This surely has turned out to be my
year of VIP visitors!
Right after I sadly waved goodbye
to Mish, Colleen, Shingi and Temba,
I begans counting down the days to
another big event.
In mid-September Townsville's un-remarkable
airport was the arrival point for the city's
MOST REMARKABLE visitor, by my calculation
anyway. How many 85-year olds are jetting
around on their own, anyway? Let alone
following through with travel plans after
undergoing a 5-month bureaucratic nightmare
to get a simple tourist visa (yes, this was
for Australia!) and last-minute medical
intervention for a minor wound that became
an ulcer needing a skin graft.
Putting all that behind her, Jessie-Ma-Granny
touched down here, late at night, after
umpteen hours in the air since leaving Cape
Town, and many more hours waiting in various
airport terminals. She was travel-weary but
smiling -- amazing! And despite her still-
worrying leg, she was soon ready for an easy
walk along the Strand waterfront (pic at right)
in between many long coffee-and-chat sessions,
both in the holiday apartment where we stayed
and on board Jeshan in the marina (pic below).
