Updated June 02, 2009
Day 1 :  April 11,2009   I am having the particular pleasure of composing the initial
beginning of this report while in flight .

I must say , I have never  before written one while travelling  592 mph !

At the time of this writing I am on a Delta 747 and this one has individual LCD screens in
the head rests of the seats  ahead of all passengers.   One neat feature of these is the
“moving map” display that alternates between flight data such as speed and elevation ,
eta , etc  and a map that shows the planes progress toward the  first destination .

Our first stop is Dakur, Senegal .  Some folks will get off the plane while others will
board.  The folks headed from the USA  towards South Africa are not allowed off  the
plane .   I suppose this is a very good thing after having read the website TRIP ADVISOR
about the Dakur airport and how trouble is very likely there. I think customs laws as well
as vaccination laws have something to do with it as well .   If any passenger were to get
off the plane in the country of Senegal , they would then be required to have a yellow
fever vaccination in order to enter countries south of here .    All of us staying on the
plane otherwise will not have this requirement. At Dakur the plane will refuel after having
flown 8 hours and traveling some 4,000 miles. Then it is back up into the air for another 8
hours of flight.

After landing in Johannesburg, South Africa I will have been on the plane 19 hours.  The
time zone is 6 hours ahead .  Jo’burg is far south of the Equator and even  below the
Tropic of Capricorn .   While back home North of the Equator Spring approaches for
Atlanta , fall  and winter approach  as the seasons are reversed from one side of the
equator to the other !
April 12  Johannesburg
After landing in Senegal and having the entire plane searched by a wild and
rambunctious security force , we were allowed to take off.   
But not before a special treatment ......................South Africa requires any plane that
touched down at Senegal to be fumigated with insecticide.  This basically consisted of
the stewardess spraying the Aisle with bug spray .

We have landed and at the hotel now .   Jo'burg airport  - "OR TAMBO" -   was clean and
nice .  The streets which are lined with palm trees ,now dark,  are busy and probably
dangerous .
After that 19 hour flight without much sleep coupled with a 6 hour time change , I am
wiped out .   My computer which is still on Eastern US time now says 2:30 pm in the
afternoon  but yet it is dark here and 8:30 p.m.
MORE LATER ...........................................
April 13,2009      After a night of rest I awoke with a better disposition and was
able to better realize how nice the Guest House we were staying at was.  "Le
Chateau" has a super nice formal garden. With towering arches , bubbling
cherub water fountains , and blooming flowers such as the "bird of paradise".
You can check out their website:
www.lechateau.co.za    The inn has a
restaurant which was closed on our visit because it was Easter Weekend. We
ordered pizza of all things.  It was good but much different from back home. The
COCA-COLA in the African style can was better than in the  States.  Internet
was  30 rand for 30 minutes ($3 American) and was moderate speed.  


We embarked from Jo'burg onto British airways for the 1,000 mile short jump to
Windhoek,Namibia  ( where I photographed the beetle).  We hit the highway
running  a
nd along the way we stopped and took a picture of a termite nest that was
about 8 foot tall . We
ended up arriving at the Bahnhoff Hotel in Usakos .   More
about the place later ., but as a quick note , the owner of the inn , Jaco Smith
,also sells minerals .  His website is
www.erongominerals.com  .      I know a lot
of you are hesitant to buy from a foreign country based on a website .  I have met
Jaco and he seems to be a fine fellow  and I wouldnt hesitate to order from him.
He is located in Usakos in the Erongo Range and a short distance from Tubussis
and a little ways yet farther to Brandberg.  During our stay there , we had an
African "BRAII" or barbeque. It was great , with mutton,gemsbok, and WORS or
farmeres sausage.    Wireless internet here was free and fast!
South Africa entrance visa
Namibia passport stamp
formal garden
sterulitzer   National Flower of South Africa
THE CHATEU   Johannesburg SA
termite mound taller than I am !
Beetle at Windhoek Airfield
South African Rand R$100 worth about 12 U.S. Dollars
The adventure hasn't even gotten
started yet !   Check out the next page
where it really gets wild :
PAGE TWO  
The background photo is of the formal
garden at "Le Château" in Krempton Park
in Johannesburg, South Africa.
This is the Johannesburg,SA and
Windhoek, Namibia page & it chronicles
the trip I took to collect and buy crystals
specimens.
Would you like to visit Namibia
to collect your own crystals  ?
FIND OUT MORE  
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2009   
Check out this video that shows us
getting stuck in the desert !