South Africa

  

The daily mention in the media of the south-African variant of covid-19, sent me back to my one and only visit to South-Africa in the eighties.

It was not  a planned trip. It so happened that I took upon myself to accompany an old lady acquaintance to her daughter and family, temporarily stationed there in a small town. I stayed with them  about a week , and then decided to see a few places on my own.

At that time,  Apartheid was in its  last stages, but still present. It's one thing to read and hear about it, and another thing to see it with your eyes and feel it on your body. The climax was one day, in Johannesburg, when   I turned to a black passerby to ask her how to get to a certain place. Suddenly, we were surrounded by several young white men shouting at us, and spitting....on me. I was  shocked. The black lady suggested that we part and go separate ways as I was in danger because of my talking to her. 

The above incident has shattered me, and ruined my visit.  I believe in God and in His Creation . God gave the african continent to the black people. That's a fact. All  the others may visit ,even settle there if they so wish, but not behave like they own the place, certainly not practicing apartheid.

Anyway, I managed to visit  a few places and experience some specific events: Capetown with its two main landmarks:  Table Mountain and Cape of Good Hope, Port Elizabeth with  its Dolphinarium and Horse Memorial,  Durban's indian market, the Golden mine museum with a mining underground tour near Johannesburg, a 'safari' bus  tour which enabled us to watch wild animals through the bus window only, tribal dances.

Here are some of the photos: 

                                  horse memorial (Port Elizabeth) -  my favorite photo

 

                                                  dolphinarium (Port Elizabeth)

                                                    dolphin show (Port Elizabeth)

                                 with participants  at a bowling tournament (Port El.)

                                  Cape Town - near the terminal

                                   Table Mountain Nature Reserve

                                 Table Mountain - view of the ocean

                                  the ocean (my better side - I look taller lol)

Cape of Good Hope ; it was windy up there.

                                                       baby lion

                                  wild animals seen through the bus window

                                                              tribal dance

                                                                Zulu beauty

Seasons

 

Our winters are relatively short and mild, yet I wish we had no winter at all. Me and cold are not good friends.

I'm no fan of summer's heat either; it can be scorching and debilitating. It's just that one likes the freedom that this season offers: no thick fabrics, no layers of clothes, no  boots; no flu episodes, ease of moving and walking.  And of course, Nature is present in all its splendor providing endless delight.

Spring and Autumn, transitional periods, are shorter in length than winter and summer.

Spring, the season of awakening and renewal, is  supposed to come in March, but is usually late, and makes its appearance  in early April. In my country, it also brings with it what's called 'hamsin' - desert heat waves, a dry and quite unpleasant phenomenon.

Autumn is OK considering the spectacular change of colors that characterizes it, except,  that it is autumn that reminds me that each season in my life is linked to the loss of a beloved one, and that fact in itself fills me with sadness. (Autumn is also known as Fall, so probably it is expected that not only  leaves fall, but also one's  mood does).

I've even written  once a few lines on the matter. It goes like this (translation from Hebrew):

"In spring, my Mom got ill and fragile / It sure looked to me a bad sign.  In summer, when everything around was bright  / Alas! She and my brother, both died.

In autumn, with the sky above, cloudy and grey / My father and  nephew passed away. In winter, in the cold, gloomy weather / we had to part from my  uncle forever".

 *

The weather  of each of the four seasons is mentioned quite often in people's blogs; no wonder about that. Climate has a great impact on one's quality of life. 

I've noticed , though, that people who plan relocation, place climate at the bottom of their agenda or ignore it completely.  Only when they get to their new location they understand the meaning of it, but then it might be  too late .

Keeping It Cool

Almost daily, we're informed about  new age groups that are to be vaccinated next. We're assured there's plenty of vaccine for the whole population. including children. Just make the appointment, and come .

I feel some urgency in the air about it, and that makes me think of the existence of possible vaccine storage/handling issues. I suspect the bottles have to be used quickly to avoid decreased potency and loss of patient's confidence.

                                                              bottles of vaccine (web picture)

After all, it's a tremendous logistical challenge. The vaccine units make a long journey from the centers of distribution -  to clinics - to patients. The journey involves planes, trains, trucks and special delivery containers adequately refrigerated (by dry ice). 

Pfizer's vaccine has to be kept at -70 degree Celsius. Moderna's vaccine is said to be stable at regular freezer temperatures. Both require two doses for full effect, which might complicate things.

Pfizer's 'freezing farm' in Kalamazoo, Mich  (web picture)

Hopefully, a significant drop in the bad numbers of covid-19 victims is to be expected by the end of the month, due to the vaccines and the lockdown. In the meantime, people are strongly advised by the medical experts to keep to masks and distancing, as the british mutation is hitting hard; it especially likes the young ones, and pregnant women in their advanced stage of pregnancy.

Here's a 'talk back' seen online: ' Of course, the british version of the virus is more efficient than the chinese one; wait till  the german or swiss version comes along - what precision, what perfection'...