Wanting Longer in Africa (2000-03-06)

This is another story of Africa in March 2000: My business partner and I worked together at a civil engineering consulting firm in Bellevue, WA, before we started our current software development company. I've long loved travel, and it was while working at the consulting firm that I took a month off to go to east Africa. We were working on a telecommunications project at the time, and a month was all we could spare--not the six weeks I wanted. (Unlike my trip to Paris, we didn't determine a way to work abroad.) On the fifth day of my trip I sent this email message:

It hasn't rained for the last two days. I booked a Mt. Kili climb and a safari. The rain won't stop the Land Rovers on the latter. I just hope that I can work a camera with the remaining arm and leg after I've paid for it. In anticipation of the rain, and because KLM lost my tent somewhere, and because the known trustworthy trip agent is high-end, I'm going on the hut/lodge variety, rather than the budget tent variety of trek.
Are you *sure* that an extra two weeks here would put our work behind? :-)

I came back to Bellevue as planned at the end of March. Upon returning to the office, I learned that there was a stop-work order on the telecommunications project!