Saturday, June 20, 2009

Safe in Sao Tome

After our amazing adventure in Nairobi and safe flights to London and Lisbon, we met Paul at the airport in Lisbon and headed into town for a while. We drove to St. George’s Castle which was the main castle for Portugal and walked around with the rest of our group before we headed over to one of two elevators in the city.

The city is very much like San Francisco and has huge hills in different parts. To help people traverse the hills they built elevators which are part of the city’s mass transit system but because of their construction they offer great views of the city. We walked back to the hotel where the rest of the group stayed before going to the airport to catch our flight to Sao Tome.

We approached the runway only to see people and stray dogs on either side of the runway watching us land. The airport is not entirely fenced in and we would come to find that there are stray dogs everywhere. Our day was filled with running errands: buying groceries, getting cell phones and SIM cards (my number is +239 933 182), picking up 94 laptops at the airport (6 have walked off) and meeting our contacts at STeP UP. We ended the night making dinner back at home and relaxing. This weekend we are going to continue settling in and will start work on Monday.


-XO Mike

4 comments:

  1. Glad you made it! I'm curious if you are getting news of Iran over there.

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  2. Michael
    I'm so happy to see your post ... I won't say I was worried, but I was in overtime on prayer for you! What amazing adventures you're having -- and you're quite the globe trotter. I sent Dad your F'day card on Thursday ... I'm sure he was surprised and thrilled with your foresight. We're going to Meredith's tonight for F'day dinner and she's fixing Dad's requested menu of Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes and strawberry shortcake for dessert. I bought an Ariel doll at Target yesterday and can't wait to see Reaghan's eyes when she gets it. She was quite enchanted with Ariel when she went to Disney and "borrowed" a little girls Ariel doll when we were in California. Reaghan would hold the doll and spin in the pool singing Ariel's "ah ah ah" song. It was very precious. I've been at Na's this weekend. We went to the farmer's mkt and got fresh strawberries, rhubarb, lettuce and asparagas. It's almost as good as G'pa Bills produce! Off to church this a.m. -- we're learning from the book of Titus. I love you so much and am so very proud of you. Thanks for keeping us up to date. xxoo Mom

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  3. You put your phone number.. Is it possible for someone to call / text you?! That seems far-fetched and expensive..

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  4. I, too, want to know about the phone number. What's up with that? Please give us the rules and regulations!
    Mom

    P.S. G'pa Bill says he's ridden in those elevators in Lisbon!

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