Sunday- Tuesday
It was just a short 10.5 hour flight from Germany down to Joburg (and I should add that on my flight, the inflight entertainment system wasn’t working.. so no movies or TV to watch- that was painful). So while I tried to sleep sitting up and had no TV, Morgan was on a different flight laying down in first class getting his beauty rest. 🙂 We were able to meet up in the Joburg airport and then headed down to PE together. Sunday after checking in we drove along the coast for a while and then drove about another hour to a little resort type town that has an old lighthouse. Right next door to the light house was a bird rehabilitation site so we got to see a bunch of African penguins (I didn’t know they had penguins!). The coast reminded us of California, lots of big boulders and cliffs going into the water. After that we headed back to PE and ate dinner at a Mediterranean place.
Monday turned out to be a holiday in SA (no one told Morgan that when he planned his trip down here) sooo he went in for half a day and then left to have lunch with me and check out Hobie beach before calling in to a conference call. The water was actually pretty clear and there were quite a few people swimming even though it is winter. It was in the high sixties/ low seventies during the day and totally sunny.. not a cloud in the sky, which is so nice after so many gloomy months in Germany. We ate lunch at a “afritalian” place right on the water- and got to sit on the porch.. it was so relaxing! That night we walked around the Boardwalk (a huge shopping center with lots if restaurants, shops, a movie theater and a casino). We grabbed dinner and then saw a movie (it was 43 rand per ticket., which is about $4.30).. much better than in London! Sadly it gets dark here around 6 this time of year… a big adjustment from Germany where it is staying light until almost 11pm! There were several “guard cats” here at the hotel… they mainly like to lie in the sun in front of our door and wait to be petted. We were lucky we got the only room with an ocean view!
Tuesday Morgan had to work all day, so after eating breakfast with Morgan I hung out at the hotel reading and sitting outside. Breakfast out our hotel was really good, they had fruit, yougurt, and cereals set out and then there was a list of 6 or 7 things the cook would make for you (French toast, English breakfast, omelet, etc). That night we went back to the Boardwalk and ate dinner at “Spurs” (a big chain restaurant in SA..kinda like their version of Applebee’s it turned out) and then saw another movie. We tended to go to the Boardwalk most evenings 1) it was only two blocks from our hotel, 2) it had lots of options, and 3) it was safe. They had lots of security guards and a well-lit and patrolled parking lot so you didn’t have to worry about going to your car, etc. During the day the area we were in was fine, but at night they don’t recommend you walk around by yourself/with just two people (I think this is the case for most/all of the bigger cities in SA).
