Chapter 15 14

It's not only cool here, but also rainy.Mary didn't expect Africa to be like this.Marie's knees were still weak as she stepped off the single-engine charter plane that had brought them to Kisoro.Thank god they got off this wretched plane alive.The fact that the muddy, plowed field in which her elegant leather shoes sank was called an airport was nothing short of an exaggeration in this century.A few tin barrels painted with red and white lines fill the border of the airport, and a flat-roofed house is responsible for monitoring, luggage delivery and waiting for all functions.Other than that, there is nothing here.

They were tossed about as the plane weaved through thick clouds, as if giants were playing with them like tennis balls.The plane sank again and again, falling so far that they were thrown from their seats several times, and for a while even experienced weightlessness.Some people pay a lot of money to experience such a moment, but Mary would rather pass up such an opportunity.In the first two Zhao flights, Rafael, who was overjoyed because of the adventure trip, also had his lips tightly closed and his face turned green. Welcome to Kisoro Airport.As soon as they entered the bungalow, a bluish-skinned man in colored casual shirts and sitting behind an ordinary table said with a smile on his face, I wish you all the best on your journey.Please show your passport.

Mary handed him her passport.He frowned, flipped through it, and returned it to Mary.No, this passport cannot enter Kisoro.He speaks in English. What?Mary stared at her passport in surprise.Why is this passport invalid?She reconfirmed her passport.Before departure, she had carefully checked the validity date of her passport.No doubt it works. My passport is valid!she stressed. The so-called customs or whatever official shook his head persistently.I am an official of the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.He said, tell you, you cannot enter Kisoro with this passport! Rafael handed over his own book with a smile.Maybe this one is better.He said.

The officer opened the passport, took out the fifty-dollar cash that Raphael had tucked inside, and smiled.Yep, this one works. Mary blushed.She hated being blackmailed like this, but eventually she sighed, took out her wallet, and tucked a fifty-dollar bill into her passport.The officer took out the dollars, nodded, and waved her over.Mary wondered in her heart, how should she account for the money when she went back to reimburse the travel expenses? An African man was waiting for them in front of the airport bungalow holding a card.Scrawled across the sign: O'FANA.He threw Mary and Raphael's luggage into the battered jeep.

Kisoro is a small town with low buildings and few features, and the roofs are covered with dish-shaped satellite receiving antennas.On this cold day, it looked more like a small town on the outskirts of an Eastern European country than the romantic African village Mary had imagined.On the way she read a guidebook for Africa.The above mentioned Kisoro is nearly 2,000 meters above sea level.Uganda is like the Switzerland of Africa, with the lowest point nearly 1,000 meters above sea level.Not far from here, the Villagan volcano rises abruptly, not inferior to the highest peak in the Alps.In rainy days, this mountain is gloomy, giving people a sense of threat.

They quickly crossed the urban area of ​​Kisoro and turned into a bumpy mountain road with overgrown grass.A series of small mud houses or one-story houses are scattered on the terraced mountain where coffee, corn and tobacco are planted. The jeep drove off the road, along the dirt road, through the dense vegetation, and circled towards the mountain.It was almost evening.Mary made an appointment with Dr. Berg in advance to visit the experimental station the next morning.Copeland's General Services booked them into a lakeside hotel outside Kisoro.It's the best restaurant in the area, they promise.

With the experience along the way, Mary couldn't help wondering how comfortable their lodgings would be.From the time they were in Frankfurt, the quality of the trip went downhill.If the standard of the American chain hotel they stayed in Nairobi was passable, this morning it was a three-hour wait at the overcrowded airport before the turboprop finally took off to take them to Entebbe.In Entebbe, it took another two full hours before they found the charter pilot who took them to Kisoro.After a long journey, Mary almost wanted to go home when she saw the plane on the runway at the airport.But the pilot assured them in broken English with a smile that he had been flying this plane for 23 years and had never had any problems!

The jeep came to a flat area on the mountain.From here, a long valley can be seen.When we were on the road just now, the rain had stopped.The sun cast patches of blinding light from the broken clouds, moving down the valley.The views are breathtaking.There is also a long stretch of lake, sparkling.In the lake, countless small islands glow like emeralds under the sunlight.Located on the other side of the lake, the summit of Villagan Volcano is shrouded in clouds and mist, which is particularly majestic. Wow!Rafael yelled out in amazement. The driver turned around and continued driving at the same speed.This is Lake Mutanda.He said, it's beautiful, isn't it?Mary Wei nodded.

The hotel is located by the beautiful lake, with stone houses, reception, restaurant and many large tents.The facilities in the tent are staggeringly extravagant, and there are even showers in the bathroom. Everyone thought that Mary and Raphael were a couple and brought them to a tent.When Rafael reacted, his face was red up to the ears.Mary snickered to herself.She has never seen Rafael also have an embarrassing time.Fortunately, in this season when the rainy season is coming to an end, the hotel has not been fully booked, so they added another tent. After Mary showered, she went to dinner with Rafael.Mary ordered a dish called Oluwombo: minced vegetable bananas wrapped in steamed banana leaves, served with a spicy peanut-tomato sauce.Strongly spiced and weird, but pretty good.Mary felt the weariness of the long journey welling up.It's kind of like traveling abroad.For a moment, she even forgot that they were not out to enjoy.

After dinner, the clouds cleared and the fog cleared, and the top of the volcano was shining brilliantly under the reflection of the setting sun.Mary and Rafael stood together in front of the wooden porch of the tent, looking at the lake in silence, watching how the bright orange color of the sky gradually dimmed, and how the first star appeared in the night sky.Crickets chirped, unknown animals uttered strange calls, and the wet vegetated land was fragrant. Thank you for bringing me here.Raphael said suddenly, but didn't turn around. Mary felt suddenly guilty.rafael i That's all right, he interrupted, I know I'm not a good fit for Copeland.I realized it a week after I went in.Originally, I thought it was an exciting thing to contact various companies and solve their problems.But I have no system, and I am too unregulated.

Everyone has strengths and flaws.Mary said you have a quick mind.I think you are very original.It's just that you have to learn to organize and have a system, and sooner or later you can become a partner of Copeland! He turned to face her.In the darkness, it was difficult to make out his expression.Do you really believe it? She said that to try to appear friendly.But at this moment, she knew she was right.Raphael has many strengths that are hard to see at first glance.She should have responded to him, but she didn't. He watched her for a long time.The last glimmer of light came into his eyes, revealing a hint of melancholy.His expression became serious. Mary, I've heard talk about you at the company.I know how important this project is to you. Mary looked at him unexpectedly.What are others talking about me? You may be promoted to female partner.Also, I say you are a good analyst, just a little too good. She was tongue-tied.Rafael laughed, and Mary laughed too.idiot!I know what I have to teach you first, at least learn to respect your female supervisor! On this point, you just turn a blind eye and close one eye! There was silence for a long time, and no one said anything.Finally Mary looked down at her watch, but in the dark she couldn't see the hands at all.It's time to rest, there are still many things to do tomorrow! Yes, good night! Mary couldn't fall asleep for a while, she lay on the bed with her eyes open, thinking about the conversation she had with Rafael on the wooden porch.Only then did she realize that she actually liked him very much, maybe even from the very first sight.Rafael is disorganized and self-assessed, but she is not as good as casual and friendly.He was completely different from the manly Rico and Scopa, and he was completely different from her.Perhaps, she can complement Rafael and form an outstanding team. She had hoped that Dr. Berg might come to pick them up, but no one showed up.Mary called the Field Experiment Station.The news is that Dr. Berg is currently not available, and there is no extra manpower there.They had to hail their own taxis from Kisoro. When Mary saw an old taxi parked in front of the hotel, with a faint black mist behind it, she was both surprised and surprised.It was an eggshell-coloured Mercedes-Benz diesel with a yellow taxi badge on it.The guys here drive almost exclusively Land Rover-style mountain bikes or something like that.Judging from the local road conditions, it makes sense to drive this type of car.But the driver seems to be convinced that a taxi must be light beige with a diesel engine, plus the Mercedes star on the car's radiator shield to be considered a taxi (Annotation: German taxis all use light beige Mercedes).He even wears a leather peaked cap. Is it the taxi you called?he asked in German. Yes.Mary said happily. I have lived in Germany for many years.When the driver opened the rear door for them, he said, I learned to drive a taxi in Hamburg.Hamburg is such a beautiful city with so many streets!I remember all the street names: Maiden's Causeway, Baling Dam, Friars Hill Street, Stone Dam, Wall Pool Avenue Before the man finished reporting the street name in Hamburg, Mary hurriedly gave the address of the field experiment station. oh!the man said. Mary looked at him suspiciously.What's wrong? The road conditions there are not very good, there are many corners and slopes, and there are many muddy places. Then you'd better call and find a colleague who can drive an off-road vehicle.Rafael suggested. The taxi driver grinned, showing dazzlingly white teeth.no, I'm fine!I am a good driver!You can go anywhere!Just know the right technique. They soon learned what he called his technique.He reassures them, chatting pleasantly, that it's just a matter of speed.As long as the speed is enough, you can easily cross the muddy potholes. It seems that he is indeed able to control the car in his hand.Of course, in Mary's opinion, when he crossed the narrow and muddy corners, the speed at which people broke out in a cold sweat was definitely no less than that of a professional racing driver.The rear of the car was thrown out of the road more than once, and the car was not driving flat, but was tilting forward.And every time, he was always able to save the day and bring the car back in time.Now, they were spiraling up a steep slope along a narrow road.The slope on the left descends steeply.Mary decided not to look out the window any more. The driver was relaxed and happily chatting with them.They knew his name was Nathan.Gombali met the love of his life when he was on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg.After learning that his refugee status was rejected, the German girl refused to go back home with him.At an unusually narrow bend, he even held the steering wheel with one hand, turned around, and showed them the tattooed heart he had carved in memory of the girl.It didn't take long for Marie to long for the single-engine plane that had brought them to Kisoro. When encountering a corner with low visibility, Nathan honked the horn several times.Mary thought he was warning the oncoming vehicles.Gombali told them that it was to warn the bison. Bison are so stupid that they don't even know how to get out of the way when a car comes by.Bison are savage and can wreck several cars when provoked.Better honk first. Fortunately, they didn't encounter any bison.