To Cape Town via Detroit and Amsterdam: Saturday, November 25, 2006
It seems so unlikely (having flown very recently in the US), but the overnight flight from Amsterdam to Cape Town was a time machine to some distant past before Air Greyhound finished its unfriendly takeover. KLM hadn’t booked every seat and the Dutch flight attendants moved our seats to maximize comfort. Smiling and friendly passengers and crew strolled around, the toddlers played in the escape aisles; there was even a “workstation” for the map and binoculars “what are we flying over now crowd” (me and a couple of other travelers of a certain age). The galleys featured all you can eat and drink between-meal food and more than one person could queue up at a lavatory (!) Unbelievable, especially in economy seats: http://www.bootsnall.com/
My time machine landed Sunday night (on time) and the kombi the lodge pre-arranged took me directly to my digs in the Observatory neighborhood of Cape Town. I was scheduled the next day to pick up a 4X4 purchased online (with guaranteed buyback) and the Green Elephant Backpackers Lodge http://www.savenues.com/wc/green_elephant_backpackers.htm is just a city block from my highly-recommended truck dealer Drive Africa http://www.driveafrica.co.za/
Purchasing and selling back a vehicle at the end of a trip of this length (18 weeks) was much more economical than renting for the same period. Add-in the completed paperwork, insurance, and general guidance (including the availability of all the camping gear) and it is a great option.
Labels: Cape Town
