On Sunday we Uber to Cape Town International to board the FLYSAFAIR 737 for the 2 hour flight back to Joberg and an overnighter at the Airport Inn Bed and Breakfast. We have a long trip home ahead of us.  

Monday morning after a hearty breakfast provided by the Inn, we repack our carryons and head for Oliver Tambo International. It is early as our flight isn’t until 2:40.  By the time we arrive at our gate, it looks like a full flight and by the time we are roaring down the runway I realize that yes the plane IS full. Our first leg of 5.5 hours takes us to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. We are on Ethiopian Airlines and Addis is their hub. It is the largest airline in Africa with over 150 planes. Row after row of the brightly coloured planes sit in the bright lights of the tarmac. As there are so many flights in and out of Addis, there aren’t enough gates for the inbound flights so the planes park on the aprons and passengers offload onto buses for the short trip to the terminal. Vicki and I get separated coming off the plane. She gets on a bus and heads for the terminal before I am off the plane. When my bus gets to the terminal, I am deposited at a different entrance than Vicki so she misses me when I enter. We have a narrow window to make our connection so I start to panic. As an incoming passenger we have to clear security coming in as well as out. No Vicki at the incoming security so I make my way to the outbound security. No Vicki. “ Well”, I say to myself. “ I hope she’s at our gate. “ 

Making my way to outbound security, No Vicki. The panic meter inches upward. “She must have gone through “ I think. As I’m waiting my turn to go through the scanner I see her enter the lineup and all is right with the world again. We clear and proceed to the gate where the loading has begun. 

We are on a Boeing 787 for this leg. Fortunately we are only 3 rows back from the door so fairly good seats. We have a really long flight. 16 hours to Chicago broken by a 1 hour technical stop in Rome for fuel. New meaning to the words “long haul.”

We arrive in Chicago at 8:30 AM right on time. We have a 7 hour layover which turns into 8 hours soon after our arrival. Good ol’ AirCanada. Arriving in Vancouver 4.5 hours later we are met by Chelsea and whisked to Tswassessen Ferry.  2 hour ferry ride, to be met by Jami and then home. Milo happy to see us. He hasn’t forgotten us. 🐶

By the time our heads hit the pillow it is about 50 hours since we have been up with nothing but short naps throughout that period. It takes us 4 days to regain our equilibrium. 

So back to normal routines. I have reflected a lot on our trip and have only a few regrets. One is that we did not visit Durban and secondly we did not drive the Garden Route. My last regret is not Parasailing.
October 2024