Well, we made it! A 15 hr flight from JFK to Johannesberg, a few hours to mend some nausea from the turbulence over Namibia, a 2 hr jump to Cape Town, where we were met by our awesome landlord, Garry, and many World Cup enthusiasts throwing soccer ball stove pipe hats at every arriving passenger. We have settled into our lovely apartment and managed to find a nearby market to shop for groceries. I was happy to find, albeit small, but a selection of free range meat and chicken and a very few organic items. About 2 hours from here is a cherry picking farm and about 2 minutes form here are vineyards - cherries and grapes are 2 of my favorite fruits!
Jet lag is not over for us in South Africa. We are all up late and then we sleep late. Not bad for vacation, but not great for our rythyms. Our days have been very busy and exciting. We arrived late Thursday afternoon and managed to make our way to the Herschel School for Girls holiday concert just before it ended. This gave us the chance to see the school and student body that Molly and Lyle will join in January. The next day, Friday, we spent a few hours at Herschel getting toured and acquainted. We will return Tuesday for the step-up day where the kids will meet their teachers and classmates. Over the weekend, we explored the southern suburbs of Cape Town - namely the penguin beach - and also the Cape of Good Hope National Park where we saw Chacma baboons, wild ostriches and a bok (antelope) of some sort. We also had the chance to walk out to Cape Point - the place where the Atlantic Ocean is on one side and the Indian Ocean is on the other. The walk out there is 283 ft or so above sea level and the wind is always blowing. It was just perfect in every way. We have also made short stops at a few local beaches and have learned of the very real dangers of the Great White Sharks. We haven't gone swimming yet - as the water is a bit chilly - it will warm a bit - AND despite some of the beaches looking as populated as the jersey shore, we are proceeding with the water sports VERY slowly.
We are absolutely blown away by the beauty of this land and we've only been to the southern suburbs. Table Mountain gives amazing views from anywhere. The trees are so green, the flowers are so colorful. We have joined a squash club and the people are very friendly - there is a huge cricket contingent and we have watched parts of a few games. The pictures I will post are pretty self explanatory. A few of us in case you forgot what we looked like, but mostly landscape as it's so amazing and words just don't do it justice. The landscape is so large and so beautiful, as I walked out to the Cape Point and looked out over 2 enormous and powerful oceans, I felt as if I was the teeniest thing in the world. Way below me - though I couldnt see them - swam southern right whales, great white sharks, tuna, etc..Above and around me flew terns, oystercatchers, seagulls. There is no question in my mind, this land suits these creatures who use it so gracefully and naturally.
As promised, there will be some Ukraine blogging by Dave at some point. Stay tuned.
-Hope
