Pittsburgh to Tanzania

Paul Allyn — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:13:37 -0600

Where am I going?
I never expected to being going to Africa. Even so, here I am on the road, at my first layover in Charlotte, NC. Here’s the back story…

At Church of the Atonement (ACNA), Carnegie, PA – where I am rector – we are known for, among other things, being open to hosting clergy who are without benefice. Being out of work clergy is one of the worst things going. Anyway, we make them welcome and give them opportunities to carry on doing what they love. A couple of years ago, Bishop Henry sent an email out asking if there were any parishes willing to host African priests who were studying at Trinity School for Ministry. I couldn’t wait to have another priest passing through. And so, Fr. Elias starting coming to Atonement.

On Palm Sunday several months later Fr. Elias came into my office between services and said, “Fr. Paul – I am speaking seriously to you now.” I thought, “Oh **! (I learned a handful of rude words before I went to seminary), what have I done now?” Fr. Elias continued, “We will be dedicating our new cathedral in Tabora next year and I want you to be there!” There just wasn’t money to make such a trip. I take a half salary so this small church in this small town can keep on going. To make a long story shorter – colleagues, parishioners, relatives of parishioners (what a surprise that was!) started chipping in and, well, here I am in Charlotte on my way to Tabora, Tanzania.

Tabora is just about on the 5 degree south (of the equator) line in west-central Tanzania (google maps). It’s high, about 3900 feet, and the climate sounds very nice for equatorial Africa in July – low eighties during the day, mid fifties at night. The Weather Underground says sunny for the next bunch of days.

So how do you get to Tabora? Funny you should ask. For starters, don’t bother entering PIT and TBO into orbitz, ‘cause they won’t show anything. You have to do PIT to DAR (Dar es Salaam) which will come in around 1800 bucks. Then you have to contact Precision Air in Tanzania. Flights to Tabora are about 300 bucks.

I asked Fr. Elias if I could travel by train from Dar es Salaam (I like trains). He laughed at me, then said, “No, no, no. You do not want to travel by train in Tanzania.” I took him at his word.

I eventually found I could save about $400 by booking two separate tickets – PIT to LON and return and LON to DAR and return. I got a real deal on Qatar Air, but I book very early. The down side is once I get to London, I have to clear customs, claim my luggage and check in again. Ah, well.

Here’s the route…

Pittsburgh to Charlotte on USAir (1 hour flight, 6 hour layover)
Charlotte to London (Gatwick) on USAir (8 hour flight, 3 hour layover and I think I’ll need it)
London to Doha, Qatar on Qatar Air (7 hour flight, 12 hour layover)
Doha to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (6 hour flight, overnight in Dar es Salaam)
Dar es Salaam to Tabora

I hope tomorrow afternoon I’ll be able to tell you all how well USAir did on getting me across the Atlantic and how well Qatar Air did on getting me across Europe, the Mediterranean, and Saudi Arabia.

God give you joy
Paul+

The Wandering Anglican: Pittsburgh to Tanzania

Pittsburgh to Tanzania