At Home in Standton

To Standton, South Africa

It was another travel day today. We tried a half a dozen times, but couldn't seem to coerce the British Airways website into letting us check in electronically. As a result, we decided to head to the Windhoek airport after a late breakfast at 11:00 though our flight didn't leave until 14:55.

Our Bungalow for the night

Weaver bird nests at the hotel restaurant

Masked Weaver

Meg had arranged for the taxi at the office (no Uber here in Namibia) but when I heard from driver that the price was a thousand Namibian dollars, I totally lost it. He tried to assure me that typically the fee was N$300 per person, but that didn't help. We'd never paid more than one or two hundred since we arrived, and besides, the airport was only a few kilometers away!  I told the driver in no uncertain terms that with four hours before our flight, we’d just as soon walk. In the end, we agreed on N$500 though I was still convinced we were being ripped off.

As it turned out, there are actually two airports in Windhoek, and the one we needed was closer to 35 kilometers away, not just around the corner. Fortunately, the driver didn't hold a grudge (and drop us off in some remote location) but was calm and friendly the entire drive. Meg gave me the benefit of the doubt and blamed my outburst on the Malerone we've started to take to guard against Malaria.

The upside of being at the airport so early was we beat the crowd and were checked through in no time. Meg and I got new SIM cards (old ones had expired) just for the next few hours so we could check email, upload photos, and arrange another car rental in Johannesburg. Although the fancy Ford Ranger was great fun in Namibia, it made our daily spending goal pretty hard to meet. Instead, with a bare bones, diesel 4x4 and no camping equipment, we’d save $135 everyday, which would easily cover the cost of a tent and a few camping necessities.

The two hour fight was uneventful and featured one of the smoothest landings ever. For some reason, it took a while to open the plane doors, so, as usual, everyone crowded into the aisle waiting to disembark. A young African women asked to pass by wanting to get towards the front of the plane, so I stepped aside. Two older men, just ahead, however, were quite indignant at the request and steadfastly refused to budge convinced she just selfishly wanted to get off the plane ahead of everyone else. After a minute of trying in vain to squeeze by the stubborn Americans, she did finally slip past making her way a few rows ahead to where her young children were sitting. I couldn't help but think that the world would be a much better place if we would only give others the benefit of the doubt. I suppose I could have done so with our taxi driver this morning!

Since we were once again back in the land of Uber, we reinstalled our old SIM cards and "hailed" the nearest taxi. A very nice driver by the name of Nkosinamandla took us to the B&B Meg had booked way back in Cape Town. The uncharacteristic, early planning was driven by the need to have a mailing address at which to send the rain jacket she had inadvertently left in England with Sally and Rob. We seem to leave a constant trail of personal belongings as we make our way from place to place. Kylie’s swim suit was left in Norway with Cam, which is why she’s taken to swimming in spandex running shorts instead.

The Standown Estate B&B turned out to be a private residence with an upper section of the house used as a rental -- two bedrooms, a bathroom, living room and kitchen. As we were talking to our host, Phillipa, her two children, a boy and a girl ages 7 and 6, came upstairs wrapped in towels from their bath. If it hadn't been so late on a school night, I'm sure everyone would have enjoyed some playtime together.

View of Johannesburg

Left to ourselves, we quickly settled into our homey surroundings, turned on a National Geographic's wildlife program, and ordered Thai food for delivery.  After camping for most of the last two weeks, even our relatively luxurious truck camping, it was good to be home... at least this would be home for the night, and that would be alright.