Day 9 in Durban

Breakfast is always a treat in Africa. The buffets each seem to top the last with choices and quantity. All of us have gained weight on this trip, as it has been an eating extravaganza. The iZulu Hotel is wonderful and we found the eggs Benedict to be unsurpassed. Greg has had them every day since landing and he says these are the best. I cannot argue as they are superb.

Today is an easy day for us to do our own things. I finalized my grading as there was free WIFI in the hotel and I could download all my students’ work, grade it and upload it again. I made my deadline but only just due to sporadic internet access over the past days. Clay and Erin sunbathed while Greg and Reese explored a bit. The boys went out for a little private brother party this evening after dinner to a club on the beach and had a fun time bonding. I love to see them hang out together. I was worried about how they were going to do at Christmas when they grew up as they always slept together on Christmas Eve, but we discovered that they just brought their wives along to join in on the tradition. However, getting everyone home for Christmas is going to be stretch from now on, so seeing them do this was wonderful.

We had dinner in a local chain of restaurants known as Spurs. They have an American Indian theme and specialize in steaks, burgers and some Mexican food. That was fun and the food was pretty cheap. A steak dinner was about $12 USD each. It was a different experience for us to see our own culture through someone else’s eyes and it brightened everyone’s outlook in general. However, the elephant in the room was that everyone was waiting for our trip to the bush to see wild game in their natural habitat, and that comes tomorrow.