Mother Malin's Blog from Malawi, Thursday, July 31st, 2008

Thursday 31 July 2008 7:30 pm

Kate Malin, Cindy Malin and John Springer

Our traveling party of three arrived in South Africa after a very easy seventeen-hour flight from New York.  We departed JFK at about 6:00 pm on Wednesday; stopped in Dakar, Senegal, to refuel; then flew to the O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.  South African Airways is a marvelous airline.  It is hands-down my favorite, with consistently gracious service and remarkably tasty food!

John sat next to a hunter from Allentown, PA, who is making his fifth trip to Africa to hunt big game.  He asked our purpose in traveling to Africa. After hearing us describe our church, the goats, the Anglican Diocese of Southern Malawi and sustainable agriculture projects, he looked at us sympathetically and suggested we just tell anyone who asks that we’ve come to Africa to go hunting.

Our plane landed in Johannesburg at 5:00 pm.  Our bodies thought it was morning; the sunset looked like a sunrise.  But now it is dark and we are tired.  We’ve checked into a hotel near the airport and will have a bite of dinner before going to bed on Africa time.  Tomorrow we fly to Lilongwe, the capitol city of Malawi, and our adventure truly begins.