Our plans included a 9 am bus from Milwaukee to O’Hare and then a flight from O’Hare to LaGuardia, limo to Newark, and then a 14-hour flight from Newark to Johannesburg. This weird flight combination was purchased with United miles earned after opening a credit card. The decision haunted me, and a month ago we called United and asked to change to fly to Newark and then to Johannesburg. They said we could for the cost of $1,200 each. I was unwilling to pay that. We were concerned about having to claim and recheck the luggage but they assured us that the luggage would be transferred for us from Chicago to Johannesburg.
Friday we awoke nice and early, did our last minute packing, watered the plants, checked the house, and loaded the truck with the luggage. At around 8, I checked the website for the Coach bus and learned the bus was running 90 minutes late. The 10:15 am bus would get us there too late to comfortably check in so we bagged the bus and drove to long term parking at O’Hare. Luckily there were lots of spots (unlike the last time we attempted this). We got to the United counter and tried to check our bags through to JNB without luck. The customer service people couldn’t believe we had booked such a convoluted schedule. I said we had done it through United using miles and they just scoffed. The supervisor said, “Wouldn’t you just prefer to go into Newark?” We said yes, of course, and he changed the flights for us for no charge. I was then able to call and cancel my $250 limo from LaGuardia to Newark, and the lady told me I was within the cancellation window by less than 15 minutes. Otherwise, no refund. I figure I will put that $250 toward the long term parking. The Coach bus refused to give me a refund assuring me that my tickets were good for a year and apologizing for the inconvenience. As if I would trust them again.
We spent the 4 hour layover in Newark in the United lounge using my 2 complimentary passes. Yay free wine. The first two were ok, but I really didn’t need the third glass. I had not felt well the week before the trip, so this was my first alcohol for awhile. I had a concerning pain in my left side and was a bit short of breath. On Wednesday I got a Covid booster. Later Wednesday I went to the doctor and she completely checked out my heart and lungs and declared them absolutely fine. She said the pain was a muscle strain though I couldn’t tie it to any activity. She said probably it was hurt when I fell 3 weeks before. I found this quite unlikely but I felt assured by all her checks of my heart coming up fine.
Friday morning I tried some of Nick’s tiger balm on my muscle and extra Advil, and the pain vanished. I was so pleased. I had actually feared that the doctor would tell me not to go. But she said Go, you will be fine. The 14-hour flight was brutal. I had trouble getting comfortable enough to sleep. I know I got some sleep but it didn’t feel like enough. Finally we arrived in Johannesburg, and as I was walking up the jet bridge, I became very short of breath. It felt like I had just climbed 10 flights of stairs. Getting through passport control was agony. I wanted to sit down so badly but there weren’t any chairs. We got our luggage and a porter walked us to the Intercontinental Hotel where we checked in. As long as I was not moving I felt ok, but any exertion was difficult. Upstairs I checked my pulse on my watch. It was 122 beats a minute. I had Nick furiously googling. He did find that jet lag can be a factor. Then the arm pain came back. I kept repeating to myself that my doctor (of 20 years who I do trust) said my heart is fine. In a couple hours the pulse was down to 100 BPM, and we went to dinner in the hotel, although I wasn’t really hungry. We both had delicious pasta dishes. I went to bed immediately after dinner, and was able to sleep for an hour. But then I woke up and had a terrible time of getting back to sleep.
In the morning, my pulse was 90 BPM, and I felt a bit better. I now figured out the altitude in Johannesburg is much higher than I’m used to and I have had trouble with that before. It may take a couple days for me to acclimate. I’m hoping for the best. The Federal Air representative was supposed to meet us in the hotel lobby between 9 and 9:30 am to transport us to our puddle jumper to Leopard Hills Safari Lodge. We were ready at 9 on the dot, but the van didn’t show until 10. We spent an hour or more waiting at the pleasant Federal Air terminal - free soft drinks and snacks - and a lovely outdoor patio. Finally we boarded the plane with 4 Australians and 2 pilots. The aisle was too narrow for me to squeeze through but the Aussies kindly gave up their back row seats so I could be comfortable. We heard the safety instructions, watched the pilots go through their checks and then taxied out to the runway where we proceeded to wait over 35 minutes for bigger planes to take off. My pulse is below 90 and I’m feeling better. All’s well that ends well. Next report will be from Leopard Hills.
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