After a 6 hour flight from Newark and a brief one hour pit stop to switch planes, we boarded a Virgin Atlantic plane to embark on an 11 and 1/2 hour flight to Cape Town. We spent the first 4 hours watching movies and chillin. The next 6 hours were spent contorted in horrible positions attempting to get any sleep that we could. Of course, Roman immediately laid himself down with his head on Kathy and his legs across Mabret and Dad as though sleep is an entitlement for him but a privilege that the rest of us would not enjoy. I gotta give it to him - he slept a pretty good 5 hours. The rest of us - not so much.
We landed safely in Cape Town with smiles on our faces which, in and of itself, is a travel success.
Next stop was Dollar Rent a Car for our vehicle. After some discussion about upgrading to an SUV we decided to save the $500usd that it would have cost us over 3 weeks and went with the hatchback.
Do people say hatchback anymore or is that a late 80s thing? My first car was a Honda Civiic hatchback. And fortunately a stick because that is all that is available in South Africa. Shout out to my Dad for making me pass the drivers exam with a manual transmission.
Of course, I have never driven a stick from the right or "passenger's side" of the car. This was further complicated by the fact that I need to drive on the left side of the road.
We made it to our first stop - "Salty Crax" backpacking hostel/inn.
This place is awesome. The people are warm and wonderful. Of course, most of them are under the age of 25 and have landed here for various reasons. We hope that the spirit, energy and sense of independence that these people are exhibiting will set an example for what the boys can do together and without us in years ahead.
After getting settled we took a 4 to 0 vote to forgo further sleep and venture to the beach. Our first stop was a great seafood meal at Catch 22
Then a short walk across the street to the beach. In the distance you can see Table Mountain which we will hike on Tuesday.
It was not long before the boys were headed into the Atlantic at the Soutern Tip of Africa.
Roman and Mabret were travel rock stars. It was a great end to a journey and a magical beginning to a once in a lifetime adventure.
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