Have Documents, will travel.....

So Mia’s passport is ready for collection & I am going to pick it up tomorrow.... very excited to have it. The process was FAIRLY painless & pretty quick in the end.....

Marc & I took Mia about a month ago..... We both had to be there. (Or u just have to get written consent from the absent parent) but even if we didn’t both need to be there we had to both go.... One was manning the queue while the other chased Mia around the dirty, home affairs office with lots of strange people & even more children....

But – before I get into that, let me start at the beginning......Once our trip was confirmed, we needed to get all our travel documentation to the RMS St Helena & so I went onto the home affair website which was very helpful actually....but I ended up calling the actual office & found out exactly what I needed:

ONE –Childs Birth Certificate, which of course wasn’t in the safe where I put it so we only took along a coloured copy of it.... thank goodness that was enough. (I wouldn’t recommend it though. I think we were just lucky they didn’t check it thoroughly) And I subsequently found the certificate – someone manage to let it fall out of the safe when moving his photographic gear around.... I’m not going to mention any name of course ;-) heehee.

TWO – Both parent’s green bar-coded ID books. I made sure we also took along both our passports & photocopies of it all....I didn’t want to take any chances on not having everything required & having to do this again.

THREE – You’ll need two coloured passport pictures..... If only it was as easy as the 6 little word sentence. Try getting a toddler to sit still, on a bar chair while some stranger tries to take a picture...Tries being the operative word – She had to try & sit there for the whole 25 minutes it took the useless chick to hit the bloody button.... oh & of course she had to look into the camera, not smile, have her eyes wide open & u can imagine how pleased her photographer father was with the woman at the pharmacy when she missed the shot for the 7^th time! Yip-7.....and now Mia really didn’t want to sit still on this silly chair anymore..... it got to the point where we really thought we weren’t actually going to be able to do this.... Marc was about to grab the camera from her & do it himself (I just wanted to hit her over the head with it) when she finally got it......

  
Luckily... it turned out very sweet....and the half smile was accepted :-)

Then we were off to find the Department of home affairs...... we psyched ourselves up & prepared for a good 3 hour stint.... but when we drove in & saw the queue of people make 2 loops out the door & resemble something closer to the 2010 World Cup final main entrance at soccer city we looked at each other, took a deep breath and got out the car.....As we approached the back of the ‘convoy’....someone told us that this was the queue for immigrants waiting for work permits..... Shooooo! *BIG exhale* Awesome news! Not for them of course J

Soooo...Marc & I completely relieved & re-inspired walk into the actual room...... Once again we were a little overwhelmed....it was busier than expected....Look, I’ll admit our expectations were a little high - maybe living down on the tip of the African continent we have gotten too used to a maximum of  3 people at any check-out counter at any given time..... But once we found the information desk, they gave us the forms, pointed us in the right direction & we were on our way.... Mia was very good actually – fascinated with all the different people I think.....Honestly, I was too J Fascinated, not good ;-)

Our queue was the shortest of them all, thank goodness. (I would really try not to lose ones ID book, if you can help it....... that queue resembled the soccer city one just a little.J)

Poor Marc ran around after Mia who was using the queue chain dividers, ladies handbags & pretty much anything in her way as a mini obstacle course.....who needs amusement parks J I’ll be honest – I did try to object when the shoes came off & she went sliding around the grimy floor but it was nothing a good goldilocks scrub & some jik couldn’t sort out ;-) Kidding... a few washes in the bath sorted it all out.  So while the father daughter team of Bow were doing laps, I was trying, very carefully NOT to mess up the application form.... I do think they put some of sections in just to confuse you..... I really didn’t want to be sent back to the information desk.... It felt like Matric finals all over again ;-)

The whole process took about an hour & a half & they did want to see Mia..... if only for a second. (Which made me feel a whole lot better for having to take her out of school & drag her along) Once everything was checked & confirmed we were sent over to the payment desk – no queues....Yay.

FOUR - It cost R145 & it takes 4 – 6 weeks to receive. They do say you should apply 8 weeks before travel in order to make sure you get your papers in time.

We went in on the 30 September 2010 & got the sms today saying its ready....so 3 weeks to the day...not bad, not bad at all....

xxGen

The Essential guide to travelling with toddlers.....

Step one: Don't take a toddler anywhere if they are going through their worst terrible 2 phase ever..... Mia has hit a new high on the tantrum front. Clearly a late bloomer..... I can just see it now.... the looks & hushed conversation when we walk past.... I’m not quite sure how I’m supposed to avoid the other 126 passengers on board the RMS..... This is how Mia & I are supposed to be getting to the island but we might end up being banished to the life raft & towed behind if Mia keeps this us.

Thankfully, she does seem to be getting “better” or I’m getting better at distraction, corruption & any other ‘tion’ it takes to avoid a leg stomping, shrieking at the top our her lungs ‘display of independence’. If we were animals (I mean Zoo animals ;-) ) She’d be pee-ing on me right now, or at least on my bed J


Back to the matter at hand.... I’ve done my research on this gorgeous piece of maritime history – for practicality reasons but also to find all the good places to hide if Mia starts any “displays of independence’.


I really am a bit of a research nerd so you have to excuse all the info but for me...Knowledge is power – even if it’s only the power to appreciate. Things are so much more interesting when you know where they came from.....

I got most of this info from their website http://rms-st-helena.com/

Very cool website – go check it out!

The RMS St Helena is unique

She is one of only two ocean-going vessels in the world still to carry the venerable title of Royal Mail Ship, held in the past by so many famous British passenger liners.

In addition to carrying passengers in well-fed comfort, she is a lifeline for residents on her island namesake as she carries all their goods and supplies to St Helena. From wind turbines to automotive parts; sheep, goats, (Hoping those aren’t being transported on out leg J)and Christmas turkeys to furniture, food and paint, everything has to be carried by ship to the island. This is part of the fascination. RMS St Helena is not just a passenger vessel; it’s a working ship, plying the Atlantic Ocean, carrying goods and people nearly halfway around the world. When you sail on the RMS, you are following in the wake of the generations of travellers and explorers who crossed the world’s oceans in the leisured days before air travel.

Apparently, a voyage on the RMS is an unforgettable experience: a blue water voyage on a working ship to unspoilt and remote islands.... Ok – a small part of me is going – remote is very easily another word for isolated & forgotten...gulp ;-)

The Royal Mail Ship St Helena was built in 1989 specifically to supply the island. She is British registered, 6,767 gross tonnes and has berths for a maximum of 128 passengers plus 56 officers and crew.

Apparently she has all the modern facilities one would expect... although the only ocean liner I can compare her to is the Oceanos... after I co-produced the 2 hour piece on her sinking I haven’t had great confidence in Ocean going vessels - so my expectation really is...stay afloat & get us there safely J

Apparently she has stabilisers (So mommy doesn’t get sea sick – I don’t know if I am prone to it but you never know until it’s too late. Can you just imagine!), air conditioning and for those who worry about being too detached from their normal humdrum existence, fax, telephone and email by satellite communication systems. I will definitely be using those email facilities....

Where Mia & I will probably spend our 5 days....

She carries a doctor and has well equipped medical facilities. Classified as A1+ at Lloyds and sailing under the British flag means that the RMS St Helena is subject to some of the most rigorous safety regulations in the world. Her repeatedly high classification in the Berlitz Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships is a sure indication of the high quality of her facilities, crew and standards. This is a very good thing J

I’ve emailed the lady in charge & am waiting to hear if she can tell us which cabin we have.... I’m so excited & a little nervous all at the same time.....

Where & Why?

St Helena, South Atlantic Ocean

Ok, so the 1st of these captivating adventures we are about to embark on is a trip to St Helena Island....


St. Helena (pronounced Saint He-LEE-na), is a volcanic island and is now a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. Its Latitude 16º S Longitude 5º45' W & if you draw a line from the Namibian/Angola border across the Atlantic toward Brazil it will pop up about half between the 2 continents..... Making it one of the remotest places in the world you can journey to.  A thought that is as exciting as it is scary. But I’ll get into more detail on this unbelievable island later.

Now the reason for this location is not because Marc & I are these hardcore adventurers & we stuck a pin on a map & decided this is our Dec vacation plan!  (Although I'm pretty sure the chance is 1 in a million that you would actually hit the 16 by 8 km (10x5 Mile) speck on the world map. No the reason for this is a little Flammy named Gypsey II (Now called Botapa) a 25’ Flamenca class yacht which we bought in July 2008 & has subsequently become my husband’s mistress... J Marc has unashamedly fallen head over heels in love with sailing & as his life motto is “ everything is a race & he who dies with the most toys wins” the only possible next step in this new chapter of our lives here in Simon’s Town, would be racing at our local club, False Bay Yacht club.



The day we got the 'keys'

 2 years later & an award for most improved beginner sailor & we have found ourselves entered into the Governors Cup Race between Simon’s Town, South Africa & St. Helena, South Atlantic Ocean.
I say we because the only thing (Besides Mia & I of course!) that Marc loves more than sailing – and only a little more – is filming. He got chatting to the guys at the club one day & just said what an awesome TV production this race could make! Enter Plan C productions – Our production company we own with 2 wonderful friends & colleagues. We first started in cars, but through the years have dabbled in a variety of subjects – with one thing in common -we have always tried to film things we are passionate about. Our company philosophy is “life is too short to not enjoy your work” & as a TV producer & production manager in my own right, it is the perfect situation & one, we have always strived to reach – filming what we love & doing it together.

And so, Marc will participate in this epic race – which I’m pretty nervous about as a mother & wife but more on that later & I will co-produce from the RMS St. Helena. And of course, it goes without saying, that Mia goes everywhere we go.

So once again we get to travel the world & work at the same time. We know we are very lucky & very very appreciative..... Always.

Baby Steps.....

Where to start.... I guess at the beginning... Don't worry - I just mean't the beggining of this chapter of my life.... this new, excitng, scary, life changing chapter of my life... Mothehood.

The point of it all for me is that you don't have to stop having fun & lose your self in the process....in fact the life experience you gain as a person/ a mother....only makes you a more intersting, much stronger woman.

So this will, to the best of my ability (I tend to ramble :-* ) Be about my adventures in motherhood & all the things that make life as exiting now as when you were 21 with everything ahead of you.

I love being Mia,s mother! I love the person I am, the person I want to be for her, in fact I am more comfortable in my own skin now at 31 than I have ever been. What a all consuming process at first.... But once you get over the initial "How am I going to cope with 2 hours of sleep at a time" 1st 6 weeks of parenting you start realizing that you can have a life again... you can fit into that little black number again (U can!) and you can do all the exciting things you wanted to do before children. In fact...it's soooo much better with them. It's like getting to live life all over again.....seeing things through their eyes. Ice-cream on the beach is as exciting for them as a free trip to Europe for any grown-up.

So much to do & so little time... Let the adventures begin!