Sunday, May 06, 2007
Epilogue
We would like to thank the following people for being a part of our journey:
Robert (aka Bart) and Sylwia, Oli and Neevah – it had been more than 7 years since Rich had seen Bart, but it was as if they had seen each other just the other day. We had a great time with you guys and really hope you will come visit us soon. In fact, we had such a great time that we kept on coming back to meet up again. You guys showed us around Germany and really made us change our views on Germany – it is an amazing country with really great people.
Grant & Nikki for meeting up with us in Italy – we had an awesome time together. Hopefully we meet again very soon.
Faye and Tianshi – we met in Vienna for maybe 20 minutes initially, and then you really helped us tremendously in China. Our day with you Faye (pity Tianshi was away) in Shanghai we will never forget. Thanks for that. We really do hope you will come visit us in South Africa.
Mr Kim and family – we had never met until we arrived in Seoul. My friend Alex as we call him in South Africa told us to get in touch with you and we were really glad we did. You spoilt us rotten and made us feel totally at home in your country. We are also hoping that you will come visit us in Cape Town and hopefully we will make your stay as enjoyable.
Daryl – we just happened to be in Japan at the same time as Rich’s brother Daryl. It was great to see family and spend some time together. Thanks also for the free 5 star breakfast we had.
Noboru, Kumi and Yuki – we met going up Jungfraujoch in Switzerland and we were hoping to meet up again in Japan. Thanks to all your help we managed to meet you all in Tokyo and Kyoto. We had the best time and were shown the local scene. You all spoilt us so much. We have not stopped telling everyone how amazing your family is and how amazing the Japanese people are. Please come visit us. Our house will always be open to you all.
Coby and Robyn – how amazing meeting with you guys. Rich overheard you talking to some local Hawaiians and you mentioned you were from Canada. Well, Canada was our next stop (we were on our way that night to Canada) and Rich was actually reading the Canada Lonely Planet. We had a great afternoon together, then dinner together before we headed off to Canada. But we were to meet again in Toronto some 3 weeks later. Thanks for a lovely dinner (home-cooked) and an awesome last few hours in Canada. Hopefully we can meet up in Israel or maybe you can make the long trek to South Africa. You both are an inspiration to us. Thanks for everything.
Perry, Laureen, Daniel and Asher – we think that one of the most amazing things to happen in our travels is to re-acquaint ourselves with old friends like you guys. Rich grew up with you guys, but then had lost contact. It is sad, but a fact of life in South Africa that so many people have left. We had a really great time with you (even tho’ this was our first introduction to Canada and the bitter cold and snow). You welcomed us into your home for which we are truly grateful. We really are looking forward to you coming to Cape Town and spoiling you. I am sure that by then, Daniel will be reciting every multiplication table and everything else to do with numbers.
Mark (aka Pubes), Sharon, Joshua and Amy – we really don’t know how to thank you guys enough. You opened your home to us and made us feel welcome. You took time off work to show us around, you came to Banff to spend a weekend with us and not to mention all the BBQ’s (or braai’s) that Pubes did in the -25 degree Celcius weather outside. Those steaks are tops in the world. The ice hockey game was also amazing (pity the Flames didn’t go all the way). We can’t wait until you come visit us in Cape Town. I can promise we won’t have weather as cold as you had for us.
Rich M, Suzy, Joshua, Benny and Amy – what can we say about you guys??? From even before we arrived in Toronto we knew that we would have things easy. Suzy was now in charge of our lives for almost a week. Our decision making was now ceded to Suzy. What a relief. We could relax and chill out (literally and figuratively). While Rich M was slogging away trying to finish his audit, Suzy looked after us. Rich M – thanks for taking time off from your busiest time of year to be with us. You don’t know how grateful we are. I think that Rich B really took to kids once he met your kids. Josh, Benny and Rich B were constantly playing hockey, football, or throwing ball. Benny was also on Rich B’s back and shoulders most of the week being thrown around. We will never forget all the “padkos” that Suzy packed for us. When we arrived in Venezuela we just opened our bag and there was this fresh banana loaf courtesy of Suzy. Guys – we really are so grateful for everything you did for us. We can’t wait until you come visit us here in SA. We will babysit your kids anytime.
Hardy and Odalis – how do you thank a crazy Austrian and his lovely Venezuelan girlfriend? You guys don’t know how much you helped us in Venezuela. We were a bit lost when we met you on the bus going to Choroni and you took us under your wing. We not only shared great times (and many cervezas) in Choroni, but the weekend we spent with you at your amazing home in San Juan de Los Morros. You really did inspire us. The easy 2-hour hike you took us on that turned into more than 6 hours of pain (where we nearly lost Rich to another world) was also fun (when we look back). We hope that one day we can help you as much as you helped us and look forward to meeting up again soon (hopefully at our home in Cape Town).
Rene (aka Renzo) and Julia (aka JR) – well our plans were actually to skip USA mainland. Our plans seem to have changed. We made it to Atlanta airport about 8 times, but to the city twice and what a lovely city. You seemed to sort the weather out nicely for us as well. Thanks a mill for those buddy passes to Costa Rica and taking time out your busy schedules (?????) to join us in Costa Rica for 3 days. We had an amazing time drinking cerveza, talking rubbish, arguing with numerous people, but generally having lots of laughs. Thanks also for showing us around Atlanta (from the Waffle House, to Einsteins, to local breweries, and other local eateries and drinking spots). We are looking forward to hopefully meeting up with you in Kruger National Park soon. We will have to spoil you there.
Marga Bendel-Bauer – amazing as it is, when we arrived in Morro de Sao Paulo, we had earmarked only 1 pousada to go to and that was Pousada Colibri. From the minute we arrived there and met Marga we knew we belonged. You made us feel so welcome at your pousada. Only after about 30 minutes did we finally realize that your maiden surname and our surname is the same (and Bendel is not a common surname). It actually almost felt as if we were family somehow. You have the best pousada in the world and your island is also the best place ever. We have not stopped telling people that they have to go to Morro and stay at your pousada. Thanks so much for everything you did and the truly amazing gift you gave us. We will always treasure it. We honestly hope that one day, you and your family come visit us in Cape Town. We hope that we can make you feel as welcome in our house as you made us feel in your pousada.
There are also many other people that we met along the way that changed our perspectives on life and views on people. We had many drinks and dinners with people from all different nations, shared many great stories, travel tips, travel horrors and the like who we would like to thank. We have shared contact details with numerous people and we really do hope that some of you do come and visit us in Cape Town. Our house is open to you all.
Bye for now!
We would like to thank the following people for being a part of our journey:
Robert (aka Bart) and Sylwia, Oli and Neevah – it had been more than 7 years since Rich had seen Bart, but it was as if they had seen each other just the other day. We had a great time with you guys and really hope you will come visit us soon. In fact, we had such a great time that we kept on coming back to meet up again. You guys showed us around Germany and really made us change our views on Germany – it is an amazing country with really great people.
Grant & Nikki for meeting up with us in Italy – we had an awesome time together. Hopefully we meet again very soon.
Faye and Tianshi – we met in Vienna for maybe 20 minutes initially, and then you really helped us tremendously in China. Our day with you Faye (pity Tianshi was away) in Shanghai we will never forget. Thanks for that. We really do hope you will come visit us in South Africa.
Mr Kim and family – we had never met until we arrived in Seoul. My friend Alex as we call him in South Africa told us to get in touch with you and we were really glad we did. You spoilt us rotten and made us feel totally at home in your country. We are also hoping that you will come visit us in Cape Town and hopefully we will make your stay as enjoyable.
Daryl – we just happened to be in Japan at the same time as Rich’s brother Daryl. It was great to see family and spend some time together. Thanks also for the free 5 star breakfast we had.
Noboru, Kumi and Yuki – we met going up Jungfraujoch in Switzerland and we were hoping to meet up again in Japan. Thanks to all your help we managed to meet you all in Tokyo and Kyoto. We had the best time and were shown the local scene. You all spoilt us so much. We have not stopped telling everyone how amazing your family is and how amazing the Japanese people are. Please come visit us. Our house will always be open to you all.
Coby and Robyn – how amazing meeting with you guys. Rich overheard you talking to some local Hawaiians and you mentioned you were from Canada. Well, Canada was our next stop (we were on our way that night to Canada) and Rich was actually reading the Canada Lonely Planet. We had a great afternoon together, then dinner together before we headed off to Canada. But we were to meet again in Toronto some 3 weeks later. Thanks for a lovely dinner (home-cooked) and an awesome last few hours in Canada. Hopefully we can meet up in Israel or maybe you can make the long trek to South Africa. You both are an inspiration to us. Thanks for everything.
Perry, Laureen, Daniel and Asher – we think that one of the most amazing things to happen in our travels is to re-acquaint ourselves with old friends like you guys. Rich grew up with you guys, but then had lost contact. It is sad, but a fact of life in South Africa that so many people have left. We had a really great time with you (even tho’ this was our first introduction to Canada and the bitter cold and snow). You welcomed us into your home for which we are truly grateful. We really are looking forward to you coming to Cape Town and spoiling you. I am sure that by then, Daniel will be reciting every multiplication table and everything else to do with numbers.
Mark (aka Pubes), Sharon, Joshua and Amy – we really don’t know how to thank you guys enough. You opened your home to us and made us feel welcome. You took time off work to show us around, you came to Banff to spend a weekend with us and not to mention all the BBQ’s (or braai’s) that Pubes did in the -25 degree Celcius weather outside. Those steaks are tops in the world. The ice hockey game was also amazing (pity the Flames didn’t go all the way). We can’t wait until you come visit us in Cape Town. I can promise we won’t have weather as cold as you had for us.
Rich M, Suzy, Joshua, Benny and Amy – what can we say about you guys??? From even before we arrived in Toronto we knew that we would have things easy. Suzy was now in charge of our lives for almost a week. Our decision making was now ceded to Suzy. What a relief. We could relax and chill out (literally and figuratively). While Rich M was slogging away trying to finish his audit, Suzy looked after us. Rich M – thanks for taking time off from your busiest time of year to be with us. You don’t know how grateful we are. I think that Rich B really took to kids once he met your kids. Josh, Benny and Rich B were constantly playing hockey, football, or throwing ball. Benny was also on Rich B’s back and shoulders most of the week being thrown around. We will never forget all the “padkos” that Suzy packed for us. When we arrived in Venezuela we just opened our bag and there was this fresh banana loaf courtesy of Suzy. Guys – we really are so grateful for everything you did for us. We can’t wait until you come visit us here in SA. We will babysit your kids anytime.
Hardy and Odalis – how do you thank a crazy Austrian and his lovely Venezuelan girlfriend? You guys don’t know how much you helped us in Venezuela. We were a bit lost when we met you on the bus going to Choroni and you took us under your wing. We not only shared great times (and many cervezas) in Choroni, but the weekend we spent with you at your amazing home in San Juan de Los Morros. You really did inspire us. The easy 2-hour hike you took us on that turned into more than 6 hours of pain (where we nearly lost Rich to another world) was also fun (when we look back). We hope that one day we can help you as much as you helped us and look forward to meeting up again soon (hopefully at our home in Cape Town).
Rene (aka Renzo) and Julia (aka JR) – well our plans were actually to skip USA mainland. Our plans seem to have changed. We made it to Atlanta airport about 8 times, but to the city twice and what a lovely city. You seemed to sort the weather out nicely for us as well. Thanks a mill for those buddy passes to Costa Rica and taking time out your busy schedules (?????) to join us in Costa Rica for 3 days. We had an amazing time drinking cerveza, talking rubbish, arguing with numerous people, but generally having lots of laughs. Thanks also for showing us around Atlanta (from the Waffle House, to Einsteins, to local breweries, and other local eateries and drinking spots). We are looking forward to hopefully meeting up with you in Kruger National Park soon. We will have to spoil you there.
Marga Bendel-Bauer – amazing as it is, when we arrived in Morro de Sao Paulo, we had earmarked only 1 pousada to go to and that was Pousada Colibri. From the minute we arrived there and met Marga we knew we belonged. You made us feel so welcome at your pousada. Only after about 30 minutes did we finally realize that your maiden surname and our surname is the same (and Bendel is not a common surname). It actually almost felt as if we were family somehow. You have the best pousada in the world and your island is also the best place ever. We have not stopped telling people that they have to go to Morro and stay at your pousada. Thanks so much for everything you did and the truly amazing gift you gave us. We will always treasure it. We honestly hope that one day, you and your family come visit us in Cape Town. We hope that we can make you feel as welcome in our house as you made us feel in your pousada.
There are also many other people that we met along the way that changed our perspectives on life and views on people. We had many drinks and dinners with people from all different nations, shared many great stories, travel tips, travel horrors and the like who we would like to thank. We have shared contact details with numerous people and we really do hope that some of you do come and visit us in Cape Town. Our house is open to you all.
Bye for now!
# posted by Heidi & Richard's travels @ 1:17 PM 
