Pictures and Memories

It is a standing joke that after returning from a long vacation you invite your friends and family over and torture them with a slide show.  Everyone is crowded into the living room the lights are turned off and the host, in a monotone voice, narrates slide after slide.  Hopefully after the show the lucky invitees, after they wake from a coma and wipe the drool from their chins, will still be your friends, and your family didn't disown you. Well in modern times a blog or Facebook tells the story and friends and family are invited via e-mail to view vacation slide shows and in that spirit I sent out Kodak Share e-mail invitations to all my friends and family.  If I missed someone or you know someone who would like to see my photos please send me their e-mail and I will send them invitations. (gaferraro@knology.net) So it would be less overwhelming I divided my photos into albums so you can view an album here and there and not be overwhelmed.  I hope you enjoy my pictures and viewing my slide show will still be my friends and family after all is said and done.

Reflections Out of Africa!

Three and a half weeks and three countries it is hard to believe that after all the planning and anticipation the adventure is over. This morning I woke up in my own bed still a little jet lagged but no worse for the wear. It is hard to believe that we were in South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland! Even harder to believe is that even though Lesotho and Swaziland are smaller then most US states they could not be more different then South Africa which dominates and surrounds both countries. Lesotho is landlocked inside South Africa and Swaziland is boarded on three sides by South Africa and on one side Mozambique. The one thing they all had in common was how friendly and welcoming the people were. Before Will and I left we heard all about how high the crime rate was in all three countries esp. South Africa. We were told to make sure we didn’t drive or walk about alone at night, to make sure we left nothing on the seat in the car to put everything in the boot (trunk). Thankfully we were spared and did not see that side of these wonderful countries. What I did notice is that things we as Americans would see as negatives they see as the norm. People in South Africa all live behind a wall called security. As you drive along the streets you don’t see sprawling lawns you see walls topped with either barbed wire or electric fence (or both), a security gate and signs warning that not only is there an alarm but armed force will respond to the alarm. Hotels, guest houses, bed and breakfasts advertise that they have security guarding the parking lots to keep your car safe. Stop signs are superseded by signs telling you not to stop because it is a high crime area. In America these would be things that would keep people away, but somehow it doesn‘t keep tourists away, heck we went. We went to a place where animals roam free and are protected and signs warn people of their presence but also not to molest them and it is the people who live behind security walls. Yet despite that we had a remarkable adventure one that was thus far the trip of a life time which is now over and we are left with pictures, memories and souvenirs to help us recall our time spent in Africa! After three flights totaling ~20 hours we arrived home safe and sound. What I do know is that my experience in Africa was exceptional and one that has left me with a lifetime of memories. I am better for having been there. I am not sure what our next adventure will be but I can say this that it will be have to be phenomenal to surpass Africa, but I am willing to give it a go! It is late and I am off to bed tomorrow there will not be a breakfast basket at my door but after living out of a suit case for three and a half weeks what I can also say it is nice to be home! Good night!

Day 25 11/05/10

The world travelers have arrived, right now I am sitting in the Delta Sky Club. We left yesterday for the airport at 08:00 South African Time (+7 central) our first flight on South African Airlines to Johannesburg departed at 10:50, 19:10 Johannesburg to Atlanta and we finally arrived in Atlanta at 05:51. One more flight to go 11:12 Atlanta to Huntsville and we will finally be home. We have been through security 4 different times to include a full body pat down. All in all we are exhausted and as the saying goes, “There’s no place like home, There’s no place like home.” Would that it could be so easy to click your ruby slippers and bam you are home! Vacations or holidays as they call it in South Africa are a blast, to bad travel sucks the life from your very soul. I am so glad to have the rest of today and the weekend to recover! I wouldn’t trade my experiences for the world, it was a remarkable vacation, one that will be difficult to top, but I am game to try! Now I have to lose all the extra baggage and I don’t mean my luggage! I think, no I know I ate my way through three countries. I am not even sure that I am up to Thanksgiving this year after this three week binge! Signing off!

Day 24 11/04/10

Our basket was outside our door for the last time this morning! So sad to see it go! We had to be up and out very early to get to the airport for our the first leg of our flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg. When we arrived we paid to have our bags wrapped in plastic, yes you read correctly it is apparently a security measure to prevent theft! Luckily when we checked in they could check our bags all the way through to our final destination even though it was South African Airlines (SAA) transferring to Delta. I hope when I finish the long journey home my bag will be there too. Well any way back to SAA when we got to the gate they not only check the bag size but also weigh the bag, my carry on had to be gate checked. I have fragile glass animals from Swaziland in the bag, I was in a panic, but they wouldn't budge. My bag went off all wrapped in a large plastic bag and sealed with security stickers. My bag did make it but I haven’t opened the boxes, I will save that until I get home. Will thinks they will be fine as they were so carefully wrapped and padded with paper they should be fine. I hope everything is in one piece. Keep your fingers crossed. When we got to the airport we gassed up and returned the rental car, and started the long walk from the rental cars return to the terminal. Will checked a bag in stored baggage so we went to retrieve it and repack which was quite an ordeal. We keep forgetting that we are not in the US and that most places don’t take credit cards and if they do most times the dial up doesn’t connect! After repacking the bag we headed off to check the bag, surprise, Delta doesn’t open until 4 and is now 2 o’clock! Off to eat lunch but wait, we order and what, what you may ask, bam their credit card machine is down no service. Off to the ATM around the world and back to pay for lunch. Now I have Rand I don’t need because I had to take out a minimum of 50 rand increments! Ok no biggie I can find something to purchase. Delta finally opens we check the bag and head to security and passport control. That went well which is always a relief! We went to get our refund on our VAT, they would only give us a check in rand. What good is that, well they direct us to the Western Union next door, they will cash and convert they check. Then the hammer falls I had a check for ~76 rand after the fee I was left with 50 rand, I didn’t bother converting to dollars since that was an additional fee. Will was hopping mad, he didn’t cash the check he is going to wait until he gets home to cash it at Wells Fargo, I cashed mine because Redstone Federal Credit Union doesn’t cash foreign checks, so my rand went to purchase a bag of M&Ms and a Toblerone bar, so in the end chocolate made the whole thing better! I am now sitting in the Air France First Class lounge waiting to board my flight. My journey is ending and I will be home tomorrow. I have the weekend to recover and perhaps work on pictures. Until tomorrow!

Day 23 11/03/10

This morning once again our breakfast was delivered in a basket outside our door! I could get accustomed to this very easily!!!! It was overcast this morning and a bit cool so we ate breakfast in the room. We then researched wineries in the local area to see if there were any that served sulfite free wine. We found one, only one!!!! I guess if I want to drink wine I am going to have to start stomping my own grapes. We made a pit stop along the way to process our VAT refund, what fun that is, more to come! After all the fun at the VAT refund we were off to the winery. There are countless wineries in the Cape Town area. I would have never guessed. Villiera Wines the one place I thought I could enjoy a good wine tasting, but alas they only had one, that’s right one wine, actually a sparking wine which did not contain sulfites. It was not that good so Will continued tasting while I waited and watched. The staff directed us to two other wineries in the area that supposedly had sulfite free wines but they too were a bust, they had organic, ladybug wines but none which were sulfite free! On to lunch at a Lebanese restaurant located in the middle of Stellenbosch wine capital of South Africa! Go figure in a town which is predominantly Afrikaans we would find Arabic food. But we did!!!! LOL Since it was not much fun for me or Will to go wine tasting when I couldn’t taste we headed back to Cape Town. Along the way we stopped at the Century City Mall. I think it is bigger the Bridge Street, Parkway Place and Madison Square combined. They were starting to put out their Christmas decorations, and I bet it is going to be spectacular. I do not think I could even estimate how much it cost to build the mall much less decorate it! The evening after we returned was kind of slow, which was good as we are weary from travel. We packed our bags and had dinner in a café down the block from the guest house! Tomorrow all the fun at the airport and three plane rides home! Happy, happy, joy, joy!!!

Day 22 11/02/10

This morning our breakfast was delivered in a basket outside our door! Yogurt, croissants, hard boiled eggs, mini multigrain bread loaves, cheese, cold cuts, the guest house also puts our coffee, tea, juice, cereal, in the kitchen. The basket is so you don’t have to get dressed and or showered and eat in your room or you can take it and enjoy your breakfast on the roof deck. We opted for the latter and enjoyed a beautiful sunny morning with a view of table and signal mountains! After breakfast we hit the open air flea markets and shops in the local area! Will once again proved without a doubt that he is the master of the deal. If this were Vegas his face would be posted all over town to let the merchants know to beware. After a whirlwind tour we headed back to the room to regroup. We decided to have lunch at Victoria and Alfred waterfront we ate at Quay Four, we sat right on the boardwalk and not only enjoyed the view but found out how friendly the local birds can be! LOL two kept trying to steal my chips (French fries). After lunch we had ice cream Hagen Das YUM, then it was a ferry ride to Robben Island (Robben means seal in Dutch). Robben Island is where the South African Government imprisoned political prisoners fighting against Apartheid. Nelson Mandela being one of the most notable, as you know he later after being released became president of South Africa. It was a fascinating tour, we started on a bus tour, the guide was extremely knowledgeable and hilarious at the same time. Robben island has been used as a penal colony by the Dutch, English, South Africans, as well as a leper colony, during World War II the prisoners were removed and the military move on to the island to defend the cape coast. In 1962 it was once again used to as a prison and the prison which stands today as a museum was built. The last political prisoners were released in 1991. Today due to the wisdom of Nelson Mandela who preaches “reconciliation” which means “to not take revenge” South Africa is rebuilding itself to be a country which is inclusive and tolerant, this done for the sake of its children and the greater good and future of this country. Today the same political prisoners are the tour guides at the prison and they use their unique and very personal stories to provide a unique and powerful insight to life in this notorious prison. After the tour we took the ferry back to Cape Town and had dinner at the City Grille, Will had kudu and I had springbok followed by desert! Tomorrow is our last day our adventure is coming to a close, one last day to explore this unique City! Hard to believe it is almost time to fly home!

Day 21 11/01/10

The wind died down a bit this morning so before breakfast Will and I went on a walk down the beach to see the penguins. It was early and I think the penguins were as tired as we were!! When we returned breakfast was served on our beach front porch outside our room! It was so nice to enjoy a hearty breakfast while watching the waves crash on the beach! It looked so nice we took a picture to remember, two eggs over easy, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, a fried banana, toast, and juice, somehow tasted better al fresco! We headed back to Cape Town after breakfast so we could check into the B&B and get settled. 17 on Loader is a modern located in DeWaterkant. The owner explained that DeWaterkant means “waterfront” and the name of the street Loader is so named because it was the main street used to unload the ships in the harbor. Through land fill and expansion DeWaterkant and Loader no longer sit on the harbor but the name and the history tell story of a time gone by! After checking in we took a walk around the neighborhood and had lunch at Tank a sushi restaurant. Luckily for us they were have half price sushi and cocktail lunch special, BONUS!! We spent the rest of the day exploring the shops and took in a movie. We ate dinner at the Greek Fisherman on Victoria and Alfred Warf, Will had Norwegian Salmon and prawns I had the grilled calamari! It was a great way to end a wonderful day in Cape Town!

Day 20 10/31/10

After breakfast we checked out of the Fountain Hotel to start our travels down the Cape! Much to our surprise we not only awoke to a fine sunny day but Table Mountain was clear, not a cloud in the sky. We quickly re-planned and headed over to Table Top. We took the cable car to the top and there spread before us a 360 deg view of Cape town as far as the eye can see to include as far away as the Cape of Good Hope/Cape Point. It was breath taking! It took about 45 minutes to walk around the top, the mountain is ~1073 meters above sea level! We then headed to Camps Bay. Camps Bay is Cape Town’s equivalent to Malibu or Caramel Beach. Beautiful white sand beaches and surfers hitting the waves, but most importantly a spectacular view of the Twelve Apostles, a twelve mountains. Will had Camps Bay marked as the perfect spot to take pictures of the Twelve Apostles and he was correct. We then headed on down to the Cape Point Ostrich Farm. It is a breeding farm with 40 breeding pairs, we were a week early to see the new chicks but we had a great tour! They are fascinating birds. We had lunch, ostrich medallions served with sun dried tomatoes and a caper cream sauce, delicious, and our first time trying ostrich. We then took a tour. The tour included the hatchery where they incubate the eggs, they take them away from the nest to keep the baboons from stealing and eating them. The eggs are marked and coded with the parents information. When it is time for them to hatch the babies start kicking, in the wild the mother uses her breast bone to break the shell, in the hatchery they use a hammer. If the mother or someone with a hammer doesn’t help the baby cannot break through the shell, it is so strong a person can stand on one and it won’t break. After the tour we bought some beautifully carved ostrich eggs as souvenirs! FYI one ostrich egg can feed seven people! The next stop, Cape of Good Hope. The second southern most point on the African continent! We took a funicular to the light house, the whole day it was a bit windy but wow, at one point at the top hear the lighthouse I thought the wind was going to blow me off into the ocean. Oh, not to mention as a bonus we saw humpback whales. We also saw baboons and they were everywhere, they are very bold, while having coffee at the restaurant a few actually entered the restaurant to steel food. And if you think a cat walking across your car leaving prints is bad how about baboons sitting on your car! It is kind of freaky because there are signs all over that say how dangerous they are, not to feed them to not get out of the car or roll down the windows and then boom there they are on your car, and in the restaurant! We then headed off to our B&B Froggy Pond! The owners Derek and Ann are charming and welcoming and the room has a view of the ocean and the penguins. Yes the penguins, Will and I went on a long walk along the beach and yes they are everywhere! You can get so close but they do bite as Will found out as he tried to boop their beak! One was so fascinated with Will’s camera strap he walked right up and started biting at it! We then headed off to Boulder’s Beach and had a great dinner at Bertha’s a seafood restaurant on the bay, False Bay! We had African style spring rolls served with a mint yogurt, I had dorado fish and Will had blue fish, we both had malva pudding with caramel sauce and ice cream, YUM. Right now the wind is howling loudly outside our windows but we are safe and sound and both exhausted inside so let the wind blow! It is getting late so I will sign off, tomorrow we head back to Cape Town! I hope I have internet access so I can update you all! Until then!

Day 19 10/30/10

We made it, we are in Cape Town! The flight from Joburg went very smoothly. We made sure that we got to the airport early so we could return the car and have our bags wrapped with plastic. The bag is put into a clamp, the machine then spins the bag and bam the bag is wrapped! All in all smooth sailing through the airport, and we didn’t even have to take our shoes off. After checking into our hotel we headed off to Table Mountain. Table Mountain is smack dab in the middle of Cape Town it can be seen from all over the city! Well any way when we arrived they just closed down due to high winds which makes it unsafe to run the cable car and also the table cloth, a thick cloud layer which looks like well a table cloth, was too dense! So we regrouped and drove down to the Victoria and Albert water front. It is a wonderful place filled with stores, restaurants, street performers and people enjoying life! After wandering around the waterfront and in and out of countless shops we built up quite the appetite so we began browsing menus! Each restaurant keeps a copy or copies of their menus outside and the staff stands by waiting to help you decide to dine at their establishment. We finally decided to have dinner at a South African restaurant named Karibu which means welcome in Swahili! I had the “line fish of the day” white salmon pan seared with putu and chakalaka which is a traditional dish of beans over a white corn meal. Will had the white salmon grilled with the putu chakalaka we both followed up with decadent deserts, or puddings as they call them here! Tomorrow we are heading down to the Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. Penguins and ostriches await!