It was difficult to leave the Addis Sheraton after a 3 hour sleep. The hotel is pretty amazing. We were originally scheduled to stay there for two nights with a little bit of down time on the second day. It would have been fun to do a little exploring.
We were off to a village called Debre Zeit where bill would tour the Godino Health Center, one of the facilities that is funded by Bill’s foundation. The hour and a half drive in a tiny bus would take us through several villages and towns. The imagery was incredible. There were so many times that I wished I could have hopped off the bus and snapped photos of the great street scenes. The pungent smell of diesel accompanied us the entire way as buses and trucks belched black clouds. Most of the journey was on paved roads, but the last half an hour or so was on pot-hole ridden dirt paths. We all bounced around as we looked out at the farmers tilling rich soil using oxen and homemade plows. Washington Post reporter Anne Kornblut managed to sleep the whole time we navigated the rough road. We sat in amazement as remained asleep despite her head being whipped from side to side as we bounced along. She later told us that she can sleep anywhere.
The village was very cool. At least a thousand villagers came out to see Bill. Kids marched in big groups down the dirt road to a field where the president would speak. They carried Ethiopian flags and sang songs. It was incredible to see. All of the different faces were so amazing to look at. The women were stunningly beautiful. Several people wanted to take the cute kids home with them.
Bill arrived late, as he normally does, and toured the medical facility before speaking to a large crowd. It was set up like a campaign event, but didn’t play out like one. The president spoke in short sentences and his words were translated. The crowd politely applauded and waved their country’s flag after each line. There were a few nice moments for pictures. I was feeling like the trip had turned a corner and after all the delays we were finally rolling.
And then, the tide began to turn again.
We were all set to move with the motorcade to the airport. The large crowd had now left the field and had crowded behind the motorcade. The press and delegation quickly made their way to the vans for an immediate departure. We were taking on a few more people than we had arrived with so space was getting tight. The motorcade started to move…but we weren’t moving. The motorcade left, we were being held. Just our van, nobody else. The ABC crew had not made it to the van yet as they were trying to feed tape back to NY via their BGAN.
So, now we’re out of the motorcade, the dirt road is filled edge to edge with the villagers and we’re barely moving. The delay has set us back 30 minutes behind the rest of the group.
The ride is bumpy and hot. We have taken on more people in the tiny bus than when we traveled out to the village. It is really cramped. People are starting to feel car sick from the erratic driving and diesel fumes. I thought for sure Anne was going to barf on Jay Carson. If we would have been on the road 5 minutes more, I think she would have.
We finally get on our beloved Air Bon Jovi and go wheels up to Kigali, Rawanda where we would be taking helicopters to a coffee plantation. A short thirty minutes into the flight we got the news. We’re turning around and going back to Addis Ababa. The president’s Google 767 aborted a take off and was out of commission with engine trouble. Could it be possible? We all laughed it off as a joke. It wasn’t a joke.
Air Bon Jovi circled back to the airport where we would take on Bill, some of his staff and Secret Service detail. Ted Danson and the rest of the VIP folks were staying in Ethiopia. Now they can experience our Newark experience. Bill came back and held court on the 707. He was shown where Richie Sambora and Bon Jovi used to sit. Not sure he was impressed with that. Not even sure he knew who Richie Sambora was.
Arrival in Kigali wasn’t until after dark. The helicopter ride to the coffee plantation was canceled. Instead, Bill had dinner with the press which I didn’t go to in order to see my pal Jonathan. We ate dinner on the patio with some staffers and watched Bill hold court through the window.
May the plane gods be with us tomorrow.
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