First day

I arrived at Johannesburg around 9:30pm Thursday night, but of course it was less than 24 hours since I had boarded a 12:55pm flight in Seattle on Wednesday. Customs and baggage claim were a breeze. Then, having no plan for the next 12 hours before my flight to Hoedspruit, I wandered a bit to see what was available in the airport. I ended up taking a free shuttle to a bed and breakfast just a few minutes from the airport, after I had found an ATM with some yet-to-be-known transaction fee and exchange rate.

After arriving at the hotel it took a few minutes for me to get comfortable because I just wasn't sure about this choice of accomodations. I locked all the doors and windows and thought about where I could hide my passport. It seems to be a very legitimate and safe place, however, and the beds are clean, so I soon fell asleep. When I woke about four hours later I felt very rested -- probably because of many hours of unconsciousness on the flight from Amsterdam. The shower was a very welcome feeling after more than 24 hours of travel. Since then I discovered slow wifi in the room and caught up with emails, while my laptop slowly bleeds down to its last hour of power. I need to buy an outlet converter today.

I'm going to breakfast at 6:30 (still more than an hour away!) and then taking the car back to the airport for the 10:15 flight. I am excited to see something in the daylight! I'll take my camera on this plane (and yes it is a plane, not a jet) in case there's a decent view.