Cape town to Mzuzu...

Hello everyone from a very hot and sunny Mzuzu,

I intended to write last week but lots of things were happening and the blog did not become a priority!  So here we are.  A couple of weeks ago, I was in Capetown for a break with my sister.  

The journey there was quite eventful (as my niece says, always a drama with Auntie Di!!). The car broke down on the way to the airport and so we had to come back to Mzuzu for another vehicle (bear in mind its a 4 1/2 hour journey to the airport).  We got there, now with me having raised BP, and I checked in.  Then we had to wait, and wait....there were no aeroplanes at all in the airport.  At last the plane landed and with the turnaround time I knew that my connection in Johannesburg was going to be tight.  Eventually we took off and I was still hopeful as we approached to land in Johannesburg, when just as we were about to touch down, the plane took off again.........and began circling around, by which stage I knew I had no hope of catching the flight.  After another 15 minutes we touched down, I ran to the desk and explained that I had missed my flight.  The lady checked her computer and said she was very sorry but all flights to Capetown that night were fully booked!!  Then she phoned through to the gate only to find that the flight I was supposed to be on was still there.  So she advised me to run through the airport.  I ran to security and if you have ever flown through Johannesburg, you will understand the queue for security is about a mile long.  I shoved through the people apologizing on the way, and yes.........I made it to the flight. I was the only passenger they were waiting for and I was hot and sweaty after running through the airport.  It was cool in Johannesburg and all the other passengers were wearing sweaters and coats......... but I didn't care, I made it!!  Meanwhile my sister has no idea where I am as the flight should have been earlier and I had no way or no time to get a message to her!!

After this drama, we had a great time although it was quite a lot cooler than Mzuzu. Here are some of the photos...........  table mountain of course.......

a visit to the winelands.....here you can see the vines

the spectacular coastline.......

Camps bay...

music at the waterfront ........I am a Jazz fan, and as usual there was a lot of live Jazz which I really enjoyed!

and just as in Malawi, the craft markets.........

a treat - a cappuccino with a lovely heart design on top!

Not often you see an Ostrich by the sea....

I just love the penguins........

and a lovely picture of some baby owls (owlets??)

while walking in the bush I almost stepped on this rather large beetle!

a seal enjoying the evening sunshine...

and something I would rather not see but it came to meet us as we walked on a path round the back of table mountain - the Cape Cobra!!  This is not the actual one - I asked my sister why she had not taken a picture.....you can imagine the answer!!!

Of course Capetown is well known for its variety of flowers and fynbos and below there are a few pictures of fabulous floral scenery.....

For those of you who know me well, you know my love for art and sculpture and this was an amazing sculpture of a mother and child.......

Inside St Georges Cathedral in Capetown, where Archbishop Desmond Tutu still conducts a service once a month.

the beautifully painted houses of the Cape Malay part of the city.......

and the fabulous bead work.....

The view over the city at night - quite spectacular.......

Then it was back to Malawi, and straight back into work again.  We had the final week of training for some of the Nkhatabay training and here you can see the closing ceremony where the certificates were being handed out.  The Guest of honour is on my right hand side.

This was one of the participants children with his toy, a very special child!

The whole group with their certificates...

This past week has been really busy with meetings of one kind or another - I did not take my camera to any of them.  However, yesterday we had the second day of training with the caregivers from the private schools in Mzuzu - a great day but it was so hot that in the afternoon concentration was not so good!!

As I said its really hot and dry these days - there is a lot of dust and many bush fires around so the air is not as good as usual.  It always amazes me at this time of year when everything is brown and dry that we still have a lot of colour from the trees and flowers.  Here is one of the roses in my garden......gives me something to smile about when there are so many other stressful issues to address in the day!!

Wishing you all a week full of blessings,

Diane x