Arrival in Johannesburg!

 We arrived in Johannesburg early on a beautiful Friday morning. The sun is shining and there are a few clouds in the sky. If this is their fall I sure can take this back in the states everyday. This type of weather is great. 

 After finally getting through security and gathering our luggage we meet our tour guides for the day. Luke Angel and Lutendo were waiting for us in the main entrance of the airport. They both are awake and excited for us to be in South Africa. ( On a side note: Luke is the owner of African Angel tours. I like his approach with coming to view South Africa. We have seen and been involved with many interesting things during our time with him.) Now back to the story: If you could see the way we look as we make our way over to them it is priceless. We all have this excited and curious look about us, but it is mixed in with a tinge of jet lag. After introductions, Luke makes sure everyone has converted their currency, has cell phones, calling cards, and outlet converters. On a side note, since I have never had to exchange currency before I did not know that they take a certain amount for commission to exchange your currency. So my many Rands were hit with a 20% commission fee. Oh well it will be the ATM for me from now on. lol

 Once we were all settled we hoped into our van and we were whisked away to where we would be staying for a couple of days, The Africa Centre. The Centre is a lodge for backpackers, tourists, and other travelers. It was reasonably priced. Coming into the community where the centre was located was different from what I expected. I am not sure what I really expected since I had never seen a neighborhood in Johannesburg before. The community in which it is located from what I was told was an up and coming middle class area. The homes there were surrounded by gates and had wire or electric wires to keep thieves at bay. The centre itself was surrounded with such. 

 Inside the compound it was like a little paradise. At this point in my jet lagged state I probably would have said my families dog house was like a little paradise. I assure you though the compound was nice. There was a tiki lounge area that had a pool table and chairs inside for you to relax in. There was a nice pool with lounge area, a bar,  and a jacuzzi. None of which I was interested in until I had taken a shower and gotten in my nap. Naps are essential at this point in my life. lol Unfortunately I would not get one until much later. 

  Once in our room I proceeded to take my shower. Well guess what?! The water was not getting hot. We went and told maintenance what was wrong and to see if they would fix it. He went to check it and he told us that the geyser for the room was off and he would make sure that is was turned on for us. We were told that it would be about an hour for the water to heat up. After a long 20+ hour flight that was so not what I wanted to hear. We asked if we could be switched to another room all together, but the answer was no (Keep this in mind. It will come in handy later). However they did allow us to take a shower in another room.  Once the group was all rested and clean we headed out for lunch and to the Apartheid museum.