While I am sure we all enjoyed my mom writing, I have decided to give her a break, as my yelling during math has been very exhausting. Also, I would like to point out that this yelling/crying phenomena only occurred on day one, and I am now enjoying my math.
Welcome to the smallest airport in the world!! The Port Elizabeth airport is not actually the smallest, I totally made that up, but it was very small. It was also very crowded, as the World Ironman Triathlon was happening just five days after our arrival in Port Elizabeth. They also had a very wide selection of rental car options. You would think that getting a car there would be easy...
The night before we left Johannesburg, dad went online to get us a rental car for the rest of the trip. After a long search, he finally found a car through Hertz. They sent him a confirmation email, so we thought we were all set. The next day, Thulani drove us to the airport, where my parents then proceeded in arguing about whether or not we needed to get an adapter. After that little episode, we went through the fastest line of security I have ever seen in an international airport. My dad got an email as we were sitting down on the plane from Hertz. They somehow didn't have the car that they told us they had. There was nothing we could do until we landed, so we settled in for the two hour flight.
When we landed, our new guest house driver was waiting for us. He drove us over to Hertz so that my dad could sort things out before us needing a car the next day. My dad came back, and told us that we didn't have a car, but at least it wasn't a scam. We got to our house at 7pm, and my dad tried to call the car company. Unfortunately, it was based in the UK, and they put him on hold for so long that he ran out of international minutes just as they were figuring things out. My dad was really grumpy, and my mom was annoyed that he was grumpy. Ben and I were in the thick of it, so we did the only thing we could think of. Hide. We spent the next hour playing Uno and Cribbage in the bedroom we were sharing. Oh yeah, we were also eating a bunch of gummy bears because we hadn't had dinner yet, and weren't sure if we were going to. Finally, mom came in at 8:30 and announced that we were going to go get some pizza. I'm sure you're thinking "Good, they figured out the rental car thing!" But no. Apparently, they had gotten nowhere. We walked to dinner in the dark; not the safest thing to do in South Africa. We also got lost, which makes the situation even less safe. But no worries, we got to dinner at the early time of 9pm. We had delicious pizza, despite the fact that my parents were grumpy. Once we got home, we all just went to sleep. Still without a rental car.
Mom and Dad finally figured out the car thing, so at ten (checkout time everywhere in SA), we walked down to the beach. We got lunch at a cafe that overlooked the water, and then walked back to our house to collect our stuff. From there, we got an Uber to the airport to get our rental car.
Welcome to the smallest airport in the world!! The Port Elizabeth airport is not actually the smallest, I totally made that up, but it was very small. It was also very crowded, as the World Ironman Triathlon was happening just five days after our arrival in Port Elizabeth. They also had a very wide selection of rental car options. You would think that getting a car there would be easy...
The night before we left Johannesburg, dad went online to get us a rental car for the rest of the trip. After a long search, he finally found a car through Hertz. They sent him a confirmation email, so we thought we were all set. The next day, Thulani drove us to the airport, where my parents then proceeded in arguing about whether or not we needed to get an adapter. After that little episode, we went through the fastest line of security I have ever seen in an international airport. My dad got an email as we were sitting down on the plane from Hertz. They somehow didn't have the car that they told us they had. There was nothing we could do until we landed, so we settled in for the two hour flight.
When we landed, our new guest house driver was waiting for us. He drove us over to Hertz so that my dad could sort things out before us needing a car the next day. My dad came back, and told us that we didn't have a car, but at least it wasn't a scam. We got to our house at 7pm, and my dad tried to call the car company. Unfortunately, it was based in the UK, and they put him on hold for so long that he ran out of international minutes just as they were figuring things out. My dad was really grumpy, and my mom was annoyed that he was grumpy. Ben and I were in the thick of it, so we did the only thing we could think of. Hide. We spent the next hour playing Uno and Cribbage in the bedroom we were sharing. Oh yeah, we were also eating a bunch of gummy bears because we hadn't had dinner yet, and weren't sure if we were going to. Finally, mom came in at 8:30 and announced that we were going to go get some pizza. I'm sure you're thinking "Good, they figured out the rental car thing!" But no. Apparently, they had gotten nowhere. We walked to dinner in the dark; not the safest thing to do in South Africa. We also got lost, which makes the situation even less safe. But no worries, we got to dinner at the early time of 9pm. We had delicious pizza, despite the fact that my parents were grumpy. Once we got home, we all just went to sleep. Still without a rental car.
Mom and Dad finally figured out the car thing, so at ten (checkout time everywhere in SA), we walked down to the beach. We got lunch at a cafe that overlooked the water, and then walked back to our house to collect our stuff. From there, we got an Uber to the airport to get our rental car.
Now for the scary part. Driving ourselves on the wrong side of the road. The car was a stick-shift, so my dad drove. The whole left side of the road thing has only been problematic in parking lots, but the hardest part for him is the stick being in on his left side, rather than his right. Other than one stall in the middle of a four-way intersection, we haven't died so far. Yippee!!
The next post will be about Addo Elephant Park, Jeffery's Bay, and Tsitsikamma (Yes, that is actually a place.) Oh, plus a flooded river that led to a failed hike.
Bye for now!
-Abby
P.S. My mom would like you to know that Ben has started his math. We will keep you posted!
Congratulations on your vivid account of what sounds like a pretty stressful day and to your parents for successfully navigating the challenges. Thanks again for your birthday greetings; a call from South Africa is a first for this household. Happy 13th birthday! Can we share your blog with a couple friends who are writers and also like to travel. We think they would enjoy it too. Love, Grandma Mary Jo and Grandpa Jeff
ReplyDeleteOf course you can share it!!
DeleteHappy Birthday Ms. Travel Writer! I’m glad you’ve survived the latest adventures to make it to 13. I love that you get to be exploring another country for your birthday and think I’ll start planning something similar for my next birthday! Tell your dad that I feel his pain; I was just in Ireland and had to do all the driving (on the “wrong” side of the road) too. At least he did better than my friends...they stalled AND burnt out the clutch so quickly they were still within site of the rental company!! I can also relate to being grumpy when things go wrong :(
ReplyDelete-Jeff B
HAPPY BIRTHDAY WIGGLE! So nice to get another post from you. Though I do have beef with "wrong" side of the road. And the idea that because it's a stick, your dad drove - I happen to know your mother can drive a stick too! :) But it all makes your writing colorful, which I appreciate. I love you.
ReplyDeleteShe can drive a stick, but hasn't in the last few years, whereas my dad drove a stick just before we came here. Just to clarify. :) I love you too!
DeleteBen, I liked reading your post. I notice that you are commenting only about snacks and desserts. This makes me ask: are you eating anything else?
ReplyDeleteAnd I wonder if South Africa offers different fish and fruits to eat than we experience in America. Remember how we ate different fish and fruits in Kauai than we ever ate in the continental U.S.?
Are you serious that South Africa has the best desserts? What about their carrot cake? Do they have any? And do they have mint chocolate ice cream?
I would also like to comment on your family's appreciation for hot water bottles in bed. This is something I never heard of even though we traveled in South Africa too. If the bottle is hard like glass, don't you roll over it and hit it with your legs, knees and ankles? I would think it would wake you up.
I would also like to know in your next post whether you have seen any sports played or on TV in South Africa. Because it used to be a British colony, I believe that British sports are played there, like soccer (which they call futbol) and cricket. But they don't play baseball.
Love, Grandpa Bill