reducing the number of people waiting. But we were still waiting for a solution to our problem. Thus comes ring #3 - Kush Air. We had heard that Kush was not flying but Director Justin, who has a cousin who works at the Juba airport, learned that a Kush plane was on its way to Rumbek and possibly we could get a ticket on it for the return flight. He was able to buy us 3 tickets. They had other people's names on it. Mine was originally for Amau Silman. I have no idea what happened to the original customers. So much of what happens here is beyond my understanding. So Justin returned our tickets to South Supreme and we hurried over to the Kush flight. It was a small plane, seated 19 plus 2 pilots. I got the last seat. Bev and Mary sat on the luggage. (Picture will come later) Fortunately the flight is only 50 minutes, arriving around 3:00 pm. We are dusty, hot, and tired but we are in Juba. The gentleman from Australia, Cameron, was to fly out of Juba this afternoon. He watched his flight take off as we rode the shuttle to the terminal. He will likely fly out in 2 days. He is the one that referred to the situation at the Rumbek airport as a circus. Our Director Justin, was not able to get a ticket but seemed quite relieved that he had gotten his 3 Board members on their way home. With much luck he may get a flight out tomorrow and join us briefly here - we are not counting on it.