Read Online A Horse Called El Dorado by Kevin Kiely - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kevin Kiely
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moving faster and faster. Suddenly we were off the ground. The other passengers looked very calm, talking quietly or reading newspapers , so I settled in to enjoy my first flight. I decided that aeroplanes must have been invented so that man could be more like a bird. It was such a thrill to be inside the belly of this huge metal bird, flying up through the clouds. We were given food and drinks, and the pilot’s voice came through little speakers, saying it was a lovely sunny day in Bogotá, where we would land in two hours’ time.
Getting off the aeroplane in Bogotá, I felt as if I had always been flying. My feet did not seem to be on the ground. I was in a kind of dream. One of the hostesses brought me to a desk with a sign: ‘Lufthansa’. I was taken in behind the counter. Another hostess made phone calls and yet another hostess arrived as I was staring across thedesk at the crowds of people. What a sight! It was a lot better than television.
We went to a room with a big conveyer belt, the ‘ luggage carousel’. The carpet bag with its label was going round and round until I grabbed it. The hostess led me on, through barriers and along corridors. Men looked at her and she smiled. To an air pilot she said, ‘Meet my new man, captain!’ They laughed. I clung onto my hat and the towel in its plastic bag while she carried the carpet bag. I offered to carry it, but she shook her head and smiled again.
I was left waiting in a lounge with airport workers in different uniforms. There was a television hanging from the ceiling, but it was showing news programmes and I couldn’t reach up to change the channel. It was a relief to hear my name called at last. A hostess took me back out through the bustle and crowds for my flight to Zürich, in Switzerland.
It was a long way to Switzerland. We flew for hours, though I slept for most of the time. At Zürich airport I began to feel lonely. Everyone spoke a strange language, and seemed to be in a terrible hurry. Why had I left Mama and Grandma? Would I ever see El Dorado again? He was my only friend, the only one I could tell my troubles to. I wished I could go back to the commune.
Finally a hostess who spoke very bad Spanish showed me to where I had to go for my next flight. Soon I was in another aeroplane seat, waiting for another take-off. Thistime we landed in London. This airport was enormous, and even more full of people, but now they were speaking English, so at least I could understand. The hostess who took charge of me made me feel like a piece of baggage . She took me by the hand as we pushed through the crowd. I was annoyed.
Then we stopped. ‘Do you like burger and chips?’ she asked, showing her shining teeth in a big smile. I thought hostesses had some problem – they seemed to smile almost all the time. Their faces must get very tired! I was hungry, so I nodded and she got me a take-away in a cardboard box. I sat and ate at a plastic-topped table. The waiting in London went on for hours, until night came. I watched an awful lot of television and began to hate airports.
At last I was on the flight to Dublin on Ryanair! Not long after take-off we were told to prepare for the descent and then as we came down with a bump, slowing along the runaway, a voice thanked us and said, ‘It is raining in Dublin – Ryanair can do nothing about the weather!’
I got off ahead of the other passengers and was shown along by a hostess into a crowded room. She soon spotted a man holding a piece of cardboard with ‘Our Grandson Pepe Carroll’ written on it. This was Grandad, a tall man with a beard and round glasses. He wore denims, a shirt and a jacket, and I noticed that he had soil on his boots. He thanked the hostess, praising the staff for escorting me safely through the various airports and thentook a long look at me. He shook my hand very formally and then seemed to change his mind and gave me a hug.
‘I like your hat,’ he said as we retrieved the carpet bag.
Getting off the aeroplane in Bogotá, I felt as if I had always been flying. My feet did not seem to be on the ground. I was in a kind of dream. One of the hostesses brought me to a desk with a sign: ‘Lufthansa’. I was taken in behind the counter. Another hostess made phone calls and yet another hostess arrived as I was staring across thedesk at the crowds of people. What a sight! It was a lot better than television.
We went to a room with a big conveyer belt, the ‘ luggage carousel’. The carpet bag with its label was going round and round until I grabbed it. The hostess led me on, through barriers and along corridors. Men looked at her and she smiled. To an air pilot she said, ‘Meet my new man, captain!’ They laughed. I clung onto my hat and the towel in its plastic bag while she carried the carpet bag. I offered to carry it, but she shook her head and smiled again.
I was left waiting in a lounge with airport workers in different uniforms. There was a television hanging from the ceiling, but it was showing news programmes and I couldn’t reach up to change the channel. It was a relief to hear my name called at last. A hostess took me back out through the bustle and crowds for my flight to Zürich, in Switzerland.
It was a long way to Switzerland. We flew for hours, though I slept for most of the time. At Zürich airport I began to feel lonely. Everyone spoke a strange language, and seemed to be in a terrible hurry. Why had I left Mama and Grandma? Would I ever see El Dorado again? He was my only friend, the only one I could tell my troubles to. I wished I could go back to the commune.
Finally a hostess who spoke very bad Spanish showed me to where I had to go for my next flight. Soon I was in another aeroplane seat, waiting for another take-off. Thistime we landed in London. This airport was enormous, and even more full of people, but now they were speaking English, so at least I could understand. The hostess who took charge of me made me feel like a piece of baggage . She took me by the hand as we pushed through the crowd. I was annoyed.
Then we stopped. ‘Do you like burger and chips?’ she asked, showing her shining teeth in a big smile. I thought hostesses had some problem – they seemed to smile almost all the time. Their faces must get very tired! I was hungry, so I nodded and she got me a take-away in a cardboard box. I sat and ate at a plastic-topped table. The waiting in London went on for hours, until night came. I watched an awful lot of television and began to hate airports.
At last I was on the flight to Dublin on Ryanair! Not long after take-off we were told to prepare for the descent and then as we came down with a bump, slowing along the runaway, a voice thanked us and said, ‘It is raining in Dublin – Ryanair can do nothing about the weather!’
I got off ahead of the other passengers and was shown along by a hostess into a crowded room. She soon spotted a man holding a piece of cardboard with ‘Our Grandson Pepe Carroll’ written on it. This was Grandad, a tall man with a beard and round glasses. He wore denims, a shirt and a jacket, and I noticed that he had soil on his boots. He thanked the hostess, praising the staff for escorting me safely through the various airports and thentook a long look at me. He shook my hand very formally and then seemed to change his mind and gave me a hug.
‘I like your hat,’ he said as we retrieved the carpet bag.
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