Three More Months in Southern Africa
Thanks for your kind messages and sorry for this somewhat sluggish start! I'm getting back into it... 🙂
1b) South Africa - Cape Town (March 30–April 4, 2018)
Thursday, March 30, 8:45 PM. The five of us board the Condor flight. The mood isn’t exactly celebratory, with three people stranded in Frankfurt. My dad, always organized and prepared, checks the documents he has one more time: the birth certificates aren’t mentioned anywhere. 😕 The plane takes off soon, and no further communication is possible. We feel helpless.
But dwelling on it won’t help! We try to relax a bit, even though Condor really isn’t making it easy. First, the legroom is seriously tight for a long-haul flight, and I’m expecting to suffer with my 1.88 meters (yes, I’m speaking Swiss—already used "a bit" instead of "the slightest" at the start of the paragraph 😏). Then, two of our five screens don’t work. Finally, only two movies are available for free, including... the second episode of a trilogy—*The Lord of the Rings*—that everyone’s already seen. No comment. 😛 The meal? I don’t remember it: that’s probably a good sign. 😄
We land around 9 AM, as eager as we are anxious to find out how the situation has evolved. What we don’t know yet is that a full-blown rescue operation kicked into gear as soon as we took off. My sister, from Frankfurt, my godson who stayed in Switzerland, his girlfriend, and her family pulled out all the stops to save the day.
At 9:38 AM, the first message we read is: "We found a (nearly) solution 😊 but we have to wait until this afternoon to confirm!" Phew. However, the postal option didn’t work out. On Good Friday, an international shipment would take at least two days. Too long!
My godson, tied up with his studies, couldn’t join us in Africa. Thankfully, I’d say! Because the Easter weekend still gave him the chance to spend four days in Bordeaux with his girlfriend and her family... with a departure early in the afternoon from Geneva-Cointrin Airport. Our only hope: convince a passenger flying to Frankfurt to take the precious envelope and hand it over to my sister in person.
And... that’s exactly what happened in the end! Luckily, not everyone follows the usual advice warning against accepting anything from a stranger. 😇 To think that the passenger in question not only refused any reward (well-deserved, though) for the favor but was also just transiting through Frankfurt: boom, an extra customs check and security screening... in exchange for our eternal gratitude, of course! 😎
It wasn’t until 1:45 PM that we got confirmation the certificates were about to depart... and at 5:48 PM that they arrived safely. On top of that, my sister managed to find three tickets for that very evening via Windhoek, with Air Namibia. 🙂
Meanwhile, we picked up our luggage, settled into a residential suburb of Cape Town, and headed downtown.
Welcome biscuit at Chaston Manor, our accommodation for the next five nights.
My brother-in-law and my oldest niece having fun at Greenmarket Square. 😉
The reunion is set for 10 AM the next day. The trip can finally begin.
1b) South Africa - Cape Town (March 30–April 4, 2018)
Thursday, March 30, 8:45 PM. The five of us board the Condor flight. The mood isn’t exactly celebratory, with three people stranded in Frankfurt. My dad, always organized and prepared, checks the documents he has one more time: the birth certificates aren’t mentioned anywhere. 😕 The plane takes off soon, and no further communication is possible. We feel helpless.
But dwelling on it won’t help! We try to relax a bit, even though Condor really isn’t making it easy. First, the legroom is seriously tight for a long-haul flight, and I’m expecting to suffer with my 1.88 meters (yes, I’m speaking Swiss—already used "a bit" instead of "the slightest" at the start of the paragraph 😏). Then, two of our five screens don’t work. Finally, only two movies are available for free, including... the second episode of a trilogy—*The Lord of the Rings*—that everyone’s already seen. No comment. 😛 The meal? I don’t remember it: that’s probably a good sign. 😄
We land around 9 AM, as eager as we are anxious to find out how the situation has evolved. What we don’t know yet is that a full-blown rescue operation kicked into gear as soon as we took off. My sister, from Frankfurt, my godson who stayed in Switzerland, his girlfriend, and her family pulled out all the stops to save the day.
At 9:38 AM, the first message we read is: "We found a (nearly) solution 😊 but we have to wait until this afternoon to confirm!" Phew. However, the postal option didn’t work out. On Good Friday, an international shipment would take at least two days. Too long!
My godson, tied up with his studies, couldn’t join us in Africa. Thankfully, I’d say! Because the Easter weekend still gave him the chance to spend four days in Bordeaux with his girlfriend and her family... with a departure early in the afternoon from Geneva-Cointrin Airport. Our only hope: convince a passenger flying to Frankfurt to take the precious envelope and hand it over to my sister in person.
And... that’s exactly what happened in the end! Luckily, not everyone follows the usual advice warning against accepting anything from a stranger. 😇 To think that the passenger in question not only refused any reward (well-deserved, though) for the favor but was also just transiting through Frankfurt: boom, an extra customs check and security screening... in exchange for our eternal gratitude, of course! 😎
It wasn’t until 1:45 PM that we got confirmation the certificates were about to depart... and at 5:48 PM that they arrived safely. On top of that, my sister managed to find three tickets for that very evening via Windhoek, with Air Namibia. 🙂
Meanwhile, we picked up our luggage, settled into a residential suburb of Cape Town, and headed downtown.
Welcome biscuit at Chaston Manor, our accommodation for the next five nights.
My brother-in-law and my oldest niece having fun at Greenmarket Square. 😉The reunion is set for 10 AM the next day. The trip can finally begin.
Camps Bay
Classic (but still stunning) panorama from Signal Hill
The next morning, a (brunch) breakfast stop in Kalk Bay on the way to Boulders Beach
The famous penguin beach
Some adorable cuddles...
... and more if you're keen! 😏
Unlike in 2016 (when I arrived at opening time), the beach is far from deserted
Next, we head to the Cape of Good Hope (photo taken along the way)
Both the flora...
... and the fauna are very rich here (this is a group of ostriches)
Sacred Ibis (African Sacred Ibis)
On the way back, we take Chapman's Peak Drive, which I hadn’t driven in 2016. Lovely!
Contrary to what the ads claim, the round-trip isn’t cheap: 330 Rands (around 20 €) for an adult tourist. 😛
At the top, lizards lounge around...
... and rock hyraxes (dassies).
In 2016, I went up and down via the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden. It’s much busier, but the view is just as stunning from that side!
After lunch (eaten at the self-service restaurant at the top), it’s time to head back down.
I prefer milk (see below)... sometimes with a little ice cream! 😎
Stellenbosch and its stately homes
Hadada ibis, in the park of the estate where we stopped to eat.
Franschhoek: aside from a few charming art galleries, the town itself didn’t hold much interest for me, but the road there is gorgeous.
District Six Museum in Cape Town, named after the neighborhood gradually emptied of its residents by the Apartheid regime starting in 1966.
In the V&A Waterfront, a perfect spot to wander and wrap up our stay in Cape Town.
