olafman

FLIGHT#8
British Airways Flight #057
London (LHR) – Johannesburg (JNB)
Date: August 31, 2010
Departure: 21:15
Arrival: 09:05
Length: 10:50
Miles flown since start: 21,165 mi.
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400
Seats: BUSINESS 63ABJ (Upstairs, exit row)

Finally after many preparatory flights, it was time to begin the first of sixteen segments included in our Oneworld DONE6 round-the-world ticket. The “D” stands for business class and the “6” means six continents. Sweetie (a dated AB FAB reference).

We arrived at Heathrow via the HEX and it’s quite a schlep to down to the Club/First check-in areas. Finally we arrived and we were processed quickly. Soon we were seated in the Galleries. I had promised Corbin that we’d try to book a massage at the spa. Unfortunately, they have an age requirement and he’s too young. So I booked one for myself and we went upstairs. I promised that he’d get one in Thailand. They don’t care how old you are there.

I returned to the spa and took a nice long shower. It’s always nice to start a long-haul flight feeling fresh. I finished in time for my massage. After signing my life away on the disclaimer form, I enjoyed a lovely head massage while the massage chair took care of my torso and legs.

I’ve already written about the Business Class T5 Galleries. They are lovely, perfectly fine for killing some time at the airport.

Our gate posted and the flight was leaving from the remote gates in the other terminal. Ugh. So a hop skip and a jump later and we arrived at the B gates. It was still a bit early for boarding so we went up to the Galleries lounge there. It was deserted. We should have gone over there earlier. Corbin played video games in the kid room while the adults had some soup and another cocktail. Hic.

Finally it was time to board and Corbin had the pleasure of climbing the stairs of a 747 for the first time in his life. He was very happy. We were greeted upstairs and shown to our seats.

Club World has been a competitive product since its introduction a decade ago. This current version is very comfortable. The best part is that it is truly horizontal. No tilty business class here.

The meal service began fairly quickly with cocktails first and then a lovely salmon starter. Next I had a nice filet of beef. I was exhausted so I didn’t take any pictures or make note of the menu. Sorry Carfield. I slept for a good six hours waking up just as we were flying over Malawi. I chose the English breakfast and a nice stiff cup of tea to get my body going.

Overall, it was a typically nice BA Club World flight. I spent most of the meal watching the Emmys that I had on my laptop. The flight attendant ask me what I was watching because I was laughing quite a bit! We arrived at OR Tambo refreshed and ready to go.

Our arrival in South Africa was bitter sweet. Resi, my “second” mom was dying. As I mentioned earlier in this report, Resi is the mom of my best friend who over the years has become “mom” to me. Unfortunately, she’s been battling cancer for a few years and recently her decline was picking up momentum.

When we arrived at her house, she was in her TV room dozing but quickly sat up and gave me a big hug and smile. She was very alert and sharp but the cancer has made her gaunt and brittle. Over the next 48 hours, we spent lots of time catching up when she wasn’t sleeping. At the end of my second day there, I had the “It’s time to let go and move on” talk with her. She had been on hospice care for a month but the dying process was very difficult for her. She just didn’t want to let go.

So that night, we talked about how she is worried about her son, Robert, and daughter, Ruth. I promised to continue to watch over them and that they would survive without their mama. When I said this, she simply took my hand and held it next to her cheek. I knew they were her biggest worry and what was preventing her from letting go.

The next morning she was in a lot of pain so she began taking morphine. Over the next few days she stopped wanting to get out of bed and became more aggressive to her daughter and the nurse. Everyone felt like they couldn’t make her happy. With the help of a hospice nurse, we all decided that she would be better served if we moved her to a hospice facility. They knew best how to make the dying process as comfortable as possible for her. They also thought it would help her brain to let go by leaving her house. This is exactly what happened.

Twenty four hours after arriving in hospice she was no longer conscious. At this point we decided that Robert and the Haleys would go down to Robert’s place for some R&R. Once she died there would be a lot to do so resting up a bit would be good.

On the way to OR Tembo airport, we stopped by hospice and said our final goodbye. We held her hand, told her we loved her and said goodbye. Terry and I left the room but Corbin lingered at the door. Then he called me back saying that she had quietly whispered “I love you. Goodbye.” About a day after we left she regained some consciousness enough to tell Ruth “You’ve underestimated me.” What a fighter.

She lasted seven days at the hospice facility which was much longer than expected. Ruth called us around 2 am one morning saying that she had finally died. All of us were relieved. Dying had been so hard on her and it had been so many years of fighting. At last her battle was over.

Resi had known since last November that we would be arriving on September 1. I flew down on my own last February for a couple of days and she was far from being ready to die. I think she was holding on now until her two kids and her “second son” were all with her to make this final transition.

This trip report has taken a personal and serious turn. But it’s part of our experience this year. We knew the year would be full of ups and downs. I also always knew in the back of my mind that I would be flying off to South Africa at any moment from where ever we were. She just planned it that I would already be there.

FLIGHT#9
British Airways Flight #6417
Johannesburg (JNB) – Cape Town (CPT)
Date: September 7, 2010
Departure: 12:50
Arrival: 15:00
Length: 02:10
Miles flown since start: 21,954 mi.
Aircraft: Boeing 737-300
Seats: ECONOMY 15AB, 11C

Johannesburg would be our home base from Sept. 1 though Nov. 1 when we left the African continent for Asia. This meant we didn’t have to lug all six bags around all the time. Amen! We traveled down to Cape Town with a respectable three check-in bags.

Months ago, I had pre-selected seats for us: Terry in the exit row and Corbin and me in 15AC. When I did OLCI, they had moved us all together at the back of the plane. So I chose the correct seats again and printed the boarding passes.

When we dropped off the bags, the computer had once again changed our seats to 23ABC. Ugh. The check in agent switched them back but managed to give Terry the row in FRONT of exit row: no extra legroom and seat didn’t recline.

After clearing security, we entered the beautiful oasis known as the BA Galleries in the domestic terminal. Bar none, it’s the nicest domestic lounge I’ve been too anywhere in the world. Next to the entrance check-in desk was the spa desk where you could book a variety of treatments. They weren’t complimentary but reasonably priced and convenient. From there we saw the amazing food offerings: three salads, lots of sandwiches and wraps, stacks of freshly made brownies, cheesecake, fresh fruit salad… The presentation was overwhelming for a domestic lounge. Sure, I’ve been to the Wing and EY’s First class lounge in DXB. But this lounge only serves piddley flights up to two hours with no first class! Corbin spent most of the time in the kid room which offered both Nintendo and Wii. Also on offer were a smoking room, conference rooms, showers, stunning individual restroomsm a computer area, wine bar and a well stocked bar with a real Italian coffee machine run by someone who knew how to use it. Lots of staff were around to bring drinks and clear plates too. BA really did this one right.

Our flight was slightly delayed but not more than 20 minutes. Since it was full, I scooted over to sit next to Corbin who always wants the window seat. In South Africa, BA’s flights are operated by a local company Comair. The biggest disadvantage over South Africa Airways is that they use pretty old 737s. SAA uses new 737-800s. Other than that, Comair offers a nice free beverage and meal service. Even cocktails are free! SAA doesn’t even stock spirits domestically. The meal was a Woolworth’s branded box of goodies served with a delicious hot main course. Soon enough we were in Cape Town, one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

At this point I reckon I’ve visited Cape Town 30 or 40 times. It is definitely one of my second homes. The biggest reason is that my best friend Robert lives there. The second reason is that he has a stunningly beautiful house right on the Atlantic coast in Llandudno, 20 minutes south of the center of Cape Town. It has my vote for BEST SUNSETS OF THE WORLD. The Atlantic often has storms off the coast which makes for spectacular sunsets. Check out the pictures on my blog if you need convincing.

As I mentioned, by the time we sat down at Robert’s house, we were all physically and emotionally drained. It had been a difficult week since we arrived in Africa. We spent the first two days just going to the nearby beach and relaxing. My only goal every day was to be on Robert’s deck enjoying the sunset with a glass of nice South Africa red in my hand. Everything else was unimportant.

We had another friend, Chris and her boyfriend Mike arrive from California right after we got to Cape Town. Chris and I have traveled extensively together. This was our fourth time we were in Africa together. But Mike was a Cape Town virgin so we showed him our favorite highlights.

On day three, we finally decided we needed to leave Llandudno. We headed off to the wine country near Stellenbosch. We had booked into two wine farms that required reservations: Rupert & Rothschild and Stony Brook. Both were excellent experiences. The first has produced a lovely red blend that I’ve appreciated for years. There was only one other couple tasting while we were there which provided us with an intimate experience. We tasted four outstanding wines and also an olive oil that they had recently begun making. The sales lady also gave us a nice tour of the facilities and cellars. I have been to probably 20 wineries in Cape Town and this was the best experience I’d ever had. Until we went to Stony Brook. We were greeted by one of the proprietors who would be our guide throughout our visit. She was informative, honest, entertaining… and their wines were superb. Since we would be here until the end of the month, I stocked up Robert’s wine cellar with a few of our favorites.

Corbin came along for the ride and seemed to enjoy himself. He got to sample each wine by sticking his finger in my glass, something I remember doing as a kid. We learned a lot about the wine making process and how different varieties are treated.

The culinary highlight of the day was lunch at La Petite Ferme. This renowned restaurant once again offered both delicious food and one of the most beautiful views in the area. By the end of the meal, we were stuffed and full of wine. A nice siesta out in the gardens helped us regain consciousness. Our goal was to hit another wine farm on the way out of the area but we were sated.

Both Robert and I are sporty people and Cape Town is our Disneyland. Over the next few days, we hiked India Fenster up Table Mountain, hiked up Little Lion’s Head, biked down to Chapman’s Peak, kayaked off the coast near Simonstown, and rock climbed up Lion’s Head. I posted lots of pictures on my blog of our adventures.

By this point Resi had died and it was time to return to Johannesburg for the funeral.

FLIGHT#10
1time.co.za #102
Cape Town (CPT) - Johannesburg (JNB)
Date: September 19, 2010
Departure: 10:00
Arrival: 12:15
Length: 02:15
Miles flown since start: 22,743 mi.
Aircraft: McDonnell-Douglas MD-83
Seats: Back of the bus

Since we booked at the last moment, we ended up on one of South Africa’s low cost carriers, 1time.co.za. They aren’t even big enough to have a real name, just a website name. A couple of years ago, another low cost carrier Nationwide had one of their engines fall off. No kidding. It was appalling. So the engines have stayed on the wings. Their planes are the oldest in South Africa but their fares are cheap! ☺ In spite of their status they managed to offer free beer and wine and a hot meal.

After 48 emotional hours celebrating Resi’s life back in Joburg, it was time to finish the rest of the month back in Cape Town.

FLIGHT#11
South African Airways #333
Johannesburg (JNB) - Cape Town (CPT)
Date: September 21, 2010
Departure: 12:00
Arrival: 14:15
Length: 02:15
Miles flown since start: 23,532 mi.
Aircraft: Airbus 340-600
Seats: 24CEG

Check-in was painless as we had already printed the boarding passes online. We hadn’t brought much luggage since it was just a two day trip to Joburg. We cleared security and went straight to the gate and started boarding quickly.

Once or twice a day, SAA flies a big bird between JNB and CPT to position them for all of their evening international flights. We chose the noon departure because it was serviced by their biggest Airbus. Luckily the flight was half full so we had plenty of room to stretch out. AVOD was not turned on for the flight but the tail camera and flight map could be displayed at each seat. A nice hot meal and drinks were served.

The rest of the month in Cape Town flew by. Our month in South Africa by design was a “summer vacation month”. We told Corbin that he would get eight weeks of summer vacation in total. We worked out together that the first two weeks in Scotland, the first two weeks of August and the entire month of September would make up his summer vacation. We mapped out the school calendar for the rest of the year ensuring that he has 177 school days total. We never have school on our travel days and we tried to spread some “holidays” around the year.

After we got back, Corbin’s cousins from Johannesburg joined us for the rest of our time. He loved hanging out with them since they are his age. Together we rock climbed up Lion’s Head again, snorkeled with sea lions in the Atlantic Ocean outside of Hout Bay, had lunch at the Western Cape’s best restaurant Die Strandloper, hiked/climbed up Table Mountain via Kloof Corner and rock climbed up the face of Table Mountain up Arrow Final. It was a fun month full of emotion, adventure, good food, good wine and most importantly good friends.

FLIGHT#12
British Airways #6438
Cape Town (CPT) - Johannesburg (JNB)
Date: September 30, 2010
Departure: 19:00
Arrival: 21:15
Length: 02:15
Miles flown since start: 24,321 mi.
Aircraft: 737-300
Seats: 11C, 15AC

Based on the lounge we had in JNB, we made sure to arrive at the Cape Town airport with plenty of lounge time. Check-in was painless and soon we were nicely settled into our seats in an equally wonderful BA lounge. It was was a little smaller than its Joburg counterpart and at capacity. Still, the service was wonderful. Food wonderful. We managed to eat a fine dinner before boarding.

Once again, Corbin and I had a free seat between us as Terry sat in the exit row. They served drinks and some very nice butternut squash cannelloni or chicken with rice. We were all still pretty stuffed from the lounge.

The bags just about beat us to the baggage carousel. Some how they’ve designed the new airport that you end up walking miles to the baggage claim area and then more miles to final exit. It used to be so easy before it got so big!

I’ve rented from Thrifty the past few times that I’ve flown through Joburg and have yet to be very happy. They are SLOW checking me in and the cars always seem to have something wrong with them. I’ve chosen them based on price but think they’re not worth it. I’m giving them a final chance at the end of October. We’ll see if they can improve.

We spent the next day packing for Madagascar: sun screen, bug repellant, malaria prophylaxis, guide books and plenty of books on our Kindles/iPad. Madagascar was the one country that I was a bit nervous about. I was worried about us all staying healthy and how Terry and Corbin would deal with the poverty. But I knew that it would be an adventure that we’d never forget.