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African Adventure - Driving from France to South Africa and back - |
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18. Dezember 2005 |
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May 2005 -- SOUTH AFRICA We arrived in Johannesburg and stayed again with our friend Inna. She must be getting sick and tired of having us and our things strewn around the apartment. We did not stay long since we are in hurry to get back to France. We have sold our farm and have to move out before September 1. Therefore, we flew to Capetown to talk with the architect and the builder of our new home. |
Die Leute aus Simbabwe schleppten in ihren Autos und überladenen Anhängern so ziemlich alles mit, was man sich vorstellen kann: Sofas und Betten, Kisten und voll gepackte Taschen, Fahrräder und Lebensmittel in Hülle und Fülle. Bei der Ausfahrt nach Südafrika kamen wir nur stockend voran, weil die anstürmenden Grenzgänger auch unsere Fahrbahn voll gestellt hatten und die Polizei sich darauf beschränken musste, uns an der Seite der Karawane vorbei zu bugsieren. Die Fahrt durch Simbabwe war nicht besonders aufregend, weil die Landschaft nur im Norden und streckenweise im Süden mit Bergen etwas Abwechslung bietet. Simbabwe steckt wegen der Politik Präsident Robert Mugabes seit Jahren in einer Wirtschaftskrise. Es ist eines der wenigen Länder, wo ein bescheidener Einkauf in einem Supermarkt ohne weiteres mit einer Million (simbabwischer Dollar) bezahlt werden muss. Für einen US-Dollar erhält der Tourist zur Zeit fast 80 000 Sim-Dollar. Wegen der galoppierenden Inflation muss ständig neues Geld nachgedruckt werden. Die Note mit dem höchsten Wert ist der 20 000 Sim-Dollar-Schein, gerade mal 25 US Cent wert. Er sieht nur auf der einen Seite wie richtiges Geld aus. Die Rückseite ist so gut wie nicht bedruckt – offenbar aus Sparsamkeitsgründen. Die Läden sind nicht einmal mal schlecht bestückt, die Preise aber saftig. Bei Verdiensten von um die 100 Dollar im Monat ist es für eine Familie mehr als schwierig durchzukommen. Wir sahen unterwegs mehrfach Dorfbewohner, die Säcke mit dem Aufdruck „USA“ nach Hause schleppten oder karrten – Nahrungsmittelhilfe aus den Vereinigten Staaten. Wir wussten schon vorher, daß Treibstoff im Mugabe-Land mal wieder rationiert war und nahmen deshalb 100 Liter Diesel in fünf Kanistern mit. Tatsächlich sahen wir nur eine Tankstelle in Harare, wo wir Diesel bekommen hätten, natürlich nur gegen Devisen. Dennoch war der Verkehr insgesamt gesehen nicht so schwach wie wir uns das vorgestellt hatten. Offenbar finden die Bewohner des Landes immer noch Mittel und Wege, Treibstoff in den Tank zu bekommen. Malawi hat uns auch diesmal wieder sehr gut gefallen, besonders der Campingplatz Flame Tree in Chintheche am nördlichen Teil des Sees. Makelloser Rasen, hohe Bäume und eine mit Felsen durchsetzter Strand veranlassten uns, zwei Tage zu bleiben. Allerdings regnete es zeitweise – die Bauern warum froh darum. In Simbabwe wollten wir bei Masvingo in einem Nationalpark übernachten. Es stellte sich jedoch heraus, daß wir für den Platz an einem See hätten 50 US Dollar hinblättern müssen, obwohl man uns am Tor gesagt hatte, es koste „nur“ 30 Dollar. Wir verzichteten dankend und ließen uns die 30 Dollar wieder zurückgeben. Im sehr gepflegten Caravan-Park von Masvingo konnten wir für sechs Dollar bleiben. Auch dort waren wir die einzigen Gäste. Das Fazit unserer Reise: Die großartigen, weiten Landschaften Afrikas werden uns unvergessen bleiben. Manchmal fuhren wir Stunden und begegneten nur einer Handvoll von Menschen. Unsere Reise verlief viel einfacher als wir uns das vorgestellt hatten. Das einzige Problem war der Diebstahl meiner Tasche mit allen Dokumenten in Nairobi, aber auch das ließ sich mit Geld irgendwie wieder gut machen. Das landschaftliche schönste Land war Äthiopien, auch wenn dort die Bevölkerung Fremde nicht gerade mit offenen Armen empfängt. Mit unserem Auto hatten wir keinerlei Scherereien, obwohl wir fast 2 000 Kilometer auf Sand-, Stein- und Geröllpisten zurückgelegt haben. Der Anhänger mit Zelt, den uns unsere Freunde Regine und Peter Woeste aus Berlin geliehen haben, bestand den Härtetest von gut zehn Wochen mit Bravour. Er bekam zwar einige Schrammen ab, machte uns aber nie Kummer. Wir waren dank des geräumigen Zeltes völlig unabhängig und haben unvergessliche Nächte, zum Beispiel in der Wüste und an idyllischen Plätzen verbracht, wo eine Hotel-Reisender nie hinkommt. Im Mai nächsten Jahres werden wir uns auf den Rückweg machen und dabei versuchen, von Äthiopien aus in den Jemen überzusetzen und durch Saudiarabien, Jordanien, Syrien, die Türkei, Griechenland und Ex-Jugoslawien nach Frankreich zu fahren. Zuerst einmal aber wollen wir uns ein bisschen in Südafrika erholen. 1. Oktober - 1. November 2005: Frankreich, Italien, Tunesien, Libyen, Ägypten, Sudan |
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We will move again to South Africa. I guess it is the famous Africa bug which got hold of us. Many think we are crazy. We will still have an apartment in Evian-les-Bains. That is where the Evian water comes from. The little town is quite quaint. Our apartment will overlook Lake Geneva facing Lausanne on the other side of the lake in Switzerland. But that will also only be build next year. Arno and I will stay at our small flat in Divonne-les-Bains until either one is ready (South Africa or France). We thought everything would be ready to sign for the final plans of the house on lake Michelle in Noordhoek – a part of Capetown near the Long Beach and Table Mountain National Park. But the price for building was higher than expected, which means that the architect has to re-design a smaller house for us. In any case, there will be a separate flat for our friends, who I hope will come to visit us in one of the most beautiful places of the world. Now I will start from the beginning. May 6, 2006 -- JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA May 8, 2006 -- JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA May 9, 2006 -- CAPETOWN, SOUTH AFRICA May 10, 2006 -- CAPETOWN, SOUTH AFRICA May 11, 2006 -- CAPETOWN, SOUTH AFRICA May 12, 2006 -- CAPETOWN, SOUTH AFRICA May 13 - May 14, 2006 -- JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA May 15, 2006 -- JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA February 2006 -- SOUTH AFRICA As I wrote last time, we put in an offer for a piece of land on a lake in Noordhoek – near Capetown. Well we got it! We went to sign the offer on February 2nd and a few days later were notified that it was accepted. Apparently the owner had turned down the same amount a few months earlier but got no offer of a higher amount. We are the lucky ones. Immediately we went to the architect and the builder. The architect is a young Australian who is supposed to send us a plan pretty soon. The builder is an older type who showed us on his computer houses he had built. He did the one for Juergen Schremp as well – for the ones who do not know who this guy is, he was the person in charge of Daimler-Chrysler. We looked at one house the builder had done and fell in love with the style. We took plenty of photos and showed it to the architect. In general, it will take 8 months until the house can be build. After we accept the plans of the architect, it will go to the town council for approval and they are backed up with demands. We have 2 years until the house has to be build. Christiane Rudert, an old girlfriend of mine from Maputo/Mosambik, visited us. She is working for Unicef and had a meeting later on in Capetown. We took the time out for sightseeing in Capetown and its surroundings. They are amazing. We drove along the coast to Hermanus, a former fishing village. The coast line is stunning with mountains, coves, little villages and the ocean. Unfortunately, the weather was not too good. We ate fresh shrimps at a restaurant in Hermanus. The prices are still cheap in South Africa. We met up with Peter and Susie Zilla. I met them last time as I was doing a profile of Peter who is the successor of Christiaan Barnard at the Groote Schur Hospital in Capetown. We had a great evening together. Just weeks before, there was a fire around the Lion’s Head mountain, which is just in front of their house. They had to wet down their property using a water hose. Each year, fires happen in this area. Another one was started by a British tourist who had thrown his cigarette out of the car. We went with Christiane to see another friend who has the small wine farm „De Compagnie“ near Wellington, 1 1/2 hours from Capetown. What is so nice in this region is the changing of scenery: ocean, mountains and wine country. „Unfortunately“ we had to try some of their wines. They were great and are being offered at excellent restaurants in South Africa. On the same day, we went to say hello to one of my best girlfriends in South Africa, Thembi Mtshali. She is an actress and singer. We met in 1992 in Davos at the World Economic Forum, where she was performing with the African Jazz Pioneers. We met Allan Boesak’s daughter at her place. That was a day of the true South Africa: from Riana who is Afrikaans, to Thembi and Boesak’s daughter who are black and colored South Africans. Allan Boesak was a church leader well known for fighting the Apartheid regime. After the first democratic elections in 1994, he spent some struggle money for himself. This was a great disappointment for all who believed in him. All his family was affected through this scandal. We left Capetown after more than 2 weeks to head back to Joburg. We stopped again in Cap Agulhas, the most Southern point of the African continent. We camped there as well. All around this area, including Capetown, the wind can become a problem. Our tent was flapping from one side to the other. We visited Arniston, a colored fishing community with white-washed, thatch-roofed cottages. It is quite picturesque. We camped again at the Warmwaterberg Camping Ground. It was a weekend. A group of Afrikaaners kept us up with loud talking and music. This is definitely the biggest drawback with camping. One cannot chose the neighbors. We had lunch in Swellendam, a nice town in the Waterberg region. We looked at our emails at a golf shop for free. The owner wants to cross Africa as well. He wanted to know all the details for free surfing time. We passed the 24.000-kilometer mark while driving through the Swartberge. One spectacular canyon after another, with lots of fynbos growth which only exists at the Cape. They are bushes about 1 meter in height made up of all different types of fynbos plants. Just before Oudtshorn, the former ostrich capital of the world, we passed along miles and miles of fences. This is the sheep region of South Africa. The countryside is rather flat. Oudtshorn still has a lot of those non-flying birds, but at one time there were more than one million. The town is in the Karoo desert, which means quite hot. The temperature was about 34 degrees all day long. It was nice to jump into the pool in the Karoo National Park, where we camped. In the evening, four huge turtles came to visit. One wanted to feed on my rather shiny beaded sandals. I had to bribe it with an apple to stay away from me. Several mongoose visited as well. I like to see them around the camp site since they keep the snake population down. The campsite is just beautiful, tucked in a valley surrounded by mountains. It is very clean and quiet. I would like to go there again once we have the South African permanent residency permit. Then we do not have to pay the price for foreigners any more. I do not like this two-class system the South Africans have adopted from other African countries. After leaving the Karoo, the rain had us again. It rained so heavy that we took a cabin near Bloomfountain. The temperature went down from 34 to 19 degrees. It rained off and on in the North of the country through January and February (more on...). The dams are all full, if not overflowing. Some people might like the rain, I am not one of them. In the morning, I thought Arno had cramps in his leg because he was tapping against mine. Thinking of where I had the magnesium pills, I looked up to see a cat on my bed – on my legs. He or she had already come by in the evening to be fed by us, but how the cat had managed to get into the room without us noticing it is beyond me. She or he was cleaning her/his paws, making the movement on my legs. Poor Arno getting blamed for everything. We drove all the way to Joburg through the rain. We stayed again with my friend Inna, the poor girl, but left for the weekends to Utopia. It is about 1 ½ hours away from Joburg in the Magaliesberg region. We used to have a bush house there and wanted to see it again. Our house was next to a small river, no electricity – just nature. We were the only campers, which was great. Our son Christopher was with us. We played tennis and swam up to 3 kilometers every day. Utopia is a 100-hectare retreat with about 100 small thatch-roofed houses in a nature reserve with monkeys, small game and even a leopard, which only the night security guards had an encounter with. I had an encounter with a bat who seemed to be disturbed by my morning toilet. While sitting on the loo, I had to swing the toilet paper above my head to chase the bat flying too close for comfort around me. I visited my girlfriend Thabisile Msezane who has the Sithabile children’s home near Joburg. Right now 98 kids, 2/3 of them sexually abused and a good handful HIV positive, have found a place with Thabisile. I filmed the whole day there and it was great to be together with Thabisile, who has a heart of gold. It is not easy to be the mom of that many kids with different needs. I only have 2 and that is enough for me. Talking about kids: our son has to re-write several exams. He worked around the world for the American show "Survivor" and worked more than he studied. But he was as shocked as we were that he did not pass. It will take him another year to finish. I worked as well for the Austrian TV while in South Africa – just to pass time. As we had decided to stay four months at the game lodge, which did not work out, what we had was a lot of time on our hands. We decided to fly back to France for 2 months before tackling the return trip. It was great that we made it all the way from Europe to Cape Town without big problems, but being in South Africa always with friends or in our tent trailer was getting to us. We needed some space for ourselves. And this is why I am writing the last of our travel experiences in France. It is great to be back home on our farm even though snow and rain greeted us at our arrival. We will stay in France until the May 5th, then fly back to Joburg and take the car back down to Cape Town to see the architect about our house. Then finally we will start our journey back through parts of Africa to Yemen, Saudi Arabia (if we succeed in getting the visa), Jordan, Syria, Turkey, the former Yugoslavia and back to France. We will keep you posted as soon as we get going. Until then........ January 6, 2006 - January 31, 2006 -- SOUTH AFRICA We went to his college where he is finishing his diploma in filmmaking. We should know at the end of February if he passed or if he still has to do courses until the summer. We saw all our friends in Joburg before we headed to Kwazulu Natal. On the way, we met up with Suzanne and family. Her one son will be heading for a post-graduate year near Durban. Suzanne, Michael and Nicolas rented a very nice bungalow. We stayed in our „tent home“ next to them. Everyday we went swimming and walked along the beach in Amanzimtoti, just 34 kilometers south of Durban. The temperature was in between 28 degrees and 40 degrees with some humidity. It is not advised to go on the beaches after 5 p.m. Unfortunately that is South Africa as well. The sanddunes, the beaches are nearly empty of people. In the mornings one can see some fishermen. We always compare them to the European beaches – forget it. On January 17, we left for Capetown. We drove along the most beautiful stretch, in my opinion, which is called the „Wild Coast“. It is the former Transkei, one of the many homelands created through the Apartheid system. Regions were given to the blacks to be out of the way of the whites. They were only recognized by the South African government as independent countries – not by the rest of the world. The former Transkei und Zululand were the biggest of the homelands. Because the beaches are +/- 100 kilometers from the main road they are not full of tourists. We went to Coffee Bay, which we loved. We knew already the coast around Port St. Johns which is also beautiful. For me that is real Africa. I always say that South Africa is the America of the continent because the rest of the country has all the infrastructure in place. The wild coast is different. Small gravel roads wind through the mountains. „African“ villages are settled on the hills. The houses are usually painted in bright colors. We saw a difference from 6 years ago. There is more wealth to go around. But usually it is from money being sent to the families. Most of the men are working either in mines in the rest of the country or are trying for jobs in the main cities. In the former Transkei most families live from subsistance farming. We found one camping place in Coffee Bay. The campsite was in a tropical forest. There was one other group of geology students and ourselves in the whole huge campsite. The pristine beach of white sand was in between 2 big hills in a cove. Local kids were swimming. Fishermen were catching crayfish – the smaller version of a lobster. Women were collecting oysters from the rocks in the water. We could not resist the oysters nor the crayfish, which were cooked right at the beach for us by the fishermen. Arno and I finished off 4 of them for 50.- Rand (about 7.- Euro). The 6 oysters were 5.- Rand, not even 1.- Euro. We had the local population, which are Xhosas, around our cooking place in the sand. They were not interested in the shellfish but wanted to share our bread. That was their treat! Everybody wanted to work for us cleaning our car, washing our dishes – just anything to get some money. The usual rate per day is 30.- Rand per day (4.50 Euros) for a piece job as they call it here (not a regular job). Unfortunately the rain eventually followed us from Joburg. Camping is not fun when it is wet. We visited the „hole in the wall“ which is a hole in a big rocky mountain in front of a beach. The water dug itself through the stone. Again just another tourist couple who was there. It is stunning. Sometimes I do not know words anymore to describe beautiful: mind-boggling is too strong, nice not strong enough. One has just to visit this place. Next time I will go for a 5-day hike with a local guide. Whoever is willing to come with me, let me know. The Xhosas, one of the many tribes in South Africa, are very proud people. Mandela is Xhosa. It is difficult for foreigners to pronouce Xhosa. It is a click sound before „kosa“. They are very friendly and helpful. The only drawback in being on campsites are the washing facilities. Since there is not much tourism, it is not developed. Our only ablution block had 2 toilets, one was broken and in the other one had no water. Also no water in the showers. We can handle it for a while since we have a water tank build in the trailer, but a nice shower once in a while would have been nice. We continued our trip along the coast of the Eastern Cape and stayed in a campground near East London. In comparison to Coffee Bay, the camp was „manicured“ with nice hot showers. Again the beach was incredible – white sand, big dunes and only a few people. We had a picnic on one of the many lagoons coming inland from the ocean. South Africa is one of the most beautiful countries I know. It does not matter which part of the country you visit. Each region is special and worthwhile exploring. Further south, we stayed at Cape St. Francis. We had no rain but strong winds. The temperature was only about 25-30 degrees in the last days. The beach was great again. What is not so funny in South Africa is the difference in wealth. On the coast are nice towns where the rich have their million-dollar houses, and in between the cities are dwellings of the black South Africans. The government is trying to build cheap houses, but that is not enough. Jobs are needed. Because most of the black population has no proper education it is very difficult for them to find work. Since the first democratic election in 1994, 10 percent of the Black population has grown rich, the rest is still suffering. It will take another generation to finally have a middle class so that the gap between rich and poor is closing. In one of the rich towns (Knysna) we looked at a development on an island. We met another couple who want to settle in South Africa. They just looked at an apartment with 4 bedrooms for „only“ 5 million Rands (about 700.000 Euros). The prices in South Africa, especially in the Cape region, have tripled since we have lived here. We stayed several nights at one of my favorite national parks: Tsitsikama near Plettenberg Bay (another fancy and rich town). Unfortunately again the weather was cloudy, misty, cold and sometimes rainy. What got us was that we had to pay 50.- $ per night as foreigners. South Africa has adopted the same system as in other African countries where foreigners pay up to 4 times as much as a South African resident. We went on hikes in the coastal forest and on the suspension bridge between 2 cliffs, but for swimming it was just too cold. We saw sea otters and dolphins. Our „neighbors“ were dassies (Kliffspringer). They look like huge rats with no tail and are much nicer. We had one who was used to people. Every morning and evening he had a meal of grapes with us. We contined our route through Mosselbay into the Klein Karoo which is a semi-desert. The Karoo in total covers 2/3 of the country. We left the coast in a drizzle and finally had nice hot weather after coming over the first mountain range. It can get quite hot in that part of the country. Many people have left the hassle of living in the big cities to come and settle here. Nice shops and restaurants are in between the farm areas. We went to the Warmwaterberg Spa. As the name says, it has mineral hot water coming straight from a mountain source. One pool had 43 degrees, the other 38 degrees and the last one 27 degrees. What a pleasure. Here peacocks shared our food with us. We went to soak in the water for hours in the evening and before we left again toward Capetown. We went along the wine route: Franshoek, Paarl and Stellenbosch are the main cities. Franshoek is very French. The settlers (hugenots) came in the 17th century to start the vineyards. We went to look what houses are available for what price. I could not believe the rise in house prices. In this region, they are close to European prices. Franshoek is this really pretty (and rich) town with beautiful restaurants, art galleries and all the expensive clothing boutiques. All the houses were far beyond what we want to spend. Paarl and Stellenbosch are bigger towns but not as nice. We stayed at the Mountain Breeze Camping. The only breeze I heard was from cars passing nearby. It is not worthwhile stopping there. We drove through Noordhoek and Kommetjie – 2 towns on the Atlantic ocean. I have been there before and like the area. Long beach is the widest and longest stretch of beach on the Cape, but with freezing water. We also looked at Fish Hoek, Simonstown – just to see in what area we would like to buy something. We will still drive all the way past Hermanus to Aniston (Indian ocean side but 2 hours from Capetown) and up the West coast towards Langebaan (1 ½ hours from the Mother city). But we have actually put in an offer in Noordhoek for a small plot on a lake. We would have 2 years time to build a „Cape Cod style“ house on it with a boat jetty. Next door are horseback riding stables and Long Beach. I could reach both places by bike. The famous Chapman’s Peak drive is starting there (most beautiful site to see the whole Cape from there) and one of the mountains’ national parks. Will see if our offer has been accepted. I will let you know. Right now we are house- and dogsitting on a huge estate. While I sit in the sunroom, I look unto the Silvermountain range and the whole basin of Constantia. There is staff to spoil us. I am swimming and reading every day. We are visiting friends and just are enjoying the „terrible“ life in South Africa. January 2, 2006 - January 5, 2006 -- SOUTH AFRICA They are building a new dormitory for the boys and need all the help possible. If somebody would like to give her some financial assistance, please tell me. I can send you all the details and photos. Eventually I will film the childrens’ center, transfer the footage onto a CD that we can send to people who are donating funds. Jolande and I left about 16 big bags of clothes, sheets, shoes, etc. with Thabisile. Whatever she does not need for the kids, she will sell to make money. She needs funds for food. Imagine cooking every day for 98 kids. They eat like crazy. The kids are from toddler age to 20 years old. The older ones consider the center as their home. Once they have work, they should leave to make space for other abused kids. Every day we have something to do or appointments. Joburg is home for us. We have many friends here. Christopher is in Capetown with friends. Hopefully we will see him this weekend. We will stay until Jan. 13th in Joburg, then continue to Durban and Capetown. I will keep you all posted of what is going on. December 27, 2005 - January 1, 2006 -- SOUTH AFRICA We had a quiet New Years eve since everybody was tired. As I get older, I do not enjoy that day anymore. Before we had parties, danced the night away, but now, it does not excite me much. Suzanne and Michael neither. We went to bed early. On January 1st, we left for Johannesburg – six hours away. We knew that on January 2nd everybody would drive back to the city, creating chaos. In Joburg I always stay with my girlfriend Inna who owns a travel agency. It is my home away from home. December 26, 2005 -- SOUTH AFRICA December 25, 2005 -- SOUTH AFRICA We drove very early to the Kruger Park. The weather has been cloudy since Malawi. The bush is quite dry. We went with an Austrian researcher of elephants and antilopes. Shortly after we entered the park, we encountered a young elephant bull who is in musk. I think that that is the word for being sexually fustrated. We had one car in front of us with black South Africans. They got such a fright as the animal trompeted and mock charged, that they backed up their car without looking. They nearly hit us. Our expert in contrary just turned off our car, saying he will not attack. I filmed the whole scenario. The elephant ran towards our car – towards my side, I could not hold the camera, saying „shit“ while trying to get away from the window. He did not attack but mock charged us several times, then broke a tree with his tusks, waving the tree stump to all sides, trompeting, flapping his ears. I could look through the view finder and was all right. But as soon as I looked the real distance which was around 5 meters away from the car, my heart started beating, my knees went weak. The bull finally moved into the bush and I have to say I was relieved. They are huge. I remember seeing a car which was demolished by an elephant – no chance for the people. Elephants even sit on cars, put their feet on people. They suffocate them. They are definitely not the cute cuddlies. We drove around the whole day – 578 kilometers. We saw less animals than at other times. Because of Christmas day, many families visited. Perhaps that is why the animals went deeper in the bush – not to be disturbed. We crossed zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, all kinds of antilopes but no lions or buffalos. In the river, hippos and crocodiles were swimming. We were quite tired from the trip. December 19, 2005 - December 24, 2005 -- SOUTH AFRICA During the day, I have to decide if I want to spend my days in a swimming pool, sauna, steambath, salt water pool, rock pool, whirlpool. In between there are possibilities of manicure, pedicure, full body massages, reflexology and if you need some medical treatments, one has the choice of light, magnetic field therapy and/or the old Mr. Kneipp cures. The only „exciting“ event we had was shooting a rock python at night. I like pythons but this one’s bite is poisonous and it was in front of our room. We did not hesitate long before deciding it had to go. The whole afternoon, the squirrels were waving up and down their tails while sitting on branches and making squirmish noices. I told Arno already that this is usually a warning ritual. We could not detect the snake until we wanted to go to bed. Otherwise I tried out the steam room getting rid of all the old skin cells.... They offer a mud treatment as well. First a nice mud massage, then steam room where after 20 minutes one has to wash with salt crystals. Apparently the skin is smooth like a babies’ behind. The whirlpool did wonders for my back. I am trying to get back my muscles through horseback riding which were quickly lost during the last three months. I had a manicure and pedicure to show Santa Claus my beautiful side. One drawback of all this is our son’s non-showing for X-mas. First we had to track him down. That was not easy since he moved, his cellphone not working etc. We finally heard from him yesterday since he ran out of money. Boys! We will stay here until January 19th, but you will hear from me before that day. Merry Christmas to all of you. Lots of love. October 1 - November 1, 2005: France, Italy, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan |
