I pictured it a bit warmer

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After several weeks of chilling temps, we were so excited to arrive in the hot sands of Africa. The descent into Cape Town was the most terrifying experience I've ever had on a plane. We were tossed back and forth by the wind as we approached the airport, and one final gust caused the plane to tilt violently to the left seconds before we hit the runway. I have no idea how the pilot managed to bring us in safely. We were assaulted with hailstones as we walked across the tarmac, and the winds were gusting over 80 kph.

Our taxi driver was hilarious. When he learned that we were from DC, he launched into a monologue about all of his favorite rappers in the DC-Baltimore area. I recognized a few of the big names, but most were really obscure. He gave us a great tour of the city highlights before depositing us in our little hotel by the water. We weren't able to check in for a few more hours, so we walked down to the waterfront to explore the shops. The waves were crashing high over the barriers, and sea foam covered the road fifty meters away. We ducked into a few shops for cover and purchased a few essentials: another camera for Steve, a memory card reader (which doesn't seem to work so no pictures yet), and a warm shirt for me. We had a beer and a pretzel at a German restaurant and then faced the storm to walk back to the hotel.

At the hotel, we met our tour group for the first time. There's a retired American couple, two solo Americans, a young British couple, several solo Brits, a Danish guy, two Swiss girls, and one Irish girl. Most will be traveling the full 29 days with us, and we're picking up seven Germans along the way. We're about the average age. There's a surprising number of lawyers in the group - approximately half! That became painfully apparent the first time we were asked to stand in the back of a pickup truck for local transport and the liability jokes began!

Random side note: I discovered a great multitasking move - you can roll wet clothes in a towel and then use the towel as a knee pad for girl push ups. The body weight on the towel squeezes the moisture out while your arms and back get toned. Steve laughed mercilessly at me for this stroke of genius.

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Comments

[Jessie]

I can't wait to see pictures!

[mariah]

trust you to find a way to incorporate exercise into a mundane chore.