We finally got to Johannesburg after an all night flight.  We found a very poor city with beggars on every sidewalk and corner.  Quite disconcerting.  We picked up our campers and made a trip to the grocery store to supply.  Some interesting things about groceries in South Africa:  Paper towels are called roller towels, laundry soap is washing powder and you don't find any brands that you recognize.  The only item that has more selections than we have is candy.  There is more candy than I've ever seen in one place.



Our first night out was in Free State and we had dinner prepared by a lovely couple that have lived in South Africa for 40 years.  We learned lots about the history of the country and had some great native food.  Our elevation in Johannesburg was 5,447 ft. above sea level.

We traveled to Golden Gate National Park with an elevation of 6,298 ft. above sea level.  We encountered lots of potholes in the roads and observed that the roadwork is done by men instead of machine.  There were lots of "shanty towns" along our route and the landscape was very agricultural - sunflowers, corn, hay bales, cattle.  Rather like driving in the U.S. except on the other side of the road.  The landscape changed to cliffs and mountains as we got closer to the park.  We drove through the park and saw zebras, buffalo, and baboons.  We also got to see several emus and springboks on our first night out.

Hi there,
We had a good crossing.  We kept busy on board with computer classes, trivia, lecture series, caravan meetings, dancing lessons and dancing every night, shows, culinary demos and of course, eating.  We skipped breakfast most every day so we could eat more at dinner.  Seas were moderate until Thursday night, then I had to take something for the queasiness.  We've had a mixture of clouds and sun and got some rain.  We kept looking for ocean life, but only saw a flying fish, a 50 gal. barrel and a short piece of 2x4 lumber.

On April 5th we made our first port of call, Funchal, Madeira.  We took a bus tour of the island and found it to be quite beautiful.  Mountains and lots of clouds this day so we saw some great views, but the best one was obscured by the fog and clouds.  They grow lots of bananas there on the type of tree that produces only one bunch of fruit each year.  There are plastic bags on the bunches to keep the varmints out until the bananas are ripe.  Lots of people in a small space and they all have gardens in the yards to grow lots of produce. This is where the Madeira wine comes from.  We didn't get to taste any of it.

April 7th was Cadiz, Spain.  We walked through the old city and visited a cathedral.  There were several nationalities of rulers throughout the centuries and the architecture reflects that.  Lots of variety.  We attended a flamenco dance exhibition and reaffirmed that we can't move that fast so we'll never have that dance in our repertoire.  We learned that Columbus started his 2nd and 4th voyages from there.  Another interesting old city with vary narrow streets and lots of plazas with benches, trees and pigeons.

April 8th found us in Malaga, Spain.  We took another bus tour and visited the Gibralfaro Castle.  It was built in 1487 as a look out post and military garrison.  It sits on a hilltop overlooking the city.  Malaga grows avocados as their big export to all of Europe.  All other vegetables are grown in the northern part of Spain.  Less cathedrals here than in Cadiz, but more ornate decorations around the little chapels.  It's another city where people are living right on top of each other and shopping is in the narrow streets and plazas.  The ruins of the Roman Theatre are interesting.  They're in pretty good shape for having been buried for 400 years.  The ones in Cadiz aren't in as good a shape.

Cartagena, Spain was next on the agenda.  We didn't visit any cathedrals here, but the history was really something.  Carthagenian and Roman ruins are being excavated all over the city. This place wasn't as crowded as the previous cities.  Their architecture includes something they call modernism.  Lots of decoration and ornate iron railings on balconies.

April 10th we landed in Barcelona, Spain.  We spent the day riding the Hop On Hop Off bus and saw lots of the sights.  Antonio Gaudi was the famous architect from this city and his wild work is featured on all tours.  It's pretty indescribable.  If you Google him, you'll get a better idea of his work.  Seeing is believing.

Tomorrow evening we fly to Johannesburg.  We hope to visit a diamond mine there before starting our main trip.

Sorry we don't have any pictures attached, but the photo guy hasn't had any time to get some ready for uploading.  Maybe when we get to S. Africa.

Until next post.....