Blessing of the Pets

Every year on the feast of St Francis of Assisi, our church blesses the pets.  Bleu Kitty needed an extra blessing this year because he is going on his first airplane flight to visit his Aunt Mary and Uncle Al, and Holly, Andrew and little Francesca and her baby sister, Luciana.

His picture was published in our church bulletin and here he is in the arms of Richard.  He had a great time and enjoyed meeting Father Jerry.

Postscript to Africa Trip

Joanne & Richard ride an elephant in Africa

Richard and I traveled home on the long plane flights with quite a few delays.  We had a 2-1/2 hr delay on the runway leaving Johannesburg when a passenger who checked in luggage did not show up for the flight.  The baggage handlers had great difficulty locating the bags.  This caused us to miss our connection at Dulles Airport, Washington D.C.  We waited 6 hours for the next flight out only to be delayed by thunderstorms in the area.  When we finally landed in Tampa, Florida, we were not allowed to get up from our seats because the tail of the plane was not stable due to shifting baggage. Finally, we disembarked to drive home in the dark.  Boy, did our bed feel great since we were exhausted from the entire ordeal.

Richard came down with Type B influenza a day later, which he probably caught on the plane.  He was quite sick with high fever and cough.  As for me, Joanne, I was prescribed Tamiflu (quite expensive), but it did cut down the symptoms.  After two weeks home, we both recovered.

The trip was awesome and we totally enjoyed every minute.  We highly recommend visiting Africa - the animals roaming in their natural habitat were amazing.  The countries were so interesting and the people welcoming.  We loved the rainbows surrounding Victoria Falls!  We were educated about the political histories of the countries visited and about Apartheid.  August is the perfect month to visit because it is the dry season with fewer mosquitos and a better view of the animals (it is the end of their winter season).

Around Cape Town

Table Mountain

Sunday was GREAT - perfect clear sunny weather for a full day of fun.  It began with a cable ride up beautiful Table Mountain.  We enjoyed the vistas and had fun snapping photos. The cable rotates so everyone gets a good view on the way up and down.

Ride, Not Walk to Top 

Cape Town View From Above

Cape Town Below - so great to visit Africa

Joanne Takes Flight

Penguins

Then we hopped into our van for a scenic coast ride with a stop to visit South Africa's penguin colony.  Afterwards, we enjoyed our fish lunch (mild white fish called hake) at the Black Marlin, a cute seafood restaurant with excellent views. 

African Penguin Colony -
  Lots of them!

   

Happy Penguin Feet

We rode for a few hours down to the tip of Africa, our destination being the Cape of Good Hope.  First, we took a funicular for a lighthouse view and later we traveled on the van to a famous place to snap a picture at the Cape.  The day ended with a scenic route back along breathtaking cliffs that reminded us of the Amalfi Coastline of Italy without all the buildings. 

Cape of Good Hope Lighthouse

Cape of Good Hope

At the Cape

Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

Scenic Drive Between Granite and Sandstone

Over lunch we talked about our favorite moments.  For myself, it was the elephants dining on a tree outside our tent in Kruger and seeing the rainbows at Victoria Falls.  For Richard, it was photographing the leopards, lions and elephants.  We learned a lot about the 4 African countries we visited.  In South Africa, we were really educated about the black struggle against Apartheid.  Our guides were excellent, as were the accommodations and food.  We enjoyed the two meals in the homes of the African people because it gave us an opportunity to ask questions and get to know of their concerns.  It made us grateful for all we have, especially when visiting the settlements in the bush. We'd highly recommend touring Africa.     

Visiting Cape Town

It took us a day to fly to Cape Town through 3 airports with lots of waits, but it is worth it!  The beautiful Table Mountain rises above the city wherever you look.  The city's population is 4.5 million people, a melting pot of Dutch, British, Indonesian, German and French settlers.  Today we were supposed to take a cable car up Table Mountain, but there were strong winds that prevented that activity - maybe tomorrow!  We opted instead for a tour of their gorgeous gardens, Kirtenbosch, along with a city tour of the neighborhoods.  There is a beautiful harbor area called the Victoria and Albert Waterfront where we enjoyed a seafood lunch at the Ocean Basket.  Tonight, the group was invited to dinner at a local couple's home in a previously white neighborhood.  This couple is considered "colored," the South African term for someone who has a mixed heritage.  They are up and coming young professionals who renovated their home and are expecting their first child.  She made a mild chicken curry dish that was delicious with a wonderful homemade flatbread with rice, veggies and salad.  Here are some pictures...

Wild Almond Tree at Kirstenbosch Gardens



Colorful Bo-Kapp Street in Malay District

Bo-Kapp Street with Table Mountain in Distance



Joanne in the Table Mountain Picture Frame




Canopy Walk - Castle Rock in Background 



Chobe River Cruise

 Here's some pictures from our afternoon cruise on the Chobe River.  This was an opportunity to get close up shots of many of the illusive animals.  It's rare to see the hippos out of the water!

Sunset on the Chobe

Dinner at the Chobe Marina Lodge

Dinner tables lit by oil lanterns and candle light graced the pool deck along with a long buffet table and a grill. A part-time singer and guitar player whose day job is bridge building serenaded the hotel guests with folk and easy listening music like The Lion Sleeps Tonight and Sounds of Silence.

Grilled Impala (African antelope) chops and sausage, fried calamari rings, rice smothered in delicious mushroom sauce and fresh vegetables filled my plate. Red wine accompanied our food. Desserts sweetened many a mouth. Joanne and many others danced the night away under the starry sky.

Is there a thought given to the local women who all across Southern Africa that balance jugs of water on their heads from the closest well or river, sometimes several kilometers from their village, prepare their evening meals of polenta over an open fire, and kneel before their husbands holding out basins of water for hand washing? I guess a man should get something for his cows!

Richard
(Just kidding about the cows.)

Our Abode at Lodge

View from our Abode

Pool, Water too Cold for Richard

Chobe Marina Lodge Reception

Chobe Marina Lodge

Chobe Marina Lodge Pool

Afternoon Game Drive

August 31 Afternoon - 

Chobe National Park Botswana

This afternoon Joanne decided to take a break and relax in and beside the pool. The rest of us headed out for our afternoon game drive. After checking in at the park entrance, we drove for what seemedlike miles and miiles down the paved highway through land that looks very much like the Texas hill country. Eventually, we turned onto a deep sand road that seemed to run for more miles. A few small birds flew up as we passed. A mongoose or two raced across the road ahead of us. I had to remind myself that anything can happen. 

Stay alert and enjoy the wonderful weather. Cape Buffalo appeared and more and more of them mostly enjoying an afternoon snooze.

Several hours into our drive, Thompson in our partner Land Cruiser caught a glimpse of a leopard crossing the road only a few minutes after we had passed the spot. We turned around taking a road that paralleled the leopard's expected path. I caught a glimpse of her as she crossed an open area in the brush. Wee moved along the road and waited for her. She walked nonchalantly across the road right in front of us hardly giving us one look of concern. 

 You just don't know what you will see or where.

As we continued along three Marabou Storks flew up right in front us. I was very lucky to a get a picture as we moved along as the Cruiser has a top that provides protection from the sun but obscures the view of the sky.

We moved fast and hard over the sandy, bumpy and twisty roads to make the park closing time of 6:30 PM with a just a short stop for a sunset photo.