Today started out a tad late as these beds at Fatima’s really do little to recharge you at night, they simply allow you to lie back, close your eyes and wake up just as sore and tired when you went to bed.
We set out to get notaries of our passports as Lonely Planet advised due to police checks. The whole process was about 30 Mts for both Alisa and I and was done on Vladimir Lenin just south of Mao Se Tung where Fatima’s is located.
2105 29 May
We crossed into Mozambique this morning around 4 am on a uneventful bus journey from Joburg. I was surprised at how well the management of the bus went, as they handed us tickets for our bags that went in the bag carriage and did counts of people on the bus at each stop. When we were here before we had only rode Intercape once or twice, but they have upped their performance since.
The border was just as rowdy as many other African borders we have crossed before. However there was much less cohesion as a bus group than er have seen at other borders. Usually we can just follow the crowd and get through but this time i had to enquire and i actually lead the entire group to the out-processing point on the South African side. Afterwards we trekked on foot across the birder but again this wasn’t marked out very well nor was there a steady stream of people doing the same. We were stopped by the military/police as Continue reading
While reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated, i did get to experience my first ever bout of food poisoning. Elna, the women we were staying with in South Africa, took us out to eat on Wednesday night as a way to help make up for the fact that we were severely screwed over on our taxi fare from the airport to her house. I ended up sampling a very tender piece of meat, that in retrospect was probably not cooked to the way my American stomach was used to or it could simply have been a bad piece. Either way, I slept for much of the next 36 hours with only brief moments of consciousness.
I have only just tonight had my first proper meal in nearly 72 hrs. As many as you know, it can be difficult for me to last just 5 hrs of not snacking on something, and as such in those first 30 hrs I lost over 5 lbs of body weight. Alisa commented that I looked abnormally thin and when i looked at my arms I realized that nearly all of the muscle mass i had put on in the last 5 months had evaporated.
Fortunately I have found my appetite once again and though not back to full strength Mozambique’s seafood should be able to help me regain all that was lost.
That feeling of ‘rush’ finally hit as we got to JFK and I realized that the thing I had forgotten to do was download the maps app. We searched in Terminal 4 for a free wifi connection, but of course there was none. There was boingo, which actually has an app that you can download and then buy credits right through iTunes. I thought was great luck as they gave you one hour free when you downloaded the app. Upon doing so I searched iTunes for the Co Pilot Live app, but found only the North American. I panicked thinking that they had pulled the app. I decided to bite the bullet and pay the 8 bucks for wifi for the computer as well. Through the desktop iTunes i was able to find it and then start the download. However our time in between flights was not great and I had wasted much time in searching. It was a race against time to complete the download and I finally had to picked up the computer with the lid open and walk to security. Fittingly the download completed just as we reached the front and I was able to close it and pack it away.
The final challenge presented itself in the fact that Alisa and I had not been paired together on the South African Airways flight and now reached the gate with most of the plane boarded. We lucked out in that while the flight was full there was an empty seat next to Alisa.
We saw a guy rocking the new US away kit and his girlfriend/wife with an Argentina kit, so we’re obviously not the only two people who decided to beat the rush and come to South Africa early.
The flight itself has bee up to the same standard we had enjoyed on Virgin from Heathrow and back the last time we flew into Joburg. Alisa had the chicken in mustard sauce while I had the lamb over rice. They provided metal silver ware (which is something we had not packed) so that immediately got tucked away, and it will double as a present on my return as my mother brings small forks for the family cat, Euro, back from all over the world. I guess being fed with exotic forks allows her to feel like she came along.
Alisa had forgotten to print her Kenya itinerary which the guy at Dulles made a big deal about this morning as here tickets to and from SA are more than 90 days apart. Not quite sure that was a major deal for him, but luckily my mother had here ‘new’ iPhone (my phone) on her and Alisa was able to show him the electronic copy. We searched in vain for a business lounge in JKF even though there apparently was one. However we have the document in Goodreader, and iPhone/iPad app that allows you to store files directly on the device. Hopefully the customs and immigration officer will take it. If not, Alisa will have to talk her way into the country somehow
The African File 