I wake up at 5am in an attempt to be so tired at 6pm that I will be able to get a few hours sleep before we need to get to the airport at 11pm. When I’m pottering around in the dark I head the distinct sound of Boots - Tamara’s cat who is staying here while she’s in Kenya - falling off the balcony. It’s dark and confusing at this hour but I see him skunk off into the bush. Jordan is still sleeping and quite unsure of what I’m saying to her. I quickly finish off my coffee and go find him in a bush, luckily unhurt.
I do love early mornings for getting things done. I polish off quite a few things in my todo list, one of them being updating my neglected travel journal - and realise that I might need to head over to the bank to pick up a card so that I have a backup.
The bank is bittersweet. No credit card can be given to me, but there is a way to increase a limit that would basically be the same. I can get a temporary card as a backup, but alas - it won’t work overseas.
I head over to The Whippet cafe to meet Fred. When I arrive I ask Mary if she’s seen a tall guy with a new short haircut and rippling muscles, a laugh; Fred is sitting at a table 1m away. We get stuck into some good coffee and food, some work and a great conversation about effective altruism and our stance on it.
I head home and do the last of the packing. Ivan sends me a message saying that he’s landed and I head over to the hotel that he’s at in Newtown to collect a few cards that Jordan needs, a pair of motorcycle gloves and a shirt for Jordan.
I’m feeling exhausted in the car but keep focussed against all odds and make it there and back safely. It’s lovely to see Ivan, he is his usual extremely enthusiastic self and we have a great brief chat. I finish up the last of the packing and we’re all set! Jordan and I sit with Kate for dinner and eat the leftover stir fry then have a shower and get into bed at 7pm. We both put on a mediation and I actually manage to sleep deeply until 9:40pm.
We take an Uber to the airport - the city is dark from load shedding and sleeping robots are but a reason to slightly slow down. At the airport we get our hiking backpack wrapped with a slight bit of guilt due to the plastic, but ultimately it must be done.
We cruise around the deserted airport looking for a restaurant. After a full loop we decide to go to the lounge that Jordan can get into for free. I decide to use some of my Splitwise credit to buy my entry.
I make the most of my R400 entrance by eating everything that I see. I take many things and stash them in the bag for later. We eat dinner watching university netball on the TV. The bar is open and unattended so we decide to do a whiskey tasting with their entire range. Bells is initially the best - but upon revisiting lacks the beautiful smoky flavour that it had on the first sip.
I pour an Amarula and write this - it’s time to board.