Pretoria - Victoria Falls
Day 1 or is it Day 2 - yes it's day 2 !! You must understand dear reader, I have had at most 2 hours sleep! I'm stretched out here on a day bed in the transit lounge at Addis Ababa airport, (Ethiopia - for those whose geography is rusty.) It's 0530 and we landed at 0505 hrs, having departed Dublin at 20.00 hrs and lost 2 hours on the journey East.
We flew on a 787 Dreamliner, not the biggest plane in the world but the most modern! First son rang just prior to our departure to say that he has just qualified as captain of the 777- the biggest aeroplane in the world. Proud Mum! So you see from whence I get my in depth knowledge of the airlines. 
The Dreamliner, for all you train anoraks and others who are also into planes, is a very comfortable plane - plenty of leg room. Ethiopian Airlines impressed with their punctuality and service. For all of you who like a drink or two, there was plenty of alcohol - one could have had wine for breakfast but they ran out of minerals at dinner yesterday!
I met a Galway lady on the flight, who told me that she had received an email yesterday morning, prior to her departure for Dublin airport, to say that the plane had been delayed at LAX (Los Angeles Airport to the uninitiated) and would not be taking on passengers at Dublin. Luckily, she decided to head for Dublin and on arrival, she discovered that the email had been sent in error!! Thankfully we didn't get the email.
The mention of LAK reminded me of an incident that occurred in 2012 when we drove Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, California. We had arrived at SM
and spent the evening on the pier. The following day Friday, we went out to Venice, a real hippy colony in the 60s. It is still quite crazy and retro. We returned to the hotel at 1600 to rest only to discover that our flight was departing that evening at 2000 and not the next day as we had originally thought. A woman's intuition must have prompted me to check the flight details! It was Friday rush hour so it was touch and go as to whether we would make it as we also had to return a rental car. Suffice it to say that with a few chance turnings, which proved correct, we arrived on time.
We left Addis at 0900 hrs and arrived in Johannesburg on time at 01.10, having gained an hour. Unlike Dublin, there is an excellent train leaving the airport every 10 minutes to Pretoria. With one change, it took 1/2 hour to reach Pretoria. (€ 10) one way.
The hotel rang us on our arrival at
Johannesburg airport and assured us that there would be someone to meet us at Pretoria station. We arrived to find nobody there - those of you who know South Africa, know that one cannot just hop into any taxi as elsewhere. For one's security, the hotels arrange taxis for one.
We had to ring the Capitol Boutique hotel, Victoria Road, Pretoria a number of times, as our driver initially went to another station and then when he returned to Pretoria Station, parked in an obscure place and made little or no effort to find us. We waited over half an hour until he eventually got out of the car to look for us and then had the temerity to say that we were standing in a dangerous area and in addition he said that he had to charge us extra for waiting. !!!
We're now at hotel
It is in a safe belt. The crime rate is high in Pretoria. The room is old, with antique furniture and rather quirky. It is really lovely - we'll enjoy a brief respite til Thursday.
Nightfall is 1800 so I think we'll eat at
the hotel tonight - I couldn't face another taxi today !!
No comments:
Post a Comment