Flew out of Atlanta on Tuesday, the 21st at 7:30PM. Landed here in Johannesburg at about 6PM on Wednesday. The 16 hour flight can be handled best with sedatives. Have gotten to the point now where I eat prior to getting on the plane and take my first Ambien shortly after takeoff. Taking part in this flights regularly has shown me that the best idea is to sleep as long as possible and to take as many sleep aids as needed. It is impossible to sleep too long on this flight. Ambien works well for me but on this trip I actually just used over the counter Sominex. It worked well. For those of you considering the trip over I highly recommend using your miles to upgrade to Economy Plus or Business seating. Never have seen much of the need to upgrade when flying domestically or any other flights of a few hours. On this flight, it is a good idea to get in to a larger seat, if possible. The Economy Plus seating is actually bigger than I would have presumed. Plenty more legroom and the chair reclines a good bit more.

Not done a whole lot since I arrived but worked on the computer. My hosts, the Visagies, have been most generous again. Took out the boys, Andres, Jaco and Roux, and Christina to Wimpy last night. Ran out to the airport and back yesterday. Shows I am a little out of shape as I could make that run without stopping in May. Had to stop a couple times on this occasion. A lot of time on the road since May has left me a half step slower and a few pounds heavier. The run out to the airport is a good one as the small planes overhead and sky divers landing offer a good vista during the exercise regimen.

I have already blogged about my predilection for the South African boerewors. My own recipe calls for a boerewors sandwich on a fresh cheese roll, add some more cheese, sone local spices and top it off with some peri peri sauce. Mighty good eats, mighty good indeed. The Visagies hired help, Argent, from Malawi and I zeroed in on a couple of these home made delights today for lunch. His wife, Doreen, is in town and she joined us as well. All parties seemed satisfied and appeared well fed. This batch was accompanied by some rashers. Rashers are not so common in the US but are really just thick cut bacon, I believe. Add some local seasoning again and you’ve got yourself a good appetizer.