Arriving In Africa
The Plane Trip
On Friday, September 11th, we boarded a plane to JFK Airport for the first leg of our trip to Africa. We collected our duffle bags and carry-ons and headed for the AirRail, an elevated train that runs around at the airport making stops at various stations, terminals and...in our case....hotels. We checked in at the Holiday Inn, had dinner and made it an early night. On Saturday morning, the hotel shuttle took us directly to the terminal where we checked in for our flight. The plane trip was uneventful....and very, very long. Fifteen hours, non-stop, to Johannesburg, South Africa.
We landed at O R Tambo International Airport, a very busy airport that very efficiently moves incoming passengers through customs in what seemed like minutes. The Traveling Stick had no problem at customs, and stayed very quiet in my carry-on bag.
We were met at the airport by a representative from Journeys Of Distinction, the travel agency we used to arrange our trip. We can recommend them highly...their arrangements were flawless, we were given a detailed itinerary with all the information we needed, and the entire trip went incredibly smoothly. The representative gave us itineraries, coupons to give the various guides and agencies that would assist us while we were in Africa, brochures and information about all of the places we planned to visit, and took us directly to the shuttle bus that was waiting to take us to our hotel, the Southern Sun.
We were determined not to succumb to jet lag, although none of us were able to sleep much on the airplane. So after we checked in and made sure the Traveling Stick was fine, we went to the dining room and had lunch, which was served buffet-style...all sorts of entrees including lamb curry, homemade breads, vegetables and salads, and desserts that looked like works of art. A Hadeda Ibis showed up at the pool outside the dining room and had his own lunch.
After lunch, we were met at the entrance to the hotel by Patrick, a guide who took us to the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. This was an astonishingly complete and impressive display of the history of South Africa, from the early tribes through the life and struggles of Nelson Mandela to the present day. After a few hours, I felt a little claustrophobic and a lot jet-lagged, and went outside to sit on a bench and admire a fountain with a backdrop that quoted Nelson Mandela:
“To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
Doug joined me on the Group W bench (a little Arlo Guthrie reference) and Patrick came over and talked with us for a while until Susan joined us. Patrick's family had come from Belgium during the apartheid days, and although they were not “of color,” they too felt the effects of apartheid. They were different, and not members of those groups in power, so they too were restricted in where they could go and who they could associate with...he said that many families from Asia and India also experienced this, and sometimes members of the same family were separated because they received different labels from those in power. A strange, sad history. And a museum worth visiting, we all agreed. Visitors are not allowed to take photographs inside the museum, but there are some images permanently imprinted in our minds.
http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/249/51/
12 Sept 09
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