Finally in Cape Town!
Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa. It took us nearly 36 hours, from the time we left Dwarika’s Hotel in Kathmandu (for the first, aborted, departure) yesterday morning, but we are delighted to be here. This short post is about the back end of our air trip, from Abu Dhabi to Cape Town, and the small “welcome to South Africa” rituals that we all seem to be performing now that we are here.
We were all very excited when we landed in Johannesburg. The newly renovated O.R. Tambo airport seemed like a model of space-age efficiency after the dilapidated chaos of Kathmandu. For example, the immigration and customs processes are completely paperless, driven by computers and optical scanners. Much faster even than the U.S. and E.U. entry points.
We figured out that this was the fifth time that Tallulah has traveled to South Africa, and the eleventh trip for Zola. For India and me it must be at least 25 trips over the last 17 years. South Africa feels as much like home as anywhere, I think.
Each year, when we arrive in Johannesburg, on our way to Cape Town, we have about an hour to wait around after rechecking luggage, going through security, etc. Without doing so consciously, each of us has developed consistent little rituals to fill this time. As is normal, this morning:
- Both kids went and bought ice cream cones and gummy bears at the Cosmic Candy shop. This was slightly more special than usual, because we had been too nervous about hygiene in India and Nepal to let them buy ice cream from sidewalk vendors for the last six weeks.
- India went to the Exclusive Books store, bought a pile of South African newspapers and magazines, and figured out which new books she would buy later in the week. She also got a South African Coke Light, which she believes tastes better than the ones anywhere else.
- I went to the TotalSports shop to look at, but not buy, cricket shirts. Then I went to Cosmic Candy to buy barbecued biltong (dried beef) and South African soda.
When we arrived in Cape Town a few hours later, India had her much more important welcome ritual, which is going to a gourmet food shop on Kloof Street called Melissa’s. Without fail, she and Tallulah always buy butternut lasagna, sugar cookies, sea salt, and a few random things, while Zola and I wait in the car. If Melissa’s ever closed or moved, I’m not exactly sure what we would do.
Since Tuesday, Cape Town has been experiencing what is called a “black southeaster.” Although this is a country where many, many names have racial overtones, this one does not. It refers to a howling wind that lasts for several days. When we lived here, after every southeaster I would go collect shingles from our lawn and climb up and replace them on the roof. Right now it is blowing a consistent 50 kilometers per hour, and gusting to 60 or 70. The high-velocity sandblasting made it difficult to enjoy our first trip to the beach; we only lasted about 15 minutes on Camps Bay, before Lu led the retreat to the grass. India went for an afternoon run (another ritual) and at times found herself blown to a standstill. The wind should die down in a day or two, and in the meantime it keeps the mosquitoes (far) away.
We had a small change in plans when we arrived in Cape Town, but it seems to have worked out well. We have rented a house in Llandudno for the next few weeks, but we can’t move in until Sunday. We had made reservations at The Bay, which is a beautiful hotel on the beach in Camps Bay. When we arrived, however, we were told politely (but firmly) that The Bay has a strict “no kids under 12″ policy.
The hotel staff helped us find and rent a small cottage elsewhere in Camps Bay for the next few days. Ironically, it costs a lot less than staying at the hotel anyway. We walked to the local Pick ‘n Pay grocery store (the same one we went to for years), stocked up on supplies, and have made ourselves at home. Both kids got very excited about putting clothes into drawers, cleaning the pool, putting away groceries. Normal stuff if you live in a house.
Right now we are joyfully doing laundry for the first time in six weeks. We prepared a simple dinner, including Melissa’s butternut lasagna, and we ate sitting in the kitchen. Everyone is so happy to have some semblance of a normal home life, with no one picking us up for sightseeing in the morning. For the first time in a long while, we feel like we have complete control over what we are doing, and when.
It was wonderful, and indispensable, to have guides in India and Nepal. We were fortunate to have great ones. Now on our home turf, it feels wonderfully normal to be in a house, on our own. We are very happy to be here, and can’t wait to see friends and do all of the stuff that we love in Cape Town.