Oct 11: Meeting in Cape Town

4am wake up yesterday morning to catch a 9am flight out of Nairobi!  An international flight to South Africa so had to be there 2 hours before, and we needed to allow for the traffic.  What a waste of effort that was because the roads were empty, AND the flight was delayed an hour!  

Oh well ... ... 

Then there was a 3 hour layover in Jo'burg, then THAT flight was delayed another hour! It was absolute chaos surrounding our flight because it was packed tight with pilgrims returning from Mecca.  When we arrived at Cape Town the arrivals gate was overflowing with family and friends of all the pilgrims ... Security had to part the crowds for Alan and I to get out of the terminal.  We have tasted what celebrities endure!  Quite a bewildering experience, though everyone was laughing and having a good time.

So all in all a very long day.

We were met at Cape Town airport by a chauffeur with a sleek Mercedes who whisked along dust free, pothole free motorways (absolute bliss!) to a very discreet little boutique hotel that nestles in an upmarket suburb directly under Table Mountain.  Clean, modern, slick ... What a joyous respite!

It all looks pretty normal, Looks like it could be in Sydney, or Los Angeles maybe.  But if you look carefully you can see its Africa, because of the electric security wires on our balcony.  High walls, razor wire fencing, security gates are all standard fittings in the suburbs.  This little hotel even has security guards at the patrolling the footpath at night.

Julie and Terry were waiting for us, sitting on the patio over the garage, sipping sundowners.  And so starts 3 days of R & R, luxurious dust free Civilization.