April 7 - 8

I can't believe that I actually made it to South Africa! We have been talking about going for such a long time that up until a few days before the flight, it felt like a hypothetical exercise in planning.

Once both Seders were done, the reality hit and by Monday, I was all set to go, packed, fridge cleaned, house arrangements made. It felt like weeks not hours before our departure. Dark and early, the airport limo picked me up and drove to pick up Gila. We were at the airport by 6:45, but we had to wind our way through numerous lines. First to a departure window, where we were able to change our seats so that we were sitting next to each other, then for a mug shot and finally through American Security where I was forced to take off my runners. Some how, i managed to spain my ankle putting the shoes back on and i ended up limping to the departure gate. By the time we reached the right gate, we were both in desperate need of coffee. Our gate was near Starbucks, but the line up was so long that Gila trekked at least a half mile to locate a Tim Horton's. A little more settled now, we waited to boarding for the short flight to New York. 

In New York, we had to find the terminal for South African Airways and pass through security one more time. By the time we found the right departure point, the plane had already boarded. The flight was very light, giving both Gila and I the luxury of having empty seats around us. This was a marathon flight to Johannesburg and the empty seats provided us with room to stretch out while trying to sleep. We were served lunch with wine an hour into the flight and then the lights were turned off to simulate night at two in the afternoon. I took a sleeping pill in the hope (false as it turned out) that it would knock me out. Gila without any help slept for most of the trip. I watched two movies, neither memorable and tossed and turned even when I stretched out to get some shut eye. An hour prior to landing, the lights went back on and were served breakfast. Local time at landing was 8:00 a.m. My body was telling me that it was 2:00 in the morning.

We had 4 hours to kill before flying on to Cape Town. Some of the time was spent looking for the right terminal and having our bags rechecked. Porters swarmed in the airport and although we insisted that we needed no help, one man grabbed our cart and steered us to the correct check in window. Once he had forced himself upon us, we had no choice but to tip him. It was aggravating. We got new sim cards for our phones, spent a considerable time to get them to work and failed, proving once again that you get what you pay for. The sim card had been a free promotion by Virgin. By now I was too cranky to function and we sat down in a restaurant for coffee. The caffeine and rest helped, but I was in no mood to start shopping. We popped into a few stores as Gila wanted to rectify the phone difficulty and recharge her phone, but I suggested that the departure room would have outlets. I was right, but it turned out that neither of us had the right adaptor. It was a frustrating airport lay over. The Joburg terminal does not have enough room for all the planes so we had to take a bus out to the Tarmac. The flight to Cape Town was less than two hours, but by the time we landed at our final destination, it was after 2:00 p.m. the next day. We had been in transit for 27 hours. Again a porter we did not need attached himself to us, put the baggage on the cart and escorted us out of the arrivals area. I tipped him and then he asked Gila for a tip. We are going to have to be more forceful in refusing help at our next airport experience.

Shelley was waiting for us with a huge sign and before we even left the airport, she had supervised us getting other sim cards as well as a data and talk plan. Both our phones were dead but we stayed until the sales person had recharged both of them and verified that everything worked. Suitably connected we set off to find our apartment. The drive from the airport showed us the full gamut of South African housing, shanty town hovels, government sponsored cookie cutter communities and well to do neighbourhoods. Everywhere we looked there was evidence of security concerns. All houses are behind a locked door or gate. On top of the wall you can see broken shards of glass, electrified lines or metal spikes along the entire length.

Our apartment is small but well equipped and requires a keychain full of keys when leaving the premises. The front door has three different locks and the terrace door has two. There is one additional key for the safe. It is so unlike home where I have no difficulty leaving the house to shop or walk a dog with the doors left unlocked. Even in the car, anything not taken has to be stowed in the 'boot' so thieves are not tempted to break into the car.

I was tired but was afraid that if I took a nap, I would not wake up easily, so we unpacked, walked to the supermarket for breakfast foods and went out for a seafood dinner at a place called the Ocean Basket. Shelley is amazing. She brought us a box of staples for the apartment. She is easy to talk to and seems to understand what we want to get out of this visit. Having Leah put us in touch with Shelley, her best South African friend, will make this visit far more personal and packed with diversions that we could never find if we had come entirely on our own. This trip is going to be an experience of a lifetime.