Leaving Madagascar today or Johannesburg…

 

It has been a tough week here in Madagascar. After having one day of reprieve from my gastrointestinal symptoms, they returned, and I spent most of the night up and down, unable to get much rest. Thankfully, I am feeling better today, although I am still drained and exhausted. At this point, I am more than ready to leave this hotel and get back to the familiar surroundings and comfortable routine we have come to love in Marloth Park.

Before too long, we will check out of the hotel at 11:00 am, although as Marriott Bonvoy members, we could request a late checkout if we felt we needed it. However, considering how slow things were at the Antananarivo Airport when we arrived last week, we may as well get there early and take our chances waiting at the gate. Our Airlink flight to Johannesburg is scheduled for 2:45 pm, and hopefully everything will go smoothly.

It is only a three-hour flight, but without screens on the Airlink planes to watch movies or other entertainment, those three hours can seem considerably longer. Last week, we passed the time playing games on our phones, and I imagine we will do much the same today. Neither of us minds all that much. At this point, simply knowing that we are headed back to South Africa will make the flight seem much more enjoyable.

Of course, one very important thing hangs over the entire journey. Immigration.

As I mentioned, we won’t know until we arrive in Johannesburg whether South Africa will allow us to enter for another 90 days. We have done everything we can to comply with the requirements, and we are hoping there will be no problems. Still, after all the planning, flights, hotels, and uncertainty surrounding this visa run, there is no denying that the immigration process will be stressful.

Once we have that new 90-day stamp in our passports, however, the stress will disappear almost instantly. We will be able to breathe a huge sigh of relief and know that we are going back to Marloth Park.

We should arrive in Johannesburg in the late afternoon, so we will spend Monday night there at the City Lodge Hotel before flying to Nelspruit on Tuesday morning. If everything goes according to plan, we should be back in Marloth Park by late Tuesday afternoon.

And what will we do when we arrive? We will head straight back into our pleasant lives in the bush.

We are hoping to make it to Quiz Night at 5:00 pm. We may or may not have time to unpack before we leave, but honestly, neither of us cares. Unpacking can wait. That new visa stamp can’t wait.

I am especially looking forward to my usual grilled chicken salad with safe-to-eat lettuce. After the stomach problems I have experienced this past week, I am being particularly careful about what I eat, and I know this familiar meal has been safe for me. Tom, meanwhile, will happily savor his usual Giraffe pizza, one of his weekly favorites.

There is something comforting about returning to familiar places, familiar food, and familiar people after being away, even if we have only been gone a week. We are both anxious to see our friends, get back to our veranda, watch the wildlife come and go, and settle once again into the slower pace of life that we enjoy so much.

Most likely, there won’t be a post tomorrow. Once we arrive in Nelspruit, we’ll pick up the new rental car and head to Tom’s eye doctor appointment. After that, we will make our way on the challenging N4 highway back to Marloth Park to resume our pleasant lives in the bush.

We’ll be back with a new post on Wednesday.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 14, 2016: