Sara's Blog

So here I am in sunny but cold South Africa. My suitcase, unfortunately, is in England. Somehow it got “left behind” and after frantic daily phone calls to Lost Luggage I’ve been told, two days later, that it’s found and will be sent on the next plane from Heathrow—tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m wearing hastily-purchased clothes from Woolworths, which is different (thankfully) from the Woolworths we Americans know. One thing I forgot to pick up is a hairbrush, which means my hair immediately turned into one giant rat’s nest that would rival Amy Winehouse’s. Oh, the glamour of travel! Fortunately Aquila has been a big help, taking me shopping for necessities and providing me with fresh fruit, chocolate and sparkling water in my hotel room—plus this really cute handmade door hanger for my room!

Plettenberg Baai is beautiful. Even though it’s cold, the sky is bright blue during the day and the birds are singing and the lagoon behind the hotel sparkles in the sunshine. I had forgotten how dark it gets at night—there are no streetlights or city lights out here. From my little porch the night sky looks so close, like you could reach up and touch one of the stars in the Milky Way. I’m also fascinated with these unusual birds’ nests—they’re built by yellow birds who construct them to hang from the tree limbs like little baskets, except the nest opening is at the bottom. Photos are in the Gallery and I’m sure I’ll be adding more next week from Pretoria.

Classes start soon, so I’d better stop admiring the wildlife and get moving!