LAYOVER STORIES — Cotton

February 1989. Earlier in the day, while sailing from Anguilla to Guadeloupe, the winds were calm, and my shipmate, Larry, a Madison Avenue ad exec, (whom, I coaxed into taking this journey), and I decided to drop anchor and have late breakfast. (Neither Larry nor I had much sailing experience, other than several small sojourns on Long Island.) As we came to a stop, I told Larry to release the anchor.  Quickly, the chain spilled out fast, and despite the windlass, the chain had jumped onto the gypsie and ran out to the bitter end before either of us were able to react. Stupidly...

In November of 2008, I was working for an aid organization in West Africa. They had me bouncing around several countries, but mainly between Mali, Guinea, Cote d’ Ivoire, and Burkina Faso. Back in London, my sister Annabelle was getting married in two days. Despite telling her I couldn't make it, I managed to move heaven and earth, and found a window of opportunity. The idea was to show up, surprise her, (along with the rest of my family), lots of kisses, and toasts all around, a storybook happy ending. Enter Afriqiyah Airways, (pronounced Ahh-freak-ya), the Libyan state-owned airline, based in Tripoli, it was...

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Dispatch From Africa- Lome, Hotel De La Paix