Dear Stephen,

        Sorry not to be in touch. My computer went down again, and we lost a lot of emails, even though I had backed them up on something called CopySafe. Anyway, my knee is healing ever so slowly. The last MRI said that I still have some tear in the MCL, some tear in the ACL, and an edema on the marrow of the tibia. Given that I already have arthritis, it has been a much more painful process than I realized. I return to teaching in January.

        My trip was truly wonderful. The airlines took care of me with my braced straight leg and crutches, offering wheelchairs and assistants along the way.

Vic Falls and the hotel were tremendous, and my guide actually took me in a wheel chair to see the entire falls. I could only have seen a little walking.

Elephant camp was delightful and I got to do both the afternoon game drive and the next-morning boat safari. I asked for a room close to the entrance, which they accommodated, but only later did I learn that this room eliminated one that viewed the watering hole. The animals there were tremendous even at meal times, and a family from Switzerland that adopted me said they watched many animals through the night. The boat safari gave me a real up-close look at the birds, which I so appreciated. (the additional hippos, crocs and snakes were a bonus).

        But my favorite of all times was on the special houseboat you reservd  for me . I was the only "paying" guest, and Dawn greeted me with the first lunch with gluten-free bread to go with the salad. What a delightful surprise.

I had the hotel room at the end of the boat, which was biggest and best, but the chance to see so many animals without leaving the mid-deck was very special. I have never seen so many elephants, and the one thing I had missed before, sable antelope, came down to drink across from our "parked spot" the second night. The morning of the departure was really cold, and the ride in the speedboat was frigid (as was Johannesburg, when we arrived). We had to "arouse" the Namibian Immigration officer and then get back into Botswana immigration.

        The only glitch was that my return pick-up from the operator waited at the airport in Botswana instead of at the immigration entrance on the river. It took Dawn a bit of negotiating to locate him at the airport and then get back to me at the river. She stayed with me throughout, though, even though she had smashed her hand between the boat and the dock as we arrived, and she had to be in a lot of pain. As it turned out, I made it to the airport in time, but it was a bit tighter than any of us wanted it to be.

        Thank you for the contact for a volunteer project in Cape Town. Faisal Gangat helped a lot. As it turned out, the students not only painted part of a preschool in Khayelitsha one day, they agreed to give up a Sunday and go back and do the other rooms and put on a second coat of paint.

My only complaint was that the "transport" cost, especially for the second day, was really too much...they charged 2400 Rand for this second day, arguing that Cape Capers is, after all, a tour company, and that they had to make their profit.

        I will ask Eric ...., who will be leading the trip to SA this coming summer to be in direct contact with you about a cultural tour. He and I talked about it briefly, and he was uncertain if he could provide the funds or the time to go to the eastern cape, but you and I never talked about what exactly you had in mind, so I will have him contact you directly.

        Thanks for a good trip.

Cynthia