Three days and counting…Madagascar, here we come!…

On Sunday, we’ll leave Marloth Park for Nelspruit, then head to the Mpumalanga/Kruger International Airport, where we’ll spend the night at the Sleepover Airport Hotel. Our flight departs at 7:00 am on Monday, so staying at the airport the night before is definitely the easiest option. There’s nothing quite like waking up, getting dressed, gathering our luggage, and walking over to the airport rather than worrying about getting up in the middle of the night and driving in the dark.

From there, we’ll fly to Johannesburg and then continue on to Antananarivo (pronounced an·tuh·na·nuh·ree·vow), Madagascar. It’s hard to believe that after being settled back into our familiar routine here in Marloth Park, another adventure is right around the corner. We’ll be spending a week in Madagascar before returning to South Africa on Monday, September 14.

One of the most important reasons for this trip is our South African visa situation. Hopefully, when we return to South Africa, we’ll receive a new 90-day visa stamp, allowing us to remain here until sometime close to the middle of December. Then, of course, we’ll once again have to deal with the question of what to do next.

At this point, we aren’t sure whether we’ll apply for an extension to remain in South Africa longer or hop on another flight and spend some time in another country before returning. That’s something we can think about later. Right now, we have enough to think about with our upcoming trip to Madagascar, and there’s no reason to start planning another adventure before we’ve even left on this one!

Once we arrive at the airport on Sunday afternoon, we’ll get settled into our room and then head out to dinner. The biggest consideration will be making sure we get back to the hotel before dark. We have no interest in driving on the highway at night, where there are risks we’d prefer to avoid.

Unfortunately, there really aren’t any proper restaurants within about 10 kilometers of the airport. There are a few cafes in the small airport, but they mostly serve sandwiches and wraps, neither of which works particularly well for our way of eating. Louise recommended a restaurant in White River, so we’ll give that a try. It will be nice to have a good dinner before settling in for the night and preparing for our very early start the following morning.

As for today, it’s another quiet day staying in, which is just fine with us. We have one more delicious leftover dinner to enjoy tonight, and then our weekend will already have taken shape. On Friday and Saturday evenings, as always, we’ll head to Jabula for dinner, which we look forward to. After having Di and Peter here for almost a month and enjoying so many social activities, meals out, Quiz Nights, and adventures together, things have become considerably quieter.

This morning, I prepared another big salad to go along with tonight’s meal. Since we’ve been eating leftovers and will be going out for dinner over the next few evenings, it’s nice to have something fresh and ready to go in the refrigerator.

Tomorrow morning, I have something special to look forward to. Kathy is picking me up, and the two of us are heading to Stoep Café for breakfast, which we’ve done many times before. I’ve been looking forward to this for quite a while. Kathy and I have become good friends over the years, and it will be fun to spend a few hours together enjoying breakfast and having some much-needed “girl talk.”

Sometimes, those simple times with a good friend can be just as enjoyable as a big adventure. With Madagascar only a few days away, it will be nice to relax, enjoy the weekend, spend time with friends, and savor these last few quiet days before we once again pack our bags, head to the airport, and set off to explore another fascinating part of the world.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 3, 2016: