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Monday, July 12, 2010

Back home in South Africa

 

We're home in South Africa. Although the weather is quite cold, we're enjoying the relief and respite from the incredible heat we've endured these past few months in Khartoum. Our flight from Khartoum took of exactly at 4h40. It was a short trip (1 1/2 hours) to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. While waiting in the airport boarding lounge in Addis, we were entertained by many World Cup Soccer fans (pictured above) on their way to watch the final between Holland and Spain on Sunday. The guys in orange shirts and the others in white tee shirts were Dutch supporters. The well-built man with dreadlocks, is an American from Detroit where he teaches soccer at schools (can you teach soccer?Anyway that's what he told me!) An absolute extrovert, he kept us enthralled by the tricks he performed with a soccer ball - balancing it on his nose, and dribbling it down under his chin, across his arm, onto his foot, kicking it into the air, never once dropping the ball. Amazing stuff! He and his brother (not pictured here) were also Dutch supporters. 

Sadly, although Grant and I followed the whole World Cup soccer tournament since it started on 10th June, we didn't watch the final between Spain and Holland. We don't have television (by choice) here in South Africa. By the time this post is online, the world champions will be known!


Flying over Tanzania on Saturday, Mount Kilimanjaro was clearly visible  to the left of the plane. (we were seated on the right)  Now, believe this or not: I had my Canon Powershot in my hand luggage in the overhead storage, Grant had my older Canon EOS 350 SLR with Zoom lens in his hand luggage yet we could get to one of the bags! The lockers are so jammed with luggage that it's not easy to find or remove yours in flight. I asked a lady sitting on the left of the plane to take some photos with my little Sony Cybershot (which is always in my handbag/purse) and although I have the above image, I could have had much better and closer ones. Nevertheless, while flying over this magnificent mountain, I thought of my dear blogger friend, Lynda who lives in the foothills of Kilimanjaro. When we fly back next month, I will have my Canon Powershot around my neck!
The Oliver Tambo airport in Johannesburg is aptly decorated for the World Cup  and very welcoming . I believe that visitors to this beautiful country of ours have felt at home and will either revisit it or promote South Africa to others
Our second grandson and fourth grandchild is five and a half months old. He is the friendliest little lad and was very good on the long trip from Johannesburg to Marquard on Saturday

These are four of my six cats here in South Africa. They are all terribly overweight and hardly noticed/cared that we were back. They were more interested in the next bowl of cat cookies!

I phoned Miriam in Khartoum on Saturday and she assured me that Shadow is very well and she has everthing under control. I managed an entire conversationin Arabic  with her and she understood every word. Whoo-hoo. My lessons are paying off!

Thanks to everyone who wished us a safe journey home. I'm not sure how much blogging I'll manage so please forgive me if I don't get to visiting yours. We're off to the city to collect our new motorbike on Tuesday. On Wednesday we're going to the Drakensberg to visit John and Debbie and meet our third grandson/fifth granchild for the first time.

18 comments:

  1. I just watched part of the last game of the World Cup. I've only watched one other :-) By now you may know that Spain one and I was rooting for her ;-) I hope you enjoy your motorbike ride. Happy trails.

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  2. Glad it was such an entertaining and uneventful (like they usually are) journey. Have fun on the new bike. And say Hi to John, Debs and family.

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  3. Glad you made it home safe and sound, Jo.. Enjoy your visits and don't worry about US... We'll be here when you have time. We do understand!!!!

    Enjoy your family.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  4. Jo, I am so happy to see that you are safely back on home soil again ..... & that you had an uneventful flight home across Africa ;) love your shot of Kili peeking through the clouds - I was looking at her in all her glory from the ground up that day, too ... incredible to think that you were flying above me & I would have been able to hear you 'plane had I gone outside & listened carefully. It is so quiet here, we can hear the 'planes from afar & I think living in 'silence' your hearing becomes more acute, too. Speaking of 'cute' .... your grandson is adorable & growing so big ! The cat's all look fit & happy ... rather fat that skinny, 'eh ?! xx

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  5. Hi Jo, I have been following your travels and you do get around! The photo of Kilmanjaro is stunning!I am sure you are delighted to be home and catching up with family and friends again.
    I have a young Spanish girl staying with me and I watched the world cup final with her. Great excitement with the result they all wore their Spanish jerseys to college this morning.

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  6. You are amazing to find time to blog under such exciting times. Wow the top of Kiamanjaro great shot with the sony. I have one of those too. Cute little fellow with great eyes.

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  7. So glad you're safe and made the flight alright!
    Enjoy the family!
    hughugs

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  8. I am glad you're home safe and sound! There's really no place like home. I also remember Lynda whenever Mt. Kilimanjaro was mentioned (I found her blog through your blog).

    You really love cats and I remember my mom because of that...yours' are so healthy and fit.

    Your grandson is cute!!! Enjoy your visit to your family!

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  9. I like the Kilimanjaro shot, even though it was taken with a simple camera--it's still impressive! It sounds like you hit the ground running, so to speak. Your 4th grandchild is a doll. We watched most of the final game, but changed to golf after 95+ minutes of no scoring, so we didn't see the ending. My hubby, of course (being of 100% Dutch ancestry), was rooting for the Netherlands. He thought Spain played better all the way through, though.

    Have fun during your SA time!

    ((hugs))-Pat

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  10. Hope you have a lovely visit with the new grandbaby! The one pictured here is such a beauty--it looks like he's wearing eye liner!

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  11. Glad to hear that you're home safe and sound. Take time and enjoy your family. We'll be here when you get back :)
    ☼ Sunny

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  12. It must feel good to be home and have cooler temperatures. Your cats do not look too fat to me! They look healthy. Enjoy your stay. How long will you be there?

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  13. The games were quite exciting, Jo. And good for Africa too!
    You must be exhausted after you journey. Thanks for the great pics.

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  14. It is wonderful to see that you are back home visiting your family! Did you get my email?

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  15. Jo, so happy you are safely back home. I absolutely loved the picture of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

    Jackie

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  16. Lovely photo of Mount Kilimanjaro. And such a cute picture of your grandson.
    I'm glad to know you're safely home to visit with your family.

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Thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate your feedback. Jo