Mthata

Our group of 7 has now increased to 13 as we are greeted in Mthata by our South African hosts, Peggy, Monde, Gcobani and Simphiwe and Mark Lloyd.

Landing on a tiny air strip just before dusk with a beautiful light making the vast landscape look so vivid and colourful. Once the noisy little plane stopped it was so quiet, no traffic noise at all as we walked from the plane to the terminal building, a one roomed place. We’ve arrived in the Eastern Cape. The drive to Mthata from the airport was fabulous, so much open space in all directions. Small houses some round, some rectangular, all painted bright colours (green and pink a popular choice) dotted about randomly, each with its own bit of land. Some growing a few crops, some with goats, sheep or cattle. It feels great to be in open space I really feel like we’re in Africa now.

After a much needed shower and change we visited The Arts and Crafts Hub, a building filled with colour and creativity. Almost an exhibition space but also a kind of shop that is filled with beads, traditional outfits, scary looking dolls, pottery, and other fabulous arts and crafts. The arts hub represents local crafters from the villages and gives them a place to advertise and sell their art. They receive training workshops in pricing and marketing and have an outlet to avoid exploitation and to make sure their craft is being valued. There is no mark up on the prices as the hub receives funding so all the profit goes to the crafter

Jo'burg

Arriving after an epic journey, it was a relief to be outside after the expanses of shiny floors and tiny compact plane seats. All in all we’d been on the go for about 28 hours, with a long wait in Charles De Gaulle airport, with no cash or wish to spend in Prada, Dior and other such fancy money grabbing boutiques. In flight entertainment kept me happy on the 10 and a half hour flight but not really managing to get any sleep so we were all in a rather elated but delirious state when we were greeted by Peter Stark’s open arms.

As we were a day behind with our packed itinerary we got straight in our minibus, with a smiling driver Paul, for a whistlestop tour of Jo’burg. From one of the highest points in the city we had a panoramic view. Covering the gold reef, the mine dumps on the edge of the city, the posh houses of the white middle classes with an amazing amount of security and razor wire surrounding them, and the city centre from a distance. We drove into downtown Jo’burg, and whizzed around the centre and the cultural area in Newtown. Still a bit too dazed to rtake it all in.. but so happy to be here and the sun is shining....

Still in the toon!!

It's 10am Sunday morning and after an incredibly early start, 3.30am wake up, 4.30am at the airport, I am now back at home. It was all going too well, smooth check in, no queues for security, no issues with liquids and plastic bags, didn't even have to take my shoes off or get frisked, a quick cuppa and on to the plane swiftly. Gearing up for take off , the guy next to me and Annie already passed out, and then comes a series of long announcements about techncal faults, fuel warning systems down, air hostesses quickening their struts up and down the aisle, men in yellow jackets piling in, the pilot wandering around with a troubled look trying to placate passengers who are dying to get irrate at the slightest hold up.

An hour or so later and the pilot announces they've decided to treat the plane as a computer and as a last stab in the dark, turn it off and turn it on again! A general muttering of not so convinced passengers, but Annie and I having sworn by this technique in the past are quietly hopeful.

But alas... it doesn't work, so off we get in a mad rush to the poor buggers working on the customer support desk who were happily filing their nails and having a good gossip before the crowds of fed up, tired folk with missed connections rock up with their demands. The man in green who got there first looking smug and watched as time went on and people realised they would miss their cruise, or their gig, or their granny's surprise birthday party. An hour or so of queueing but in happy spirits getting to know each other we finally get to the front, then back home again for us.... and we will do it all again at 4.50pm, but via Paris.

3 days to go...

So.. the beginnings of my first blog. Setting it up is one of the many millions of things I have to do before I leave on Sunday.