Yebo!

The dust and grime of Kuwait seems a long way from Durban. Was it only Thursday that mentally exhausted and physically tired, we limped onto a plane headed to Africa? That was ages ago. Our time here in South Africa has already been filled with long days. It some ways, it feels like we never left. What has changed is that we are no longer on an open itinerary and we no longer live here. We also no longer eat boerewors or braaivleis that are such staple items here. But we feel welcomed and at home.

After a relatively easy flight through Addis Ababa, we arrived to a surprisingly quiet Tambo International Airport. We got out on the N-1 during what should have been Friday afternoon rush hour to an empty highway. Then we realized that it was the start of the four-day Easter holiday. So most everything was closed, but we did find a few groceries before settling in at the Pretoria Backpackers, which like many other hostels in Southern Africa has grown up to be more like self-catering flats. In the relatively upscale Arcadia neighborhood, we slept soundly that night.

After we ate breakfast Saturday morning, we drove over to Moraleta Park, where we lived for three weeks last May while Russ was having his heart surgery. We were able to visit with Oom Dolf and his wife who were so kind to us during our time there. Like our friend Zane though, Dolf is also suffering from late stage lung cancer and was in obvious pain but in good spirits. Afterwards, we walked around the nearby nature reserve and golf course that we frequented often. The weather was sunny and pleasant, perfect actually. It was good to be back in familiar territory and I think in a way allowed Russ to put closure on that chapter of his life.

South Africa is suffering through major inflation. The price of petrol has almost doubled since last year and is currently around seven dollars a gallon. Naturally food prices have gone through the roof. I have been the ATM three times in the past three days to take out over five thousand rand. Not sure how the economy can keep up with this. Much to our dismay, politics seem to be the same.

One of our highlights in Pretoria was seeing Rafa and Rosemary, our good friends from our time in Botswana. They were in Pretoria en route to meet his parents from Spain. We immediately settled in the garden to drink Windhoek lagers and catch up since we had last seen them in April 2011. Life for them is still good at Westwood and they are considering another year there. We walked around the Union Building gardens and found a West African restaurant to eat at. A short visit, but we are already talking about possible future trips.

So glad we have the Diner's Club card to get us in to all of these airport lounges. It makes traveling so much easier. Joburg has two - one for domestic and another for international. We had a wonderful flight to Durban yesterday, but could not believe how green and humid it was. It felt like Mozambique in the middle of summer. We are staying right on the beach in North Durban, and I am enthralled lying in bed listening to the pounding surf.

We have already visited Zane who was in better condition than we anticipated. He just received a blood transfusion and is receiving cortisone, so for the time he has a burst of energy. We drank beer and snacked, just as we had so many times in the past. We'll head over there today after a long walk on the beach.