Blogs from Edenvale, Gauteng, South Africa, Africa

We were going to leave on Monday morning but we had something to check on the car and it was pouring with rain. On the way to taking the car we were slowed down by really bad traffic hold ups and naturally thought it was an accident in the rain. Eventually we came across the cause of the delays and the many police cars that had been rushing past us with their sirens wailing. The taxis had decided to go on strike because of the new tolls imposed on Johannesburg's roads. They had parked their vehicles right across he carriageway blocking all traffic - fortunately for us on the other side. There were also taxis being stopped and their customers being forced off them and other taxis with their windows smashed in, presumably because they had ... read more

Were on our way! The last few days have been a little crazy with all the last minute tasks and ticking off everything on our never-ending To Do List – but, that list was finally completed late last night and we managed to get all our gear into our two trusty backpacks. Who would have thought that you could go pretty minimalistic if you weren’t too fashion conscious! James has only just realized that his wardrobe mainly consists of grey – oh, and one or two blue items! I’m sure he’ll be donning a colourfully nifty, Alpaca wool scarf in no time! Our first stop is Buenos Aires for a few days – just enough to find a lekker Tango spot and practise our Spanglish. After which we head up to Peru and start making our ... read more

We arrived at 6.30am local time which was 4.30 gmt. The formalities went very quickly and smoothly and we were met by Aaron and Lynor and soon out in the warm and sunny day - even at that time of the morning. It was Lynor’s 30th birthday party tonight so we were plunged right into preparations. It was a great opportunity for us to meet up with lots of friends and family all at once. The party kicked off with the rugby, South Africa were playing England. The English supporters Wendy, Barrie and Rory were of course horribly outnumbered by the locals. It was a happy crowd when the final whistle was blown at 42 - 6 to the South Africans and even the short spell of rain wasn’t enough to dampen any spirits. The theme ... read more

Had a busy day yesterday. Got up at about 8:30... had breakfast and watched the movie "Bewitched" and then we got dressed at about 13:45, and went with Charlotte to go and pick Danielle and Chantelle up from school. We had to wait until 15:00 to pick Danielle up from tennis. When we got back, we decided which dresses we were gonna wear for our night out clubbing. It took quite a while, and a number of changes to decide which dresses we were going to wear, and then we decided on our shoes... (Mmmm.. I love shoes)! Then we washed our hair, and while Charlotte was straightening Mel's hair, I helped Chantelle with some PE homework which was all about first aid. Then Charlotte straightened my hair, and she was shocked by the thickness, and ... read more

Hello everybody... No more entries from Cape Town... oh well. Flight was good, only 2 hours, but we landed at 9:20 so, 20 minutes earlier than planned. Had hot chololate at the airport, and cheese sandwiches and also a chocolate chip cookie! YUM. FAT MAN on the plane. He took up his seat, and half of mel's seat. When he tried to put his table down, his stomach got in the way... Got here fine, came back to the house, and had some water, which actually tasted normal, and it was cold. Best news of the day... we are having meat tonight, for the first time in 2 weeks. And, roast potatoes... yum yum. Picked D & C up from their school, and Emily the dog came with us, still as cute as ever! Going to ... read more