In the early spring of 1999 I went to Durban for a literary festival. After the festival I flew to Cape Town, where I spent a few days at the lavish Mount Nelson Hotel. My girlfriend got sunburned near the swimming pool. She said: "I'm a princess, I don't need sunblock."
Tonight I arrived at Cape Town International Airport for a festival once again.
An elderly man drove me to Stellenbosch. The hotel where the festival had reserved a room for me turned out to be closed for the night already.
My driver who insisted on speaking Afrikaans drove me to another hotel that still had two rooms available.
The night porter offered me a bottle of water.