Happy Easter! This is the second time we have spent Easter in Africa. We slept well last night and have a leisurely start this morning. It is basically a travel day, but we don’t have to leave the hotel until after 12.
It started raining sometime last nigh and is still raining when we wake at 8:30. We call the cart and head for breakfast a little after 9. Since it is raining they take us through the kitchen so we can stay under cover and Carolyn doesn’t have to do the steps. We have the works, fresh pastries, homemade fruit yogurt, fresh squeeze orange juice and wonderful eggs Benedict, a nice way to start our Easter morning!
Back in the room we check email and Dick gets his bookkeeping up to date. Carolyn got the Blog up to date last night. We have no idea when we will have internet again as we will be in South Africa National Park areas for the next three days and on the road after that until Cape Town.
The cart comes about 12:15 for us and the luggage. Our driver is waiting to take us to the airport and we are on the road by 12:30. Traffic is light this morning even though this is not a holiday in this largely Hindu nation. This time we go through St Louis. the capital. It is a large port city and has a pretty town center with a big market area that is in full swing this morning. Looks interesting, when we come back we will have to visit. Yes, Lord willing, we will come back to this lovely island. We have really enjoyed our short time here and would like to come back for a week or two and enjoy all there is to do and of course stay at the Oberoi!
We are at the airport in just under an hour.
Of course, we enter the terminal at the opposite end from the South Africa Air counters, but are soon checked in and on our way to the lounge. We have about an hour until our boarding time. Carolyn has a wheelchair so the security part is not too bad. Carolyn also bought some goodies at the Oberoi gift shop, enough to get the VAT back so we do that and are able to get the cash refunded in SA Rand!
Again the lounge is very nice especially for a small airport. The plane is a little late, not arriving until we are supposed to start boarding, but they turn it around very fast and we are just a few minutes late taking off. The plane is a 320-200 with comfortable business class seats. They serve us lunch soon after we are air born. It actually tastes great and we both eat the whole thing. It is about four hours to Johannesburg and we arrive at 5:30. Carolyn’s wheelchair is waiting and we are escorted through passport control with the minimum of pain and agony!
We are spending the night at the Premium Hotel near the airport so we can get an early start in the morning. The original plan was to just take the shuttle to the hotel and then Dick would come back to the airport first thing tomorrow and collect the car. We weren’t to keen on leaving a rental car in a hotel parking lot in Jo’burg. We over think this while on the plane and Dick tries to get the car early, thinking it might save some time in the morning. Well, no, they don’t have the SUV we reserved, “please come in the morning, we may have it then, maybe”!
We just miss the shuttle to the hotel so have to cool our heels for about 30 minutes for the next one. Dick has gotten hot with all the running around checking into the car and there is no place to get something to drink. His cold has kept him very thirsty so he is miserable while we wait. Finally the shuttle comes and we get to the hotel, get checked in and in the room about 7. The hotel is nothing great, but it is inexpensive for just this one night and they have a bar and a full restaurant. That is just what we need even though we aren’t really hungry, we want a toddy! We wind up with hot sandwiches and cold drinks...just what the Doctor ordered for $16.50. That solves all our problems and we head back to the room and bed.
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