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I am so sorry but the WiFi on this trip was so awful that I was not able to blog. Even when we did have service, opening simple emails was often a chore. So instead of my daily ramblings I hope one very long post to summarize the remainder of our trip will suffice.

Patrice and I are finally home. The trip was a success but not without its challenges. You already know about our drama on day one and our brief visit in Johannesburg but much more was to follow. After leaving Johannesburg we spent 3 nights each in 4 different camps in order to go on safaris. We stayed in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, Kafue National Park in Zambia, Chobe National Park in Botswana and finally the Okavango Delta also in Botswana. Each had its own charm and variety of animals. We were very lucky to see all the animals on our wish list and a bunch of bonus creatures including some of which I had never heard of prior to this trip. I learned a lot about the animals but unfortunately looking at my pictures it remains a challenge to differentiate between a Kudu (not Kudo), Puku, and a Roan (and don’t get me started on the birds).

The one common feature of every one of the safari parks was that they were incredibly cold in the morning, too hot in the afternoon and unbearably cold at night. Our rooms were “tent cabins” with zero insulation. It was impossible to shower in the morning (I quickly learned it was best to shower after the very warm early evening game drives) and the nights were totally miserable. One night in order to sleep I wore (from bottom to top) socks, thermal underwear, pajama bottoms, t-shirts (one short sleeve and one long sleeve), pajama top, sweatshirt, and a wool cap. In spite of all those articles of clothing I was still cold. For animal lovers who are used to camping in challenging weather, this is the trip for you. If you are like us and consider roughing it when you stay at a Holiday Inn, this might not be your ideal adventure. Yes, the accommodations were not adequate for this tender boy from Southern California. But the sights during the day (and sometimes at night) were often spectacular.

In addition to the sub-par accommodations the food was often a challenge as well. There was plenty of food offered and sometimes it was good. Sometimes it was not so good. Also we had some interesting cultural experiences. For example we were offered ice cream in one park. One of our fellow travelers asked for 3 scoops and this is was she got.

After the 12 days of safaris we headed to Victoria Falls. I had been told that these were as spectacular as the Iguazú Falls that border Brazil and Argentina. We have now seen both and I can’t decide between the two. They are both amazing sights of nature.

The Falls were great but even better was the hotel. IT WAS WARM IN THE ROOM. The shower was bit odd. It didn’t have a shower door or curtain and was adjacent to the sink. This left the bathroom floor flooded after either of us showered. But I didn’t care, the room was warm. The hotel food was also very good.

After completing our visit to Victoria Falls seven of our travelers either went home or to other locations to continue their trip. Patrice and I (along with 6 other travelers and our guide) headed to Cape Town.

Animal sightings in Cape Town were sparse but we did learn a lot about South Africa during our four days in the city. The first night we were invited to have dinner at the home of a family who reside just. outside of the city. We learned that the people in South Africa are divided into ethnic categories, White, African (what we would refer to as Black or African-American; obviously that term would be meaningless here since they are not Americans) and mixed ethnicity referred to as “Colored”. They are very aware that “Colored” has a negative connotation in the States but not so in South Africa. In fact one of our tour guides referred to himself as Colored (or do they spell it Coloured?) and our hosts for dinner also described themselves as colored. Since the elimination of Apartheid (1994) people have been allowed to live wherever they choose (and can afford) but in spite of 25 years of democracy there is still marked segregation in neighborhoods. Of great interest (and we learned that this was not an accident) White, African and Colored neighborhoods are often separated by natural and man-made barriers to help prevent mixing of the races. For example it is not unusual to see an interstate dividing two such neighborhoods (called Townships).

We were also given a tour of the townships and this was very eye opening. In spite of 25 years of democracy people are still living (estimated 1,000,000 outside of Cape Town) in shacks with limited services. We also saw this in Johannesburg but at the time I didn’t realize it was so pervasive.

While in Cape Town we also visited Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 of his 27 years of incarceration. We took a drive along the coast to the Cape of Good Hope and stopped to see penguins just north of the Cape (yes penguins in Africa). Patrice and I visited the District Six museum. This museum commemorated an area (called District Six) where “Coloreds” lived until 1966 when it was decided that this should be a “Whites Only” neighborhood. Sixty thousand people were displaced from their homes and essentially dumped into townships (what we would call slums or ghettos). The homes were destroyed and to this day the area has not been redeveloped. The District is now the residence for homeless people living in tents and trash that has been dumped there.

After our 10+ hour flights from Cape Town to London then London to Los Angeles, It’s good be home. Even if I was up at 2 AM writing this blog entry. Now I have to get ready for work. And, of course, plan our next trip.

Tonight we were scheduled to fly to Johannesburg, South Africa via London for our three week trip to Africa. If you know me, I’m not much of an animal guy. I am much more of a people person. Seeing wild animals doesn’t really interest me very much. I think I’d rather struggle with my Spanish talking to Juan Carlos or Don Jose while drinking cafe con leche in Madrid than I would seeing an elephant. But hearing, Don, Gary, Dom, Peter, Kevin and Candy (oops, Patrice reads this. No one named Candy should ever appear in my blog) rave about their trips to Africa I just had to go. Yes, I have given in to peer pressure and we are off to Africa.

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 9:15 pm and arrive in London 10+ hours later and two hours before our 10+ hour trip to Johannesburg. Twenty-one hours on a plane and 23 hours of travel time (not counting getting to the airport 3 hours early for an international flight) seemed like too much to ask of my wife (and me) so I reluctantly decided to get Business class tickets. I was hopeful we could sleep during the flights. Also the late departure time allowed Patrice and me to get some chores completed during the day.

In addition to completing some routine things that I had been putting off, I was invited to a luncheon downtown that I very much wanted to attend. The late departure allowed me to do so, so I braved the traffic to head to the civic center. After my one hour trip downtown I received a call from Patrice just as I was entering the parking lot. “I thought you said our flight leaves at 9:15? According to the American Airlines website our flight leaves at 5:15”. I checked my phone and confirmed, our 9:15 flight was cancelled and we were rebooked on economy! They had my cell phone number and email address, why do they take that information if they are not going to use it? I panicked. I called the airline but they were of no assistance so I immediately headed home.

While waiting for our taxi ride to the airport I decided to confirm that there weren’t any business seats available. I found a flight that had one Business seat that was unoccupied. My wife is an incredible woman with all sorts of talents but operating without sleep is not one of them. My baby needs her sleep. So we headed to the airport and I called American Airlines planning to get Patrice that Business class seat. I was told that since my trip was booked through British Airways they would have to make the changes. The American agent transferred me to British Airways who told me that American had taken control of the ticket so I’d have to deal with them. At this point I wanted to strangle someone but since they were hiding in my phone I just had to pray for the best. After several waits on hold the BA agent said she could take care of us. Just as we pulled up to the terminal the agent said everything was complete. Patrice was booked into Business class and I remained in economy. I was a hero!

Inside the terminal we headed to the British Airways counter. After a brief explanation the agent started typing away. She had a puzzled look and finally said “You’re not in the system”. She took our passports and disappeared into a back room. So we waited. And we waited. And we waited. I started to get a bit anxious. Okay, okay, yes I was very anxious. I couldn’t just stand there and wait. I checked online and found flights that traveled through Boston or New York then on to London. This would give us an extra stop but we would be in Business class and able to get some sleep. But there was no sign of our agent. She finally came out to tell us she was working with a ticketing agent to solve our problem. I told her about the options I found. She said the itinerary I found said we would arrive in Johannesburg at 9:00 AM on May 23rd. “That’s 9 hours from now Mr. Reiss. Let me keep looking.” Into the back she disappeared once more.

The minutes continued to tick away and our 5:15 flight crept closer and closer. The agent came out and asked if we could arrive a day later, “NO OUR TOUR WILL LEAVE WITHOUT US!” More waiting followed by text messages from American Airlines telling us that boarding will begin in a little over an hour. We were in the Bradley Terminal and our flight left from Terminal 4. We still didn’t have our boarding passes and had not cleared security. Panicked is putting it mildly.

I needed to go to the bathroom. I didn’t want to leave the counter but when a 69 year old prostate gives you the command you better obey or be prepared to deal with the consequences. When I returned to the counter I could see our agent with another white haired lady talking to Patrice. Everyone was smiling (a very good sign). I was informed that they found us two business class seats on Virgin Atlantic to London and we could keep the same London to Johannesburg flight.

I was very pleased of course, but I wondered why in the F_ _ _ couldn’t British Airways or American Airlines have done that at 7 in the morning when my flight got cancelled? Although it was a horrible experience there is a silver lining. I was very gallant and didn’t have to make the sacrifice after all. I asked Patrice, “Do I get a reward for being wonderful?” She said she would reward me in bed tonight. I got very excited and wanted to know what she had in mind. She said “You know those little chocolates they put on the pillows at night?” “Yes, what about them?”, I panted. “You can have both of them.”

I hope this is not a sign of things to come.