Domodedovo Airport
My son's planned three months working holiday in Orenburg, Russia, stretched to four months; a whole four weeks overstay, with the last month waiting for a flight back home.
This did not seem likely soon as the Russian borders were closed and so was South Africa's; and the Coronavirus was escalating in Russia.
There simply was no way out and no way in!
My son registered for a possible repatriation flight with the SA Embassy in Russia, but was stuck and simply had to wait it out.
Fortunately a very kind Russian couple took him into their home during lockdown so at least he wasn't stuck alone in a hotel room!
A repatriation flight from Moscow seemed highly unlikely as our local airline was on the brink of collapse.
The only repatriation flights were arranged by foreign airlines from Europe and the Middle East to get their citizens back from South Africa, but with Russia's borders closed, there was no way to get there plus the cost was astronomical once the Russian borders opened up!
To recap, our son's original flight back home was canceled, no refund forthcoming some 60 days later!
His second flight with another airline was also canceled as their country's borders also closed and they are only offering flight vouchers!
He resigned himself to the fact that he would have to wait till our government lockdown would allow international travel again.
Then as I told everyone when I was Hunting H's, we must never give up Hope as a miracle happened.
The Embassy contacted him and advised a repatriation flight had been arranged for 13 June.
However, soon after this he had a bit of a scare after a fishing trip; he'd stepped into long grass and was bitten by something; 6 nasty looking spots which at first were really itchy and then became inflamed the day after.
Coming from Africa, the first thing he thought of was ticks, and when he googled Russian ticks, a scary report popped up about TICK BITE FEVER which causes encephalitis in Siberia and the Russian Far East, as well as parts of western Russia; where he was. If he had to develop any fever, he would certainly miss that flight!
Penicillin and an ointment seems to be doing the trick he says, so it could have been a spider's nest?
Back to Saturday the 13th; that flight was canceled much to his and about 90 other South Africans' disappointment!
The plane was still in Frankfurt where they had to pick up the first group of stranded South Africans, but that ended in a total fiasco as some desperate people who were on their Whatsapp support group saw the banking details for the flight, paid the money into the airline account without getting clearance from the Embassy, so the flight was overbooked!
This repatriation flight could not be booked online, but really; they only have themselves to blame as everyone on that group knew they had to follow the correct steps!
My advice for anyone finding themselves in a similar situation in a strange country, is to always get in touch with your consulate before booking flights and losing a whole load of money in the process!
As it's #WednesdayWalk by 
All photos taken by him of course with a cellphone, and from inside a taxi.
Driving across the pretty Krimsky Bridge
Moscow is full of really beautiful architecture; this building appears to be a bank?
A mosque with the typical domes one sees in Russian architecture.
Finally at the Domodedovo Airport Check-in counter for Flight SA2961!
The repatriation group all jubilant that they're finally on their way home!
Credit to the SA Embassy in Russia for this group photos and for getting everyone safely back home.
So the story had a happy ending as he's now back in SA sitting out a 14 day quarantine period in a very nice hotel courtesy of the South African Embassy; so although he's highly bored, he's super happy to be back on SA soil!
View from his room
Coronavirus tests can be arranged privately if they don't want to wait out the full 14 days so once he tests negative, he can come home and self quarantine in our small bnb unit; hoping he'll be able to fly, otherwise he'll have to hire a car and drive down to Durban.
And all of this due to a pesky little Virus that was allowed to escape from China, who we all know by now delayed reporting it; the end result is a shutting down of world economies!
We however need to maintain our sense of humour otherwise we'd go quite dilly!
I'll end off with something beautiful and that is a Lockdown Challenge our young gardener took on. Bongikosi chose to stay here during Lockdown and has been such a blessing - this is the very first jigsaw puzzle he's ever done, a 1500 piece I must add, and it looks absolutely gorgeous!
Beautiful Wildlife Jigsaw Puzzle of an African Fish Eagle
We'll frame it for him so he can take it home to his young wife.
Seems like he's gotten hooked as he's now started another wildlife puzzle of Lions which I will share with you when that's complete.
Thank you for stopping by
