Thursday, January 14, 2010

Terrace sky

At night I love watching the sky from the terrace. There are always at least 7 planes in it. Low and landing, or high and passing, like sputnicks. La Guardia and JFK's flights are visible, and if I stand on the stone table, I can see Newark's too, in Jersey, across the water.

Tomorrow morning we take off into this sky, on South African Airways, heading across the Atlantic for Senegal, and then, after an hour on the tarmac and a lot of noxious bug spray, we take off again for Johannesburg. All these takings off, with my heart in my mouth and prayers in my heart. Vince the pilot will be happy, in his element. I will be in a state of suspended animation.

Then one smaller jump, through the cumulus clouds of the Highveld, with my first, ritual sip of Appletizer on the plane, and we are in Cape Town. Home. My mother will ululate for us at the airport, possibly waving an agapanthus; we will head straight for the mountain on the freeway, with the poor shacks on either side of the road. We will pass the power station and the sewage plant's welcoming pong, and then wind around Devil's Peak and past the university's ivy clad sandstone walls, through cool, woodsy Newlands (hi Marijke!), past Kirstenbosch, up to Rhodes Drive, through the chestnut avenue, sharply down into Constantia, and into the familar cul de sac, to the house, the corgis, Ben, and the smell of summer in the kitchen. There will be flowers, and laughter, and we will have a braai for supper, with chops and boerewors, if we are awake. When we lie in bed, the silence of the night will be deafening.

I will blog, but not as frequently, and we will do many more hikes than last time, with botanizing on the way, and I hope to take a lot more flower pictures, and to show you other views of a Cape Town you may not know.

Till then.

25 comments:

  1. Melanie, ~^:^~ & co.January 14, 2010 at 3:34 PM

    soar high, land gently.

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  2. Good trip, safe trip, beloved couple...

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  3. Travel safely. Looking forward to your pictures of beautiful plants - South African style.

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  4. wishing you wonderful adventures and safe travels!

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  5. Travel safely, have a wonderful time, and send pictures to those of us less fortunate.

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  6. 10 am in my corner. Safe travels to you. I look forward to trying to recall some more African plants.

    (Love the image of your mother waving an agapanthus in greeting!)

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  7. Best wishes for a safe journey & for the most wonderful of vacations!

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  8. Safe travels, my friend. xxoo (and an extra xo for Estorbo)

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  9. Oh Marie, bon voyage! I look forward to traveling through your lens and words (without having to leave the ground, which I've grown very fond of).

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  10. Have a wonderful safe trip, Marie. Enjoy your time in your homeland and with your family and friends. I know I will see some beautiful pictures from you and hubby in the next weeks. Be safe!

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  11. s always, thanks for the constant inspirstion.

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  12. bring on the adventure photos...

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  13. I wish you a safe trip and look forward to seeing your home through your blog, your camera, your eyes.

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  14. Ek ken daai trip. Dink aan julle.

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  15. Jy maak my huil! Ek mis my ma en die honde en katte en die huis en die vluis en die ruik van Afrika en jou huis as jy instap. mmm....ek kan nie wag vir die kikies. Ek weet julle sal dit SO baie enjoy. Rooi Grapetiser...nothing beats it.

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  16. I'm so jealous! Please take lots of pics so the Cape Town trip that never happened is made up for... and listen for the wonderful sounds in the morning, the birds and the bees that you hardly hear over here with those silly double-glazed windows.

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  17. Safe travels and a safe return!

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  18. Have a wonderful trip! It's beautiful here, isn't it? I'm making a reverse trip north soon and and am walking barefoot as much as possible before I leave.

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  19. have a great holiday... be safe...

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  20. That was beautifully written and as a new reader I can't wait to see your photos~~gail

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  21. Thank you my blog friends, established and new :-)

    We are Here! Posts to follow, but still a little shell-shocked. Breakfast on the patio, shaded from the sun. It will be 36'C/97'F today, with a breeze..

    Birds in the garden, flowers, and dogs at our feet. The two remaining kitties are frail, and we are going to look for some young friends for them. Estorbo has generously (unusual for him) allowed guest posts on his blog.

    We flew over Dakar, a big surprize, cutting our flight to 14 1/2 hours from 17. Thank goodness.
    And I drank Coke on the Johannesburg flight, not Appletizer. Change is good.Sometimes.

    Soon

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  22. So glad to here that you have arrived safely, Marie! and looking forward to hearing much more about your travels! (it is 40 degrees and raining here today...enjoy the sunshine!)

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  23. 1. I am insanely jealous.
    2. Vince is a private pilot?
    3. That "harmless" bug spray. Aaarrrrgh!
    4. My plane ritual involves bubbles too, ut usually of the JC Le Roux kind. Old habits die hard.
    5. You have described the journey to ma-in-law's house that we take almost exactly. Do you know Venus Close??
    6. Have a ball (and some JC for me!).

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