Betty's Bay ...

I took different pjs this time when we went to Betty's Bay ... because most of the pictures of me on Facebook have me in my pjs at Betty's Bay! Proof here that I am housetrained and often wash a dish or two ...

Kathleen and Kyrah ...

On the beach there was a random little seal which looked a bit lost ... so Carl attempted to return it to the sea ...

Kyrah & Carl

Kyrah and Charis

Paradyskloof ...

Paradyskloof ... my new neighbourhood!

The view from the side of my new flat (above) ... and the view from the back window (below)

The flags are up!

Katie's Mid-West Birthday Party ...

Right here in Cape Town I went to a Mid-West Ohio-ish birthday party to celebrate with Katie ...

I lived in Ohio for 4 1/2 years and had never eaten or made buck-eyes ... the national something-or-other of Ohio! Here is my first attempt ... (in South Africa, no less)

(you're not meant to keep the cocktail sticks in them!)

And here's Katie with the Buckeyes which were whisked away for special keeping ...


The party was great ... we all had to wear bandanas (the first time I've ever got one to sit properly on my head!!)


Katie's explaining the different dishes ... all with family connections ...

And we sat on hay and ate ...

Carolyn's last night ...

We at the game platter for our last supper ....

and enjoyed some wine ... being in the wine region and all! Bye Care .... miss you!

Token random baboon ...

Where better for a baboon to hang out than on top of a Subaru! They are superior after all!

Driving around the Cape ...

After our travels, Carolyn had a day or two before flying out. There were still some things on the "to-see" list .. including a drive around the Cape.

Flying into Cape Town ... first class!

Some amazing views as we arrived near to Cape Town ... we were bumped up to first class which meant a cloth napkin and a table cloth ... but we weren't complaining!!

Goodbye Maputo Airport ...

After being so thankful to leave Mozambique Airlines behind we still had to endure one last visit to Maputo Airport ... after paying our $20 departure fee, checking in on a South African Airlines flight .... waiting, waiting, waiting some more ... no sign of any aircraft landing ... we were informed that our flight was delayed and would leave at 2.20pm (this was 12noon). We went upstairs to get a diet coke and suddenly everyone in the airport started boarding our plane ... glad we hadn't gone too far or we'd have been stuck in Maputo for longer!

One last night in Maputo ...

We were thankful to say goodbye to Mozambique Airlines on our return to Maputo. Though the plane didn't stop as many times as on the journey it up, it was just as eventful. The seating became a bit of a free-for-all ... I was handed a baby to hold which I nearly ended up with for the whole flight! I went to sleep and when I woke up, the lady beside me was reading the inflight magazine (in Portugese) outloud ...

We returned to the Fish Market and enjoyed our dinner there. This time we didn't order half the menu by mistake!

Kitchen Folk!

We stopped off to say goodbye to our friends in the kitchen. In that time I was taught how to de-coconut a coconut ... and almost landed head first in the coconut pile! I also realised that even across language barriers it's amazing what laughter does. I would speak, the guy with the hat would imitate me (mostly just squeak in a high pitch voice) and then we'd all laugh hysterically. It was great!

The Visitors ....

We met a lot of interesting people at our stay in Pemba ... mostly other people visiting the orphanage like us, some for longer periods of time. Many brought donations from all over the world for the kids - was amazing to see.

Laura is a full-time worker at the orphanage but stayed near us in the visitor centre ...

We had a wee visit to the beach and some lunch out with Laura .....

Melody & Daniel who were visiting (with the rest of their family) from Canada ... and their dad - with the funny ears!!

Bob ... what a great guy! Amongst other things Bob learned to hang a spoon on his nose during one of our encouraging and life chats! I'm afraid this is the only picture that I've got of Bob! What was it about the hippos on the book - they need a dentist?

Orphanage kiddies

The orphanage has about 200 children ... each with a unique story of how they ended up there. It was amazing to see the kids interact together and the sense of family amongst the younger and older boys (in particular, but also with the girls). Lots of football (soccer), gymnastics, playing with Christmas gifts, and wandering!