and .... she's off!

writing this from the lounge at gatwick airport ... my last email from the UK before i must dash to my gate. i didn't end up taking my guitar because i realized yesterday it was a soft case i had, which wouldn't travel very well. but got here to be told they would have made an exception for me. ah well.

i did, however, get to the bookshop in the airport for some last minute books (a good man in africa, william boyd (thanks daryl) and widow for a year, john irving. i also bought the catepillar book and where the wild things are. i wish i could have found goodnight moon, but alas. favorite childhood books of mine for the boys in the compound.

i also managed to get a few other random things from the shop last night - one pot noodle, one flapjack, some sour cream and chive pretzels (my favorites!) and a few other random taste sensations that may remind me of home if i need them.

and got some lovely parting gifts from anna - very practical! nando's peri peri sauce (to spice up the food a bit if it's bland, she remembers the basilius family in costa rica well!), a small bottle of wine (i'm keeping that one to myself), some nuts, some chocolate drink mix, some peanut butter and a bag of salt (i love salt and dread tasteless food). i couldn't squeeze the peanut butter in my bag, and peanuts are the gambia's cash crop, so i left that. i also left the bag of salt, because it looked a little too much like a bag of cocaine ... and as per my previous blog, i already have enough drugs in my bag. i don't need an excuse for them to search me! even if i offer to taste it for them.

i've finally had a chance to really delve into my rough guide book (far better than the lonely plant, BTW) and it all sounds very exciting! i've decided to spend the six hours on the plane really letting go of my expectations and assumptions so that when the warm blast of air hits me as the plane doors open, i'll be completely and utterly ready for it. (once i take my fleece off and find my sandals, that is).

thank you again for all the well wishes - they've meant so much!
more from africa!