Flight and car booked for Madeira…Spend! Spend! Spend!…Ouch!

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Our view from the salon (living room) looking into the center, open-air courtyard while writing each day. It’s cloudy today.

We’re at a point that the money will be flying out the window between now and the end of August. 

Yesterday, we spent US $795 for one-way airline tickets for two from Marrakech, Morocco to Funchal, Madeira which much to our delight,  is only a six-hour flight including a layover. We’d budgeted US $800 for this flight when we booked the house almost two years ago and yesterday paid US $795.

Thu May/15/2014
 –
Departure

1
stop
 Total travel time:

5 h 55 m
custom air icon Marrakech Lisbon 1 h 35 m
RAK
4:30pm
Terminal
1
 LIS
6:05pm
Terminal 1
TAP Portugal  243
Operated by
PORTUGALIA
Economy / Coach
(V)
|Seat

Layover:
2 h 35 m
custom air icon Lisbon Funchal 1 h 45 m
LIS
8:40pm
Terminal
1
 FNC
10:25pm
TAP Portugal  1639
Economy / Coach
(V)
|Seat

Most likely we won’t arrive at the house until well after midnight with the necessity of driving up the steep unfamiliar roads. This particular flight with TAP Airlines was our only option from Marrakech. 

As for the car rental, we’ve learned our lessons in our past travels. In order to avoid paying the entire two and a half month rental in advance plus the “excess” they charge to hold on the car, over $5000, as in the past, we booked one month at a time. 

If the car rental company won’t renew the rental for this same monthly amount, we’ll order another car close to the end of the first car rental period for the next month, dropping off the first car and picking up the second car.  It will be necessary to do this for one more time for the last two weeks of our two and a half month stay. The Funchal, Madeira airport is no more than 30 minutes from the rental house making this back and forth no big deal.

Here are the details for the first rental car:

Car: Alamo Rent A Car, Funchal, Portugal (FNC)
Driver: Thomas Lyman
Base price: €439.92
Taxes & Fees: €182.18
Car total: €622.10

Car Economy
Pick up: Thu 05/15/14
10:30 PM0
Funchal, Portugal (FNC)		 Drop off: Sat 06/14/14
10:30 PM
Funchal, Portugal (FNC)

The car rental is shown in Euros, not US dollars, which results in US $859.49 for one month. By the end of our two and a half month stay, we’ll have spent $2149 for the car rental for which we’d budgeted $2900 which included fuel, leaving us on target in this area as well. 

The next item we have to pay is the balance of our rent for Madeira which is in the US $2000 range. In June, we’ll pay for one of two upcoming cruises, US $3497 (cruise begins on August 31, 2014) and the second on US $3216 on July 1 (cruise begins on September 23, 2014). Many more outlays follow in August and there on which we’ll share later.

A part of the reality of traveling these days is the necessity of paying well in advance of receiving the product or service when attempting to get the “best deals.”

My dinner last night, a mixed grill with an extra side of veggies. 

Although most hotels don’t require advance payment unless booked through online services. (We book most of our flight, hotels, and cars via Expedia.com on our website.  Feel free to do the same at any time. We make a small token when any of our readers click our links, which help offset the cost of maintaining our website. No pressure. But, it doesn’t cost you an extra penny to use them).

Based on some great rates we received on a few of our future hotel bookings, we chose to pay a few in advance, such as the hotel stays upcoming in the next five months for Vancouver, BC; Boston, MA, and Paris, France. Booking these hotels are required as stopping points while we await the cruises.

The only hotel we haven’t paid in advance is in London on August 16, 2014, for the above-mentioned total of US $3216 (for a period of two weeks). London is pricey. Also, at the beginning of May, we’ll have another outlay of US $4500 for more tickets for our kids to Hawaii with only one more to go down the road.

All in all, we’ll be paying out $1000’s over the next four months, all of which we’ve budgeted. Undoubtedly, we must carefully watch our spending over the next several months.

Tom’s dinner, a grilled filet mignon with a side of mushroom gravy and three circles of mashed potatoes. Notice the lack of vegetables. That’s my guy!

I’d hope to purchase a new camera now to be included in our box of supplies being sent to Madeira next week. Based on these bigger expenses at this time, I’ve decided to wait until after some of these expenses are paid and behind us. Tom encouraged me to buy it now. But, my practical nature prohibits me from doing so.

Most likely, when we arrive in Boston on September 21, 2014, we’ll head out to purchase a new camera and two new laptops.  Tom’s screen is cracked and continues to crack as a result of a hinge problem. Mine? Well, we know the problems there! A cheap HP with a bad keyboard and other issues.

Yes, we cringe over this big expense that seems to come all at once. Living as carefully as possible, when all is said and done, we stay on track with our budget.

Today, we’ll stay in for another evening of Madame Zahra’s fine food, minus spices, continuing our comprehensive planning, and budgeting. And of course, a little bit of Gin playing is definitely in order, especially with me in the lead, a rare occurrence. Perhaps, I’ll be the winner in Morocco, logging my first “country win” with only 26 days to go.
______________________________________

Photo from one year ago today, April 19, 2013:

The excursion offered that day was a visit to this cruise line owned beach in Turks and Caicos. There was no way we were interested in baking in the sun for three or four hours, paying for lawn chairs and umbrellas when we had the ship’s pools almost to ourselves. For details from this date, please click here.

We made it to Morocco!…Can’t wait to share photos…

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This diverse ancient city and country will surely provide us with much fodder for our upcoming two and a half months while living in Morocco.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll start posting photos of our first foray into the Medina and the souk, a dizzying experience that made my head swim with visual overload. Add the intoxicating smells and sounds to the mix and it leaves us begging for more.

Please stop back tomorrow. We need to get to bed to catch some much-needed sleep after 29 hours of travel.  See you soon!

Made it to Cairo after a red eye…We’re more than halfway….

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Being able to sleep on a plane is a fruitless expectation. Realizing we had an almost four-hour layover in Cairo and then another nine hours of travel time, we decided to request an upgrade to business class. (Many international flights don’t have a first-class, only business class which was the case on Egyptair).

When we booked the flight, selecting the business-class almost tripled the fare. Last night, we were able to upgrade for both of us for a total of US $894.27, ZAR $10000. Need I say it was worth it, except we weren’t able to sit together which we’d agreed in advance would be acceptable. In this case, it was sleep we needed more than each other’s companionship.

On a waitlist, we were called a half hour before takeoff that two separate seats were available in business class and we jumped all over it, paying the additional fees at the gate. By 9:30 pm we were both seated in the same row of six across, in an aisle seat, two center seats between us.

Having had omelets for dinner less than an hour earlier I refused the offered meal. I wasn’t about to pick over a meal that wouldn’t be acceptable to my way of eating, nor was I hungry. I never eat when I’m not hungry. 

The offered meal was laden with bread and rolls so I was fine that I’d refused. The flight attendant seemed worried that I didn’t eat, showing me several options. Graciously, I declined.

When booking the flights there were no options available befitting my way of eating. Thus, I made no meal selection, comfortable that we could eat in a restaurant during one of the multiple layovers. Usually, there is a grilled chicken salad or an omelet that works.

Sleeping? Ah, not so much. With two stiff paper wrapped pillows and a fly-off-the-bed synthetic blanket, even reclining as far back as the seat would go, I couldn’t find a comfortable spot. 

Instead, I dozed off and on often, interrupted by the bright lights in the crew galley area when they moved the curtain aside to attend to the other passengers as they swished down the narrow aisles.

After dozing for a half-hour I awoke to the sound of voices. A large man in the seat behind me was standing directly next to me as the crew worked on his broken seat that wouldn’t recline. He stood within inches of me for over an hour. 

Annoyed, I decided to read a book on my phone as a distraction. At one point, I dozed off, the phone still in my hand which often occurs when I read in bed. Suddenly, the crew working on his chair accidentally hit the back of my chair startling me awake. My hand flew and along with it, my phone went flying through the air, landing somewhere near the feet of the woman sitting next to me who spoke no English and was sound asleep.

There was nothing that could be done at that time to retrieve the phone. Later, after 4:00 am breakfast was served (again, I didn’t eat, never thinking of food at 4:00 am), the kind flight attendant helped me look for the phone which she found under the woman’s seat. Relief! 

I stayed awake reading for the remainder of the flight, unable to fall back to sleep. Overall, I believe I slept three hours, which although not enough, would help me manage through the rest of the trip. Tom slept about the same amount of time, often awakening and looking over at me to see if I was OK. I was. 

We wore our compression socks during the long flight and will do so again when we board in a few hours for the upcoming six-hour flight. With free WiFi throughout the Cairo airport, I am able to write this now.

I’d like to include photos but, out of respect for the crowd looming around the airport, I chose not to. When we arrive in Marrakesh, we’ll be taking plenty of photos of a man with a wooden cart who’ll be waiting for us, hauling our luggage through the narrow streets where motorized vehicles aren’t allowed, as we all make the hike to our new home.

If we have a signal in Casablanca we’ll stop back with an update. 

Stay tuned…

We’re in Johannesburg at the airport…So far so good…Three more flights to go…

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Our last sunset in South Africa taken through the scratched glass on the window of the plane

Much to our surprise, it’s been seamless so far; the trip from Marloth to Mpumalanga; flight to Johannesburg; immigration; two security checks so far. Palming a tip into a handshake enabled us to avoid excess baggage fees. Apparently, we were over more than we’d expected. 

In an hour, at 9:00 pm, we’ll board the red-eye to Cairo, then another flight to Casablanca, then on to the final flight to Marrakesh, Morocco. Then a drive from the airport to our new home, Riad Dar Aicha.

And then, the sun peeked out a little more a few seconds later. There’s something special about sunsets in Africa.

No doubt, we’ll be exhausted but a safe arrival is foremost in our minds. Cairo is not the safest. place in the world at this time and we’ll be there for almost four hours.

At the moment we’re in a pleasant restaurant at the airport not too far from our gate. Omelets were the most sensible meal considering we’ll be sitting on the plane for eight hours.

It’s almost time to board our flight. We requested an upgrade to business class but it was full. We’re on a waitlist with two ahead of us. Unlikely will be upgraded, but it was worth a try.

We’ll be back when we arrive in Cairo as soon as we find an Internet café. (Our remaining South Africa data will be useless once we leave the country).

Stay tuned, folks!

Almost ready to go…The final expenses for our time in South Africa…Many visitors came to say goodbye!…

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Yesterday afternoon, two Kudus came to call.  Standing by the braai, he nibbled on the leaves of a tree.

All we have left to do is to pack the clothing we’re wearing now and close our bags. Our boarding passes are printed. 

Such a handsome guy.
Then there were two after we’d placed a few of our dwindling pellets on the stone.

The flight from Mpumalanga/Nelspruit to Johannesburg, South Africa has tighter luggage restrictions than our remaining flights but, we are close to complying for all of the flights. 

On the way to the Crocodile River, we saw this baby zebra nursing from its mom.  It looks as if the mom is pregnant again. Hum…does this dispel the thought that nursing moms can’t become pregnant?  Or was this a surrogate mom?

Yesterday was a very special day.  Two Mrs. Warthogs and babies visited us at the African Reunion House. Mr. Tree Frog left us last night, returning this morning. And, in the early afternoon, two male kudus came to call as shown in these precious photos.

Okee Dokee picked us up for one final visit to the Crocodile River. On the way, she stopped to speak to a passing motorist. In Afrikaans, he told her there were many Elephants on the river and to hurry. She translated for us and off we went. Safari luck. 

As we approached the Crocodile River lookout, we spotted only a few of the elephants we saw a moment later when we moved to a better viewing spot.
The Elephants were on the move when something startled them and when they spotted the Rhino on a mad run heading toward them.

Arriving at the river, my breath caught in my throat when we saw dozens of elephants and babies in a large herd. It was hard to believe. As I began taking photos, Okee Dokee spotted a rhino running at full speed toward the elephants. In a matter of seconds, the elephants made a mad dash up the hill of the riverbank leaving dust in their wake.  

There were many more than is shown here, off to the sides.

Rhinos and elephants have little risk from predators but on a rare occasion, they may get into a scuffle.  Something frightened all of them and they ran for their lives. We’ll never know what transpired. But, getting these photos was pure luck, safari luck. In a matter of minutes, they were gone with the exception of a few stranglers at a distance. 

If we’d arrived five minutes later, we’d never have seen them running.

After our last delicious dinner at Jabula Lodge while hanging out with Dawn and Leon, we returned home to find the five zebras standing at the railing waiting for us. How long had they been there? Would we have missed them if we’d stayed out 15 minutes longer or where they bound and determined to wait until we returned? We’ll never know.

They left dust in their wake as they ran to safety.

Feeding them our remaining supply of pellets from our hands, my heart did a flip flop, aching when they finally wandered off. This morning our favorite walking bird, the francolin, padded around the veranda within feet of us. We’ll miss them all.

The zebra family was back waiting for us!

As for our total living expenses in South Africa, including rent, groceries, entertainment, pellets, dining out, tips, airfare, transportation (including the rental car we had for one month), and SIM card and data fees, for a grand total of US $13,120.11, ZAR $146,713 which translates to US $4373.37, ZAR $48,904 for each of the three months we’ve spent in South Africa. 

It was wonderful to see them one more time.

With only a few hours until we walk out the door to begin the long drive to the airport, we’re as well prepared as we can be. Its time to “let go.” Having “let go” of so much in our lives over this past year and a half, this a familiar feeling, one we know we’ll conquer in time.

We happily tossed a few of the remaining pellets their way.

Hopefully, during the upcoming 29 hours of travel time, we’ll have access to an electrical source to charge our equipment, making it possible to document this lengthy journey along the way. 

So, we say goodbye and thank you to Marloth Park, to South Africa, to our friends, human and animal, only hoping that someday we’ll return. A special thank you to Louise and Danie who’s kindness, consideration, generosity, and love added so much to our comfort and enjoyment.

Over the coming years, as we continue on our worldwide journey, on many occasions we’ll tell the story of our glorious experiences in South Africa, bringing tears to our eyes and gratitude to our hearts. 

But, for today, we continue on…

Thank you, Mr. Tree Frog for serving as the mascot for all the “small things” that brought us so much pleasure during our time in Marloth Park. Even you will be remembered.

Busy day…One more trip to Komatipoort, after all..Six days and counting…A little whining is in order…

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Baby warthog, standing by the braai. “What’s on the menu?” he inquires. “Pellets, I hope!”

One week from today, at 5:45 am, after a full night of flying, we’ll be getting off the plane in Cairo, Egypt for a three and a half hour layover until we board another plane to Casablanca, Morocco for another six-hour flight with almost a two-hour layover. Then another flight to Marrakesh, arriving at 3:35 pm.”

I can only hope we’ll have managed to get enough sleep during the eight-hour red-eye to avoid feeling awful. Oh, we can’t stay up all night as well as we were able when younger.

Tom is fussing as the time to depart nears, today only six days away; the 29 hours from leaving this house to arriving in Marrakesh; waiting times at the various airports; handling our luggage at every layover at least three times; the actual time on the flights, the longest eight hours, next six hours, and two for shorter periods.

Mom and four babies eating the pellets we left for the zebra, whom we hope will soon reappear. We’d left a few carrots for him also, but this group had no interest in the carrots.

Whether I’m Clive, the Ostrich, with my head in the sand, I prefer not to worry, my only concern being a safe arrival. Between us, we have all the possible worries covered. Good grief. We don’t like this part.

As a matter of fact, this upcoming week is the hardest part of our travels. This time, we have the added element of going to the little house to pack everything still there to bring here to the African Reunion House to begin the painful process of packing it all together.

With our upcoming “goodbye party” on Monday at 5:00 pm, we’ve postponed the dreadful job of clearing our stuff from the little house until Tuesday morning. If we picked it all up now, we’d have our stuff strewn all over the main floor, not a pretty sight for a dinner party. Tuesday, it will be. 

Good thing I no longer drink alcohol (due to the high sugar content) or I may have been agonizing with a hangover, a common occurrence in my old days even after only a few glasses of red wine. Tom, on the other hand, never suffers after a party if he imbibes in a few too many, a rare occurrence in itself.

I told Tom that if warthogs had been our only visitors in the three months in Marloth Park, I’d have been happy.  As a young child, I had an imaginary character with me at all times, “Piggy.” At five years old, as we drove across the US from California to Boston, Massachusetts to visit my beloved grandmother, my mother made my father stop on the highway in Sweetwater, Texas, to let “Piggy” out of the car. It was time for me to grow up. I cried all the way to Boston. This memory, emblazoned in mind 60 years later, left me fascinated with pigs. 

In a perfect world, we’d take all of this in our stride. But, let’s face it. We’ve taken quite a lot in our stride and this isn’t it. If Tom wasn’t feeling angst-ridden, I’d be fine. No matter what I say or do, I can’t seem to help lessen his frustration that there was no such thing as a direct flight from Johannesburg to Marrakesh.

So there it is. Our temporary, albeit, frustrating state of being over the next week, a price we pay for choosing this otherwise glorious life. There’s no “free lunch.” We can only find comfort in the reality that a week from tonight, we’ll be situated (most likely not totally unpacked) in our new home, called Dar Aicha, with Madame Zahra preparing and serving us our first meal.

I find comfort in recalling our painstaking over 24 hours travel time to Kenya from Italy, arriving in Mombasa at 6:00 am then boarding a rickety van to cross the river on a ferry and drive over an hour to Diani Beach to our awaiting home. We rested for a few hours, later heading out to the grocery shop. 

I remember how tired, but excited we were, defraying the feelings of exhaustion. Hopefully, these 29 hours won’t be much different and, after a good night’s sleep, the next day we’ll head to a grocery store for snacks. It should be easier that we don’t have to shop and cook when we arrive.

Late yesterday afternoon we discovered this insect which is over 4 inches, 10.6 cm long.

Now, getting back to the moment, my goal over the next several days is to stay calm while savoring our last days in Marloth Park. With the pelting rain over the last few days, the only visitors we’ve had is the skinny warthog mom with four fast-maturing babies. The larger animals stay under cover during the heavy rains. 

Last night, before dinner, we were driven indoors when it was too wet on the veranda to stay outside. We hunkered down in the cooled-down bedroom, watched a weird, yet the well-acted movie, “Her,” with the last third left to finish tonight. 

Overall, we’re good, with the enthusiastic anticipation of our upcoming dinner party on Monday night and a quiet weekend at home in the African Reunion House, a blessing until we leave.  Perhaps, more visitors will come by now that the rain has stopped. 

In the meanwhile, we wait for Mr. Tree Frog to return for a fifth time to his favorite perch on the rafters of the veranda. I heard some croaking in our immediate area on the veranda as I write this, wondering if it’s him.

I realize that all the photos of Mr. Tree Frog look-alike. But this was taken at 6:00 pm yesterday after his fourth return after leaving for 12 to 24 hours over the past week. His continued return visits have been a source of curiosity for us.

Soon, Okee Dokee will arrive to take me to Komatipoort for groceries for the upcoming party. Had we not arranged the party, we’d have had plenty of food to get us through the next several days while dining out a few times. But, an opportunity to say “thank you” to more of our local friends supersedes our desire for “easy.”

It’s the simple things that have made life in Marloth Park amazing and memorable and we hope to continue to embrace every moment of our remaining time in its midst.

Flight info from South Africa to Marrakesh, Morocco…29 hours of travel time if no delays…Yikes! We’re moving to a new house for the weekend…details tomorrow…

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02/28/2014 – Departure   2 stops
Total travel time: 19 h 50 m
custom air icon
Johannesburg
Cairo
8 h 0 m 
JNB  9:45pm
Terminal B
CAI  5:45am
+1 day  
Terminal 3
 
Egyptair 840
Economy/Coach (Q)
| Seat 28K, 28H |
Confirm or change seats with the airline*
Layover: 3 h 25 m
custom air icon
Cairo
Casablanca
6 h 0 m 
CAI  9:10am
Terminal 3
CMN  1:10pm
Terminal 2
 
Egyptair 847
Economy/Coach (Q)
| Seat 24K, 24J |
Confirm or change seats with the airline*
Layover: 1 h 45 m
custom air icon
Casablanca
Marrakech
0 h 40 m 
CMN  2:55pm
Terminal 1
RAK  3:35pm
Terminal 1
(Arrives on
03/01/2014)
 
Royal Air
Maroc 803
Economy/Coach (U)
| Confirm seats with the airline *
Price Summary
Traveler
1: Adult
 
$711.70
Flight
 
$468.00
Taxes & Fees
 
$243.70
Traveler
2: Adult
 
$711.70
Flight
 
$468.00
Taxes & Fees
 
$243.70
Expedia Booking
Fee
 
$14.00
Total: US $1,437.40
ZAR $15,305 

In order to begin the above flight for our trip to Marrakesh, Morocco on February 28th, we must also fly from Kruger/Nelspruit Airport to Johannesburg Tambo Airport in South Africa at another cost of ZAR $2036, US $191.21 which we booked yesterday. We’d booked the longer leg of the journey in early December.

Our combined cost for all four flights is ZAR $17,341, US $1,628.60.

With the airport in Nelspruit quite a distance, we plan to have Okee Dokee pick us up at 2:30 pm (14:30). With road construction and Friday afternoon traffic, an early start is necessary.  Plus, there’s a two hour time change from South Africa to Morocco. Our arrival will feel as if it is 5:35 pm (17:35) to us when we finally arrive.

Including picking up our baggage in Marrakesh, going through immigration and customs, and the drive to our rental home, we’re estimating an additional two hours. In total, we’ll be traveling for 29 hours. That is if there are no delays and/or missed flights due to delays. There have been substantial delays on most of our flights thus far. We shall see how it goes.

You may ask, “Why are we going to Cairo, Egypt in order to get to Morocco?”

As you can see, Morocco borders Algeria in the upper left, and yet Egypt is located in the upper right of Africa.

In a perfect world, we’d fly from South Africa at the southern tip of the map, directly to Morocco. Nope. Not possible, unless one charters a private plane, an option definitely out of our budget.

When we began the planning of spending almost a year in Africa, we knew getting to Morocco was challenging.  In every case in our planning, we’ve checked flights in advance of committing to the rental of a property.

The key to making this lengthy travel time bearable will be our ability to sleep for a few hours on the flight during the night, on the eight-hour leg from Johannesburg to Cairo.

Neither of us is good at sleeping sitting up. Neither of us naps during the day, naps in the car, or doze while watching a show or movie. When we’re tired, we go to bed. We can only hope that the flight isn’t crowded (we expect it will be) and we can find a way to sleep. If we don’t, we’ll have a tough next day. But, in the realm of things, a day after we arrive, we’ll be rested and it will all be behind us.

Two and a half months later, when we leave Morocco for Madeira, we’ll have a much shorter flight, under three hours. Madeira is located off the coast of Portugal which is shown on the above map as above and, to the left of Morocco.

On the flights to Morocco, we’ll have to collect our baggage up to four times, going through customs twice. This is a daunting task even with our greatly reduced load. With everything we own in two large suitcases, two medium bags, two laptop bags, and one duffel bag, this isn’t easy. 

Tom does most of the hard work due to my bad shoulder, especially when none of the airports have the “tubes” in which to gain access both on and off the planes. As a result, he ends up hauling a huge amount of the carry on load up the long and steep flights of steps from the tarmac to the plane. He dreads this part. I dread this part for him.

There it is, folks. This nomadic life we live is not always easy. However, once we get through the hard parts, we relax, making a concerted effort not to worry or anticipate problems. Instead, we do everything we possibly can do, over which we have do have control.

The rest, over which we have no control? We have to leave it to chance, hoping and praying for a safe transition, choosing not to worry while we revel in our remaining 29 days in Marloth Park.

The inconveniences? Well, they go with the territory.

Note: Check back tomorrow for photos and stories of the new digs we’re moving into for the weekend, a luxury vacation home! Can’t wait!

A grand solitary visitor…Planning our upcoming departure…A goal of low stress travel…A funny photo…

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Yesterday morning while writing on the veranda, I heard a “thump, thump” and alerted Tom, to look up, and once again, we had the most exciting visitor, a solitary giraffe. We’d assumed he’d stopped to munch on the treetops enabling us to take some photos. Alas, he dashed out of the yard so fast that we weren’t able to take another photo. It was the third time we’ve had giraffes in our yard. Heavenly.

It’s hard to believe that in 30 days, we’ll be leaving South Africa, heading to Marrakesh, Morocco, where we’ll live for 2½ months. Unquestionably, it won’t be easy to leave Marloth Park, to say goodbye to all of our friends both human and animals. 

These three baby warthogs, our familiar “Three Little Pigs” anxiously needed some liquid sustenance from mom after we shared some pellets with them.  Thirsty, they nursed with the one shown sucking a nipple from behind her butt.  We laughed at this tender sight.

Life in the bush with all of its challenges provided us both with a unique experience, one we’ll treasure forever.  But, “moving on” is the lifestyle choice we’ve made and we do so with excitement and anticipation of that which is yet to come. We have absolutely no regrets. 

On our way out to dinner last night at dusk. Wildebeest and zebra, who often hang out together.

The preparations to move on aren’t overwhelming by any means, but must be accomplished in an orderly and concise manner. Our motto remains forefront in our minds, “Wafting through our worldwide travels with ease, joy, and simplicity.” 

Stringent advance planning results in lower levels of stress, always our objective. Besides, the airlines create enough problems of their own without us adding more due to a lack of careful planning. 

We diligently prepare for the following, none of which is particularly time-consuming or difficult once the flights have been booked:

  • Flight arrangements/baggage restrictions
  • Packing, while complying with all baggage restrictions
  • Airport transportation arrangements at both ends, including the necessity of going to an ATM at the final destination for cash in the local currency
  • Online discussions with the owner/property manager to ensure everything we need upon arrival will be awaiting us: access/keys to the property, bedding, towels, bar soap, toilet paper, and bottled water. We require enough basic “hotel” supplies to get us through the first several days.
  • How do we arrange for meals and snacks as we settle in? Assessing nearby restaurants and grocery stores with a ready means of transportation.
  • Visa requirements. All of our previous visa requirements have been met at immigration upon entry to our final destinations with the exception of Belize, which required renewal every 30 days. Morocco doesn’t require a visa for US citizens entering the country for under 90 days. We’ll be staying for 75 days.   

Having booked our flight from Johannesburg to Morocco, a convoluted red-eye mess of multiple stops and layovers, today we’ll book the short flight from Mpumalanga/Nelspruit to Johannesburg, a portion of the flight that must be booked separately.

Tomorrow, we’ll share the details of the complicated and the only means of getting to Morocco from South Africa. It’s not comparable to the US, Europe, and other parts of the world where one can book a single flight from one big city to another big city.

It’s another scorcher today. We only lasted five hours on the veranda seeing no less the four Warthog families.  Plus, we had about 25 Helmeted Guinea-fowls hanging out with the warthogs. Lots of laughing over all of their playful antics. 

Tonight, we’re off to a birthday party in Marloth Park. Should be fun!

Happy day to all.

From there, it all went to hell in a handbasket!

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Seated over the wing, some of our views were obstructed.  But the Heavens offered up this cloudy view.

We finally made it to Marloth Park. At the moment we’re situated on a comfy sofa, inside the house. The overhead fan is sufficient to keep us comfortable, although we’ll turn on the AC in the bedroom before going to bed tonight, the sooner, the better, that is, the going to bed part, I mean. To say we’re pooped is an understatement.

From the enthusiasm we expressed in yesterday’s post, everything went downhill from there.When Tom and I had lunch in the airport café in Nairobi we were giddy with excitement at how smoothly everything had gone thus far.

How foolish we were! I remember thinking to myself, “Slow down, girl! This could change on a dime!” (Excuse the cliques spinning through my head).

Our flight to Johannesburg was scheduled to depart at a 4:00 pm. A few hours earlier we were told the flight was late due to “equipment issues.” Oh, that’s comforting.

As you read yesterday, the takeoff time continued to change, hour after hour. Until finally, we were told we’d be taking off at 8:35 pm, a four and a half hour wait beyond the already over four hours layover from our arrival in Nairobi from Mombasa for a total of eight and a half hours of waiting time.

The chairs in the waiting areas were uncomfortable rigid plastic. Our “old age flat butts” caused us to squirm constantly as the bony parts made contact with the unforgiving plastic. Getting up and walking around every 15 minutes seemed to be the available relief.

Thank goodness, we’d parked ourselves next to the complimentary digital charging station, allowing us to keep our computers and phones charged. There was no possible place to play Gin.

A gate/waiting area was set up with complimentary beverages and cakes, as we waited with other frustrated passengers, many of whom had missed their connecting flights. We were grateful that we’d booked a hotel room for the night, a short drive from the airport with a short upcoming flight scheduled at 11:10 am today.

At 9:00 pm, we were buckled into our seats on the plane with profuse apologies from the captain over the lengthy delays offering no further explanation for the delays. Quickly, the engines were started as the plane began to maneuver onto the tarmac in order to head to the runway.

All of a sudden, all the lights went down, the engine died and all electrical ceased to work. Oh. This made my heart pound as I grabbed Tom’s hand, saying, “Gee, good thing this didn’t happen five minutes after takeoff!”

Taking photos from an airplane creates a hazy view through the thick, often dirty, and damaged windows.

At that point, we assumed (foolish us) that we’d be getting off this malfunctioning plane while having to wait many more hours for a replacement.  Actually, I was hoping this would be the case, “My head was screaming, get us out of here!” My mouth stayed shut, waiting to see what transpired, albeit with nerves affray.

The pilot announced that there was an electrical problem (duh) and that he was going to have the ground crew pull the plane back onto the tarmac to work on it.  “No,” I thought, “just get us off this plane.” As a recovering “fear of flying” traveler, all my old fears kicked in. But, with Tom’s continued assurances, I managed to hold it together. 

After the ground crew worked on the plane for 20 minutes, with no explanation, the flight attendants began the manual emergency instructions since the drop-down video screens wouldn’t drop down in order to display the usually recorded safety video. That was comforting, huh?

We waited and then, waited some more. Finally, the engine fired up, the lights came back on and the plane was prepared for takeoff.  It was evident by the hushed tones in the cabin that most of the passengers were anxious. Once in the air, I sat back, exhausted, unable to focus on reading one of my Kindle books. It was after 10:00 pm.

Dinner was served with nothing I could have except for a small dish of tomato, onions, and cucumber chunks swimming in an oily base and a wrapped slice of processed cheese. Tom shared his chunks and slices with me while I shifted everything else on my tray to him.

The clouds were ominous on our flight from Mombasa to Nairobi Kenya.  Surprisingly, there was little turbulence on that otherwise easy flight.

There was a two or three years old child in the seat directly behind me who either kicked the back of my seat in rapid succession or burst into a round of hysterical crying. Certainly, this wasn’t a pleasant experience for such a youngster nor did it make it possible for either of us to nap.

Four hours later, we reached Johannesburg. However, we continued to wait for no less than 20 minutes after landing before they finally opened the doors to allow us to deplane.  

Tom and I, as usual, were the last passengers to leave. Our carry on baggage is too bulky to freely move through the aisles with passengers shoving and pushing with their own carry on bags in tow. We’ve found it less stressful to simply wait until all of the other passengers have cleared the aisles.

If a passenger had no purchases to declare they were allowed to bypass customs without even an inspection. At immigration, we merely asked for a 90-day visa and it was stamped on both of our passports as requested. His next task was to find an ATM so we could find a taxi and get to our hotel.

As we wheeled the two complimentary large luggage carts loaded with our stuff to the ATM machine, we were approached by two well-outfitted security guards who proceeded to explain the late-night dangers at the airport. They stated that their attendance was required for us to use the ATM and to accompany us to the curb to find a taxi. 

For a moment we were suspicious of them, but, when they stood back on the lookout as we received our cash in South African Rands (hereinafter referred to as “ZAR”), we felt more at ease.

The guards did in fact find us a taxi. Giving each of them a tip we proceeded on our way to the Protea Airport Hotel, a 10-minute ride. We paid the driver the required ZAR $150, US $14.70 plus a tip for ZAR $50, US $4.90, a much deserved small token of appreciation for his help with loading and unloading our bags onto the hotel’s large rolling cart.

This photo, although slightly lopsided, illustrates how far the work has come on the rebuilding of the Nairobi Airport after a recent fire.

Having prepaid the room checking into the hotel was quick. We were more than anxious to get to bed.  By the time we were situated and under the covers in a comfy cool air-conditioned room, it was 3:30 am to us, actually, 2:30 am Johannesburg time due to a one hour time change during the flight. It took us an hour to fall asleep.

From the time we left Diani Beach, Kenya at 8:00 am on Saturday with Alfred to head to Mombasa (1.5 hour taxi ride) until we arrived at the hotel it was 19.5 hours. Total flying time for both flights: 4 hours 50 minutes.

By 8:30 am Sunday morning we were having the buffet in the hotel’s restaurant. Good food. Great coffee. And, hoping that the upcoming third of the three flights would be smooth.

All moved along with ease until we reached the security check-in at Johannesburg after we’d checked our four bags, (without any excess baggage fees). As we loaded the laptop bags, my handbag, the duffel bag, and the pill bag into the scanner, two things transpired. 

One, I got frisked. Two, they made us completely empty my laptop bag that contains all of our required paperwork, second passports, power cords, ancillary digital equipment, portable scanner, and portable printer.  They were looking for something “round” that continued to appear on their screen, even after the contents were removed. 

No less than six times, they removed items from the bag running it through the scanner over and over. They’d remove an item, scan the bag again, put the item back, remove another item, and on and on. We thought we were going to miss our flight.

Too exhausted to argue with them that there wasn’t a dangerous or prohibited item hidden in the bag, I finally pointed to a round insignia on the outside of the bag with the brand name engraved. Apparently, the insignia was the problem, they explained, trying to convince us they were “just doing their job,” leaving us to repack the computer bag to be on our way. 

The South African Air Links fight was leaving for Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger Park Airport in 20 minutes. We had to hustle to get to the gate on time to take a bus to the tarmac, climb a skinny steep stairway to the plane and take our seats for the final 40-minute flight.

Ah, the flight was a flawless smooth takeoff with a relatively gentle landing and overall incident-free.  If our bags had arrived with us, our driver was awaiting us and we could be on our way for the 161 km, 100-mile drive to Marloth Park, we’d be grateful. 

Yes, we certainly are grateful to finally have arrived. As we write this now at 8:00 pm Sunday we’re still stuffed from breakfast deciding to skip dinner tonight. Instead, we’re lounging, writing for our readers, anticipating a much needed cool night’s sleep and tomorrow morning’s coffee on the veranda

And yes, we’ve already had visitors! And yes, the AC works and the house are much more than our expectations. Stop back tomorrow for photos and the happy stories since our arrival at one of Mother Nature’s magical wonderlands, Marloth Park, South Africa, our new home.

For now…

No excess baggage fee so far!!…In Nairobi now…Leaving for South Africa in 45 minutes…

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At the moment, we’re at the gate at the Nairobi airport waiting to board the next leg of our journey to South Africa. It appears that the Nairobi Airport is well on its way to completion of the repairs after the devastating fire many months ago. Little evidence of the destruction was visible to us from our vantage point.

The drive and subsequent ferry ride to Mombasa for the flight to Nairobi were pleasantly uneventful. Alfred was on time, the flight left on time and we flew on what appeared to be a newer mid-sized jet.

Without a doubt, Kenya Airways has its act together. Plus, we paid no excess baggage fees, boarding in Mombasa, nor were we charged any excess fees when we checked in with South African Airways to receive our boarding passes to both Johannesburg and tomorrow’s flight to Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger airport.

Need I say that we’re thrilled? Unloading stuff paid off! The only trying element up to this point was during the time we had to haul everything from Kenya Airways terminal to South African Airways, located in another terminal at quite a distance. 

With each of us pushing a “complimentary” baggage cart the long-distance, it was challenging over the rough roads with no sidewalk and traffic coming right at us. Thank goodness it wasn’t as hot in Nairobi as it had been in Diani Beach. 

Tom helped me over the curbs we had to cross during the long 20-minute hike. A few times a few of the smaller bags fell off my cart, but guess who came to the rescue each time? Of course. 

The almost four-hour layover in Nairobi is breezing by after we’d dropped off the bags at the South African Airways check-in desk, especially when once again, no excess baggage fees were charged. 

Finding an attentive skycap we only had a short wait since the South African Airways counter had yet to open. That was certainly worth the KES $1000 tip we handed the skycap after he arranged a quick check-in.

Once we were again rid of the four heaviest bags, left only with the carry on bags and the cart, we found a cozy café at the airport for a decent bite to eat with excellent service.

We were reminded that the Kenyan people provide efficient procedures coupled with superior service, a consistent fact throughout our three-month experience.

At 4:00 pm, we’ll be on board the 4four hour flight to Johannesburg where we’ll spend the night until our next flight at 11:00 am tomorrow (Sunday) morning, allowing us ample time for a good night’s sleep. With less than three hours of sleep last night, I’m looking forward to catching up.

God willing, our next two flights in the upcoming 20 hours will be as stress-free and seamless as the first and we’ll cheerfully arrive in Marloth Park tomorrow afternoon after a one hour ride from the airport.

Hopefully, we’ll be back late tomorrow afternoon with photos of our new home and, peace of mind that all has gone as well as we’d hoped with our new found freedom with less baggage.

Oops! Notice just came over the loudspeaker. Our flight to Johannesburg is delayed by two hours. Oh well. As long as we arrive safely, we don’t have a complaint in the world!

Oops! Another notice came over the loudspeaker. The flight is delayed for another hour. It was scheduled to depart at 4:00 pm with it now not departing until 7:00 pm. Oh, I need a nap!

Another delay! Now we won’t depart until 8:20 pm, four hours and 20 minutes late. Yikes!