Oh Africa

Yes! I have been waiting AGES to write about backpacking the last few days I was in Africa. Since I will probably see you all very soon I will keep it brief, but just wanted to jot down some highlights of the trip :)

Leg 1: Cape Town to Johannesburg. Hello 18 hr bus ride with a bus company that many people warned us was the least reliable/ most likely to end in an accident. Don't they understand travel budges? You do what you have to lol. Had a blast spending 2 days in Jo'Burg with a friend of a friend who lives right in the CBD. Managed to see all the sites highlighted in my travel book in 48hrs! Highlights were the Apartheid museum and a bike tour of Soweto where we even visited a local shebeen and Nelson Mandela's house.

Leg 2: Johannesburg to Hazyview. Picked up a rental car on the way through Nelspruit (yay our little yaris!) and stayed at Bushpackers with the dorm to ourselves! Couldn't work the stove so made dinner with only a kettle and a pocket knife.

Leg 3: Hazyview to Kruger Park. Safari time! Drove ourselves through the park seeing zebras, springbok, giraffes, elephants and buffalos. Stayed at lower Sabie Rest Camp and did both a sunset and sunrise game drive where we saw rhinos, bushbabies, chamelions, rhinos and LIONS! Sooo worth getting up at 3am!

Leg 4: Kruger to Nelspruit. Seriously, one of the craziest towns ever. Everyone we met was absolutely insane, and not in a good way. As soon as we got to Old Vic Travelers lodge we were promptly greeted by a plethora of the most deranged looking cats and asked by one of the long term residents to go out to fetch her some milk and rolls (she doesn't eat the white ones, so don't get those). Seemed like crazy Dave the landlord was really the only semi normal one, ironically.

Leg 5: Nelspruit to Maputo. Bus about 2 hrs late, per usual. Also, our first border crossing experience of our travels. When we got to the border the bus attendant told us to run (literally) to get in line. Sprinting through the longest no-man’s land in 35 C weather looking very foreign = unideal. Managed getting onto the same bus and therefore not left at the border trying to get a visa = ideal.

Leg 6: Maputo to Tofo. Maputo is kind of intense, very big, very sketch. Had just enough time for a few hrs sleep at Fatima’s before catching the early shuttle to Tofo. Enter the beginning of our long love/hate relationship with public transit. You haven’t traveled in Africa until you have taken a 10+ hr minibus ride 8 people over capacity. So worth it though, Tofo’s beaches and chilled attitude was just what we were looking for. Also, I have decided that the Indian Ocean is my fav.

Leg 7: Tofo to Maputo. Minibus ride slightly shorter despite getting a flat tire and the engine overheating. Was able to see all 3 of the sites there are to see in Maputo and procured a tuk tuk ride to the bus rank for the following day.

Leg 8: Maputo to Manzini: Best minibus and most chill border crossing yet. Swaziland is absolutely beautiful, love being in the mountains and really liked our Legends backpackers we stayed at in Ezulwini Valley. Visited Mantenga Nature Reserve and the Royal Palace to witness the Incwala festival. So amazing!

Leg 9: Manzini to Durban. Got up at the crack of dawn just to wait at a taxi rank for 4 hours to fill up our bus, but still manged to get into Durban before sunset. When we called a taxi to get to our backpackers I got ridiculously excited for seatbelts again. Loved visiting the ISKCON temple, Indian market and being reunited with the ocean again. Disliked being locked out of our backpackers at night and being forced to hide behind trees and call armed response to get back in.

Leg 10: Durban to Cape Town. All of our travel fiasco’s happened in the very last day of travel. I suppose that’s what you get for 18 days of relatively hassle free travel across three countries. Ridiculously happy to make it back to a place where I understand where to get where I need to go. Bittersweet being back where it all started because all the people I associate with this place are gone now, but liked having time there to myself (getting bored was not a pretty sight though, involving too much coffee, solo dancing, fort making and pantry cleaning).

After all this, 27 hrs in transit back home seems like a piece of cake.

'Cause all we really needed Was our bare feet and a pair of wings to fly

Yesterday marked exactly 2 months since I arrived here in Cape Town! It’s really bizarre that it has been that long. After what was probably best described as a rollercoaster month of September filled with sightseeing, new experiences and trying like mad to fit into a group of intern friends, October was a time for settling into a routine for daily life here. I liked both months for different reasons, and am looking forward to November, which will bring a whole new feel to my experience here. It will be a time for really understanding how much I have learned here. My mom will be visiting from the 20-27^th and in preparation I have already been tracking down all the amazing things I want her to see and do. In making these lists and plans, it has occurred to me how far I have come in understanding this city. Names of roads don’t seem so strange, public transit is not intimidating, and I can actually recommend a fair amount of places I have been myself. This is ridiculously reassuring.

Also, I have started booking tickets/ accommodations for my 2-week backpacking trip I am taking with some friends I have met here. The day my mom returns to the states I will be heading to Johannesburg, Kurger, Mozambique, and ending in Durban. It has been so crazy figuring out busses/ car hire/ planes! I will never again take for granted just hoping in the car for a road trip ever again!

Today was such a wonderful day, one of those just genuinely feeling content days that you would love to savor. After a lovely night sleep I woke up with some tea made for me by my lovely roommate and sat chatting over a chocolate cupcake J After slipping out of sleep and into a more awake state we continued to just listen to music while I looked up travel things on my compy. A Sunday here isn’t complete without a trip to pick and pay for some groceries for the week, and after some homemade spinach feta tomato pizza we both had a little cat nap as I waited for my sheets to dry in the sun coming through our big windows (long story about needing clean sheets, involving the invading of my room by some sort of African fleas, most likely picked up from the townships). We woke up just in time to sip down some coffee and head to signal hill for the sunset. While waiting for the sun, my friends and I chatted about our experience here and ended with listing off what were the best gifts we have ever given anybody. Coming back to the apartment for some homemade white chocolate/ oatmeal/ raisin cookies and fresh cream was another excellent treat. If I couldn’t handle enough greatness for the day, my roomie and I somehow put together an amazing late night Mexican dinner. Now just sitting in my room, all squeaky clean from a shower, belly full of good foods, sheets freshly deflea-ed, and mellowing out to Owl City. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to this day.

I went up to the mountain Because you asked me to Up over the clouds To where the sky was blue

This weekend’s theme was running, first with errands then in race form. I had one of the most productive Saturdays here, mostly in preparation for the race. See, when you register for something here, usually they want you to directly deposit the money into their bank account, something that slightly intimidated me. However, I got myself up early and walked myself down to the garden center, a mini mall of sorts, and to my amazement I found the bank I was looking for and a teller that was kind enough to show my sleepy American self how to fill out a deposit slip. Feeling so proud of my accomplishment I treated myself to breakfast at the Blue Cat Café, a place I had been wishing to go to that I always walk by on my way to get groceries. After the best yogurt/ fresh fruit/ muesli and coffee ever I proceeded to go slightly overboard getting groceries for this week. By the time I got back to my apartment at 11:30 I felt very much accomplished.

Today I ran the Constantia Valley Grape Run, aka how far up the mountain can we get them to run in 21k. It was seriously the most intense half marathon of my life. But backtrack to this morning. See, I don’t think I have had so much uncertainty going into an event. Some things that were running through my mind as I drifted off on Saturday night were 1. will the taxi come at 5:30 am like promised? (yes, he actually came 10 min early) 2. will he charge me the rate we agreed on during our phone convo the day before? (even better, he ran the meter and it actually ended up being less) 3. one of my biggest worries, did my registration/ payment get processed? (yes! and they didn’t even ask for proof of payment) 4. how the heck do you use water sachets? ( here they use water bags instead of cups, and after witnessing this in the 5k two weeks ago I was nervous to try. However they are actually loads easier than cups, the u.s. should look into this).

The course was absolutely beautiful; it started on the main road in Constantia and entered one of the most famous wineries in South Africa, Groot Constantia. There we took dirt service roads that wound up and along all of the vineyards all the way up the mountainside. At one point, we were at such a high elevation that I could see the ocean! Racing in S. Africa has made me realize that they do things much differently here in regards to race management. First, they are very polite cheerers. Instead of the earsplitting screams I get in the states, spectators calmly give you a “well done” and “nearly there”. Also, timing is a bit sketch. My last race wasn’t even timed or places recorded. This one I was given a temporary license to pin onto my shorts and at the finish I was given a laminated pouch with my place number on, that you slip your info card into and place on a huge wooden board in the slot corresponding to your place. No chips, no bib rip-offs. Strange. Also, post race refreshment of choice, coke???

Despite a gigantic blister (I’m pretty positive it formed from my foot slipping in my shoe from all the hills/ down hills) I think I held up pretty well for the type of running I have been doing here. I finished 131 out of 1500 runners, and I believe in the top 10-15 of females. The weather was perfect too, nice and cool in the morning with the sun breaking out around 10km. I’m so glad I didn’t give up on this race. The logistics were pretty crazy; I will never take for granted cars and online race registration ever lol. My friend had a great time too. She ran her first 5k with me two weeks ago and today she took 2 mins off her time! Afterward she asked me if I knew of another race in the area we could do before we leave, oh yeah she is hooked.

Things that made me happy today 1. old couple course marshalling blasting classic rock from their car. 2. raffle prizes were cases of wine! so ideal. 3. mini bus we took back to cape town was rocking out to boys II men, beyonce and neyo. 4. getting the running high I have been missing J Yay endorphins!

Saw the waves but not the tide/ I couldn't stay, I don't know why

I have decided that all my weekends need themes, just to keep them straight and maintain some OCD in my life. If I had to choose I would refer to this past weekend as the weekend of the waves. Starting with Friday I was part of a crowd wave IN A REAL LIFE WORLD CUP STADIUM! Not going to lie, I was a little homesick for the Big House, I kept waiting for the speed up/ slow it down/ split the wave signals. Sigh. It was pretty great though, the stadium was amazing and we had tickets for the 3^rd row! Some things to note about S. African football (soccer) 1. Stadium food here is ridiculously cheap. We should look into this. 2. Vuvuzelas are just as annoying in person as they are via television. I don’t think they stopped blowing those things once. 3. Cheerleaders here… have capes?

The following morning some friends and I took the train to Muizenberg (suburb of Cape Town, about a 45min ride via the lovely public transit) for some more waves, this time the ocean kind. Or the really cold/ salty kind. Same thing. A girl we know lives there and teaches surf lessons to the local kids, so we were able to use wetsuits and boards for free. They don’t call it the surfing capital of Africa for nothing, there were seriously a LOT of waves. I just tried not to think about sharks. I did manage after a few tries to get into a lunge on my board while catching a wave. I say mission accomplished.

After we had our fill of being wrecked by waves and salt, we had a little picnic on the beach with our new friends. Good thing our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, we had meant to buy enough food for us plus our surf friends, but once we got back 4 local kids that often take surf lessons showed up too. Thankfully R230 ($32) was able to satisfy 10 hungry bellies. The kids here are so great, it breaks my heart to think that if we hadn’t given them food they might not have eaten until dinner, if then. After lounging on the beach a little while longer, the sun went away and the wind picked up (per usual) and we decided to warm up at a place called the Coffee Sha-Bean where we got the thickest hot chocolate I have ever witnessed. My little plastic spoon stood straight up in the mug! I will attempt to recreate this at home, but something tells me this is just the magic of Africa.

Saturdays in Paradise

So this Saturday I have decided was the official day of delicious food and everything else wonderful (besides the game of course, we aren't going to discuss that). One of the highlights of living in Cape Town is a gem of a place called the Old Biscuit Mill. Its open only on Saturdays and by 11am its absolutely packed. Its pretty hard to describe this establishment, like a farmers market but with pretty much everything from fresh produce, juices, smoothies, organic coffee to prepared crepes, pizzas, gyros and the most amazing pastries you have ever seen. All the vendors are set up and you can browse and take samples at most stations. My menu consisted of

1. organic coffee (naturally)

2. the freshest pizza I have ever tasted (picture exceptionally thin crust, just a bit of sauce for flavoring, fresh greens, artichokes, roma tomatoes, parmesan shavings and topped off with some balsamic vinegar)

3. fresh orange mango smoothie

4. flan flavored pastry (it was like you get 2 in 1; pastry crust, flan filling, topped with fresh whip cream and crumbles)

As food coma started to set in, we decided to go to the roof to get some sun. After chillin and eating all day, we decided to finish off the evening with a nice braai (bbq). C and I decided to go veggie style with some meatless, braai flavored sausages and roasted corn on the cob. As a shout out to my sister, I prepared them in chilean/ completos style (which pretty much means adding a gigantic amount of mayo, ketchup and guac to your sausage). All of this was almost a disaster when we forgot to get coals and then once we did procure them, we couldn't get them to light. Thankfully some others on the roof were using the braai as well and took pity on us and said we could use their fire starters/ tools/ hot coals. Thank goodness!

Learning a lil' acceptance

This weekend for me was all about learning how possible it is for acceptance, even though nowadays it seems like such a foreign word. On Saturday I visited the District Six museum just down the street from where I live. For those unfamiliar with the history of Apartheid in S.Africa I would recommend you find yourself a computer and wikipedia it immediately. What I found the most inspirational was the museum guide himself, and his personal history associated with District Six. It was here that Cape Town really embraced all the different cultural backgrounds of the people living in this unique community. Our guide talked about how no matter what your religion, when a holiday came around everyone celebrated. Jews celebrated the Chinese New Year and Muslims celebrated Christmas, everyone celebrated together all the special occasions. How cool would that be, to have like 5 times the number of fun celebrations?!

Also, on Sunday some friends and I decided to go to an ISKCOM temple for a guest speaker, traditional worship, and then a delicious Indian feast. It was so wonderful to be invited into a new community so warmly. The cutest old woman decided to take us under her wing (us, stick out at Hindu temple? lol) and explain some of their practices and she even got us to the food line first (can anyone say AMAZING)! While eating we talked a little about how nice it is for my friends and I to be able to freely choose where and how we decide to worship because our parents had allowed us to think openly about religion and spirituality, something that was very uncommon in their generation. Thank goodness for hippie parents :)

Township Experience: Guguletu

Picture from last Sunday, a day spent eating braai (bbq) with some friends at the township called Guguletu