Journey With Ellen

33 hours en route to get from Walvis Bay, Namibia to CapeTown to Atlanta to Charleston! In all honesty, it was more torture than adventure, but we did it.  First we flew over the desert sands of Namibia. Then we went thru Customs twice in Capetown, squired by my wheelchair driver, Ursula. CT airport looked like a great place for shopping, but it wasn't in me.  Delta One was worth every extra penny. (And in truth, Delta gave us a huge break on the upgrade cost.) But there was no relishing the first class luxury. I watched the little plane on the screen for 16 hours,  just praying for that very long leg to end. Tommy watched me and my swollen foot Atlanta was it's usual mob scene, but our flight was on time. Dear friend and neighbor, Leigh, picked us up in Charleston.   I had a full fledged meltdown when we walked in the condo door. I guess those tears had been mounting and mountin...

You know, couples probably don't always think ahead about those "thin" times when taking marriage vows. I am sure neither Tommy nor I did 48 years ago when we said "I do." I asked him about that today. You know, the "would you do it again" ... knowing what you now know about those thin times...like this one. He has been the very best support for me EVER during this ordeal. He's up early at his "luxury" hotel, The Atlantic. Usually he walks through "interesting" parts of Walvis Bay to reach the hospital, often stopping at an ATM to withdraw a few more thousand dollars (Namibian dollars, that is) to pay our myriad of bills.  He's negotiated taxis, insurance companies, wheelchairs in airports, phone lines, text messages, and emails that don't get through. He's walked me to the loo, bathed me, helped me brush my teeth, and continuously rubbed my back (and backside.) He'...

In ship's hospital thinking ... well, you know what Yesterday, we began my mastery of my walker. That includes "transferring" an added skillset to get from lying in bed, to sitting up, putting on moon boot, standing. Transferring all by itself takes a good 5 minutes after the nurse arrives to help (including strap on moon boot). Meaning: plan way ahead if you think you need to pee! Walking with walker has taken me to just outside my room door. And then straight back to bed to recover. And I am not allowed to walk alone...must be accompanied by a medical professional...or Tommy. (Hmmm.) Concentrating each step of the way The moon boot is a whole skillset of its own. It is enormous and it is heavy. God bless velcro! That's how it layers onto your foot. I have learned the sequencing of things to get it on, but not allowed to try bending over to do it on my own. Tommy is training in actually getting it on me.  Then there's showering, brushing teeth, using toilet. I th...

The flight to CapeTown and first 24 hours of cruising went great. On-time flights...mojitos... steak...beautiful room. Then, about 27 hours after boarding, I fell. I was walking into the ladies' room, when the ship lurched just a small amount. My right leg is weak and failed to hold me up as I tried to recover my balance. Down I went, onto the hard ceramic floor. I hit on my left side and I knew immediately my ankle was done for.  I remember they tried to immobilize my foot to get me to the ship's hospital. The doctor took one look, blanched, and mumbled to herself, "very bad." The x-rays confirmed very bad, though no one showed them to me.  Morphine began flowing into my arm.  Next morning (Friday), the ship stopped at our first port of call, Walvis Bay, in the country of Namibia.  Our prereading led us to believe Namibia has amazing birdlife, but otherwise not much. Miles of desert right to the ocean. And that's where they put us off the ship and where we are no...

As we are flying on to Cape Town this afternoon, I have a moment to reflect on our last day at Impodima. It was a good one. We chose to skip the 5 am Bush drive and slept in. What a luxury! After a late breakfast when our group returned from the bush (still no lion sightings), we lounged on our cabin deck and watched the little critters parade past.  There were multiple groups of impala, with their curious fawns. The little ones ventured close to the deck, but moms kept them in tow. Then came a gang of mongoose.  About the size of a small dog, they scurried around, then suddenly stopped, sitting up on their haunches to check us out. Their little ones tagged behind the adults, seemingly easily distracted by anything they ran across. Really cute little guys. Since we had had so much rain the day before, we could smell the freshness in the air. And the leaves were popping out bright green everywhere. It also was moth birthing day, I suppose. Thousands (no kidding) of small white ...

Yesterday afternoon showed great promise. Blue skies, warm temperatures, High Tea at poolside - sunglasses & shorts weather for sure. Maybe even sunscreen for the upcoming afternoon game drive. Anticipation of our first Sundowner out in the bush.  I noticed dark clouds forming on the western horizon as we climbed into the 4-wheeler and took off. No one seemed to think much of it, so I looked off elsewhere and hoped it was no big deal.  Sam swiftly headed off, determined to find us lions. We nonchalantly breezed by impala, even a few elephants. Ho hum to our now "experienced" safari eyes. Our minds were onto the big cats, and Sam headed pretty far afield from the lodge to find them.  He and Lock sighted tracks and climbed out to see where they led. Sam left his rifle, but removed the bolt, a safety requirement no doubt. But we laughed that he might be afraid we would turn on ourselves. They headed off into tall grasses, giving us ample time to take in the view of the g...

Getting to Impodimo Lodge in Madikwe Game Reserve took a 5-hour van trip from Joburg...in pouring rain! In addition to Tommy, me, and our friend Susan from Charleston, we only have one other cruise couple on the safari -- Gail & Britt from Scottsdale, AZ. We weathered the van ride with our driver, Amos, and travel guides, Darrell & Paul.  We no sooner drove through the gate of this 35,000 acre reserve than we spotted an elephant. A little further along, two zebras were munching on bushes in the rain. Then, a small herd of impala. Lastly, a gigantic giraffe! It seemed suspiciously like they had been sent a WhatsApp message to run out along the road to greet the arriving tourists.  Next stop, the Impodimo Lodge. Wow. Just Wow. A 30-minute ride into the reserve strictly on dirt roads through the Bush brought us to a fabulous stone lodge with thatched roof. Rustic, comfortable, 5 star. We got checked into our luxurious individual cabins, walked back for High Tea, and then ...

Johannesburg.... aka JoBurg... aka Josie. No matter what you call it, this is a sprawling city of remarkable contrast.  Flying into JoBurg yesterday from the west, our fight pattern took us low over Soweto. Miles of tiny (really tiny) homes packed in together. Narrow (really narrow) streets, many of which didn't appear to be paved. I didn't see sidewalks, grass or trees anywhere. Entirely impoverished, yet strangely, laid out streets and identical houses. Like a gigantic housing project - which of course, is how it came about.  That is Soweto, meaning South West Townships. During apartheid, Black Africans were relocated from all other parts of the city to these settlements. They had to have official passes to go into any other parts of the city. Nelson Mandela lived there until he become President.  Our hotel, on the other hand, 54 on Bath, is 5 star, sits on a beautiful street lined with sycamore trees, flowering shrubs, wide sidewalks.  Shopping areas are just a fe...