Off to the Bush

Just a quick note. We had a bit of delay in our Kruger trip so we are leaving in about ohhh 5 minutes! Margo and I are flying out of Johannesburg on Wednesday August 4 now so we can have 3 days watching lions and giraffes and the like.

I woke up with hives on my left arm and made a trip to the emergency room so I am now off my malaria pills and will be watching any mosquito bites closely. I also had two shots in my bum for the rash so Margo and I are much closer friends now - fyi cortizone shots in the rear end are painful!

See you in a few! Hopefully bug-bite free and with all my limbs.

Stellenbosch

Oh how sophisticated we are. What is a trip to South Africa without partaking in a wine tour? Our driver picked us up around 9:30am (us being Margo, James, Hannah, their coworker John and myself) and, possibly by his own planning, took us to the most sophisticated winery first. It proved most beneficial since we were most coherent, but given it was 10am and we hadn't eaten breakfast we obviously were less so on the way out.

This winery in particular had a group of dogs basking in the morning sun which can't be a bad deal. Imagine living day to day with sunny skies, crisp air, mountains in the background and acres upon acres to roam free. Given such a life they were very friendly and had a strong interest in our bread and cheese picnic before heading off to the next vineyard.

Aside from the dogs this repeated for the next six and a half hours, time passing more and more quickly. Our plan was to have lunch after one particular vineyard but this is where I will say the day went uphill. Walking in there are stone walls and old paintings, down the hall a room with chairs and a zebra skin rug. Keep walking and you enter another cellar-like room with cobwebs everywhere, a piano and a counter. The previous owner demanded the building be kept exactly as it was, including the cobwebs because he believed they helped wine in some way (that detail is a bit fuzzy).

The first woman helping us did not seem enthused by a group of young Americans halfway into their wine tour so we were passed on to Roderick who quickly realized his dry sense of humor would be well received. He hooked us up with healthy pours and even let John play and sing 'Orinoco Flow (sail away)' by Enya, so the only logical follow up is to invite him to our cookout later that evening! He and a friend came but that will be for a later post.

Between talking, singing, drinking and the crazy awesome cheese plate we realized we would have to pass on lunch to squeeze in a couple more vineyards, one of which was that of golfer Ernie Els. We were not greeted by the friendliest staff or the best wine but the view was incredible. My toes loved the view.

Like all great things the day had to end and Raymond drove us back to the house to get ready for the cookout. As you can see by the last photo we were a bit spent and the trip back to Camps Bay served as a good wine-induced nap.

That day will go down as one of the best for this trip. We lucked out with amazing weather, a great and patient driver and more laughs than I can count - oh and the wine aged french barrels was good too :).

So Apparently Cape Town Has Awesome Boutiques

Margo and I jumped off our 6:25 am flight from JoBurg to Cape Town, dropped our bags at the hostel and dove right into Long Street. Long Street is a young, touristy strip that has tons of quirky hostels and restaurants much like a college - 20 something town, and probably one of the best boutique selections I've come across.

Most of the shops we stepped into had rooms off to the side where the owners worked and had alterations available - and boy do they know how to sell their stuff. One shop owner had a home made 'runway' in front of a mirror and kept dressing me in her clothes, suckering me into a dress/belt combo. OH WELL I guess it's worth it to be fabulously unique. Another surprising thing is the sprinkling of antique and vintage shops. If I wasn't worried about my bag getting stolen I might have bought more... who knows.

The vibe in Cape Town is odd - it's hard to get a grasp on it all. Everyone seems really chill and the streets are bustling with activity and purpose, but whether I am creating the unease in my head or not, I don't feel completely secure. I left my camera at home yesterday so I didn't have to worry about someone running by and jacking my purse leaving me in the hole a $600 camera. While I don't have pictures of the architecture or gardens, the memories will suffice for now.

ROBBEN ISLAND - island that Dutch used as a safe haven until they exiled lepers, military hid Mach 9 and 10's during WW2, and where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were held. Margo and I had an interesting time with that. I am not one to get on a tour bus of sorts or go on any type of trip with more than four people. We read in guide books that you can rent a bike and ride around the island and explore yourself so we waddle up to the desk to buy our ferry tickets for 1pm, returning 4pm - sweet let's do it. Boat ride gives great view of Cape Town, Table Mountain/Lion's Head trio. We unload and start walking towards the archway noted 'Robben Island' we walk through and are stopped by a van yelling at us saying we have to get on the bus...soooo we join the other lazy zombies and hop on a bus, which drives us around the island and narrates the history of the Island blah blah blah.

We then get off and are led into one of the old communal prison cells and told the experience by a former political prisoner from the 80s. He walked us through the typical daily experiences he had and walked us to the exercise yard that still had plants from a garden Nelson Mandela had helped start. Towards the end he told us where Mandela's cell was which I spent all of two minutes trying to see since the tour bus coo coos were all trying to take pictures of their faces, pony tails and finger nails with Mr. Mandela's old cell.

All in all it was a great experience and I'm glad I got that bit of history because it is a horrendous practice to jail people for wanting equality or just because they fit in a category that equates to a racial slur. It was just disappointing to be lumped together with the tour bus types that don't really want to soak in the experience and just want to see their lives through a window. I lost a bit of the history because of all the exhaust I inhaled.

I should sign off now because James and Hannah are picking us up from this internet cafe to take us to a house in Camps Bay for the weekend! Tomorrow is a wine tour and Sunday driving to Cape of Good Hope to see penguins!

Our Afternoon With Sir Kent Goldings

The first few days here have been a whirlwind so today has been a decompression day. I woke up this morning and did a small at-home workout including jumping jacks, crunches, mountain climbers and the like, and had to take a break after each one because we are a mile above sea level here in Pretoria. Coffee and blogging soon followed, as well as a quick lunch with James and Hannah. We got to do our first significant amount of walking today - a half mile from the grocery store! :)

I have to say my afternoon was top notch. I read a bit of my book and took a cat nap, then enjoyed the afternoon sun with Sir Kent Goldings (Kent)! He is a seven-year-old German Shepherd and recently acquired bye James and Hannah after colleagues moved back to the states and couldn't take him. He has proven to be very smart as well as stubborn.

Just like Létha, you have to have two tennis balls to get him to drop the other. He also liked to drop the ball about 15 feet away from me before coming to my feet. It took a few tries but he learned quickly that he had to bring the ball straight to me, and if not he would be reminded by 'no, get your ball'. We played for thirty minutes or so and he would stop intermittently to get a sip of water from the pool. Yes, the pool. For him it is the worlds largest toilet bowl to drink from!

The method to his madness is not to simply bend over and sip, he lies down completely and dips his whole face into the water for a ginormous gulp. If he wasn't a huge furry dog you'd think he was a duck diving for dinner.

Another awesome thing about Sir Kent are his hunting instincts. I first noticed it when I accidentally threw his ball into the pool. He paced around a bit and once it was close enough to the edge you'd think he couldn't wait to get his teeth on it. He paused, slowly bent down until his nose was right of it, hovered for a second and.... BAM! He grabs the ball right out of the water like a spear to a fish. He began to do this several times, including a couple that I threw in myself.

Here's to you, Sir Kent Goldings!

Roughing It

It's a sunny, crisp, autumn-like day, as has been every day so far. Cool in the shade but warm and relaxing in the sun. Clear blue skies. Now enter the best brunch you have ever had, as seen in the photo. Hannah and James' friends, Shawn and Rodney invited us to their house for a day-long brunch event that put my heart-shaped waffles and fruit to shame.

We arrived around 1pm to mimosas, wine and all the food you see, all made by the two of them. There were lentil-stuffed peppers, red spinach dip in a home made bread bowl, potatoes with a Thai chili jam, savory muffins, cheeses and kudu sausage from the grill... to name a few.

Their house was something from MTV cribs. very open layout, living room with huge doors opening to their wrap-around yard, open kitchen that led to their wonderful open-air patio, and so much sunshine and natural light to satisfy your need for vitamin D.

Around 6pm we decided we needed to head back to the house to prepare for our own get-together! Friends were coming over to grill out on the back patio. I give props to everyone for drinking mimosas and wine all day only to transition straight into beer and barbecue!

James cooked up chicken wings and lamb chops in their braii (grill). Braiis come standard in South African houses since it is such a large part of their culture, which makes me wonder why Americans haven't caught on given our summertime obsession with grillin' burgers and have a bud light.

-As you can tell I haven't been lacking in activities so far, and it's all thanks to my awesome hosts! This country is beautiful and it is really a shame everyone had to live behind gates (both around the house and inside) and electrified fences. It almost seems a waste to have such amazing yards and tree-lined streets when you mostly can only drive past.

-I'm still learning the nuances of the culture and even though it is very diverse there seems to be a racial separation between servers and those served. Margo and I have been told that Cape Town is a much more social, integrated atmosphere, so I look forward to seeing what the southern coast has to offer!

**I apologize for the combined paragraphs. Blogger decided to stop working.

Waka Waka We in Africa

I wish I could say it was a long, arduous journey but in reality it was relatively painless. Getting loose ends tied up before leaving was a bit stressful, though. Things always take longer and there is always more to do than you think.

I shipped my laptop and the last of my belongings back to Ohio, dropped my cable box off in Northeast DC (thanks to Margo's brother!) and we were off by 11:15 to our 5pm flight. My last meal of veggie burrito bowl was amazing and getting to the airport was a cinch and traffic-free.

Yay! we are at the airport! Right? NOPE! As we went around back to grab our bags from the bed of the truck, we realized Margo's mattress was so jammed against the gate it wouldn't open, nor could we unlach the the cover to pull them out topside. After about ten minutes of trying to open both with no avail, tensions obviously started to rise. Margo's passport was trapped in the truck, as were the Oreos Erin has hidden in my bag!

After about 25 minutes of going through every possible scenario, we used brute force to stretch the cover upwards and there was just enough room to slide them out to freedom.

I had to check my bag which was a bit irritating considering there were people with much larger bags than mine rolling their way to an overhead compartment, but everything made it to Johannesburg without issue. Security only took about 30 minutes and the flight was broken into two 7.5 hour segments (and viewings of Marley and Me & Invictus) making the trip much more enjoyable. Customs took all of five minutes. I have never had a more positive experience having nothing to declare! The best part was we had two wonderful hosts waiting to greet us :).

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For dinner we went to a yummy traditionally South African restaurant and had a plate called 'Wild Thing' which had a piece of Ostrich, Warthog and Springbok to try which was all amazing. I think the favorite was the Springbok. For dinner I had a pepper crusted Kudu filet cooked medium with potato wedges and a great glass of South African Pinotage to go with :). After, we headed to an art gallery/lounge for Hannah and James' friend's birthday party. It was such a great space seated on a hill overlooking the city, and we were greeted at the door with yummy mojitos in old coke bottles. As the night progressed the DJ's started up the strobe light and smoke machine, and as artificial smoke filled our lungs we began to dance to more and more house music. After about three hours of dancing Hannah and I were a bit spent from all the jumping around, so we headed home to crawl into bed for a good nights rest.

Waking up at 10am this morning was a bit rough and I definitely could have stayed in bed, but I'm glad Hannah roused me so I could get the wonderful day started! The skies are clear and blue. All I needed were jeans and a sweater to walk to the outdoor market, which has such amazing and affordable food. Organic whole chickens are about 40 rand a kilo, which equals about $6.50/kilo. We bought two bags of home made beef and springbok for 15 rand each (about $2.50).

Whew!!! That was a lot to spit out but I hope to write shorter posts with better detail as we go. Brunch is coming next, and maybe a nap?