I’ll admit. I’ve been sitting on writing this final entry of my trip for the last few days and I’ve been drawing a blank.
The truth is, I’m not sure how to wrap my trip to South Africa up. I don’t know how to.
But I figured I should take a stab at it, and since I did most of my writing on my phone throughout the trip, I figured I would continue the awkward tradition. Editing be damned. So here we go…
My final days in South Africa were mostly spent in Cape Town with my wife, sans child. A much needed break (if you’ve ever travelled any distance with a baby, I shouldn’t need to explain). We toured around the cape, we drank some of the finest wines, and visited the wineries (both new and old). We visited the penguins, and we stood at the most southern point of Africa. Closer to the Antarctic, I doubt I will ever get in my lifetime (for reference, Antarctica is still almost 6000 km away so… yeah). But mostly, we slept. My god, did we sleep!
Before leaving, we spent a few more days with my wife’s family as we packed up our suitcases (yes, we got the missing piece of luggage back), and said our goodbyes. But not before our son came down with a fever the day we were scheduled to leave.
*sigh*
A big thank you to the kind doctor who assessed and prescribed a bunch of meds to get us home safely – and sanely! And for all the parents out there who haven’t travelled with a baby yet, you haven’t truly lived until you’ve attempted to give an 11 month old a suppository in an airplane bathroom.
But we made it back safe and sound. And still, the little guy only truly cried once across 10 flights in 3 weeks. A total of 50 hours travel time. And it happened at the very end as we landed back home. He was born to travel!
South Africa is a beautiful country filled with contradictions. It is united country that is divided in and of itself. The stark contrast from region to region – from province to province is mind boggling. I certainly wouldn’t walk at night in Johannesburg, but had no problems with it in Cape Town. Likewise, there was garbage everywhere in Pretoria, while the cape has active cleaning crews that would put Canada to shame.
However.
The people were friendly! The service was good. The food was great. The scenery amazing! Truly, an experience of a lifetime.
I just wish you were a bit closer to home. The travel time is a bit of a mood killer.
South Africa – I’m glad I got the chance to experience you. Please, take care of yourself! I’d love to see you again someday.
The CJBuzz 