whisky, scuba, and rain

It was a weekend of no pictures and no partner in crime. I did manage to stay busy with starting with a whiskey festival Friday evening. I was probably in the minority of those in attendance who made it out of bed Saturday morning at a decent time but I had priorities: scuba diving in Simon's Town.
A friend here works for a company that develops breathing apparatuses (including for scuba) and has all the equipment. I wore my little 4-3 wetsuit and because JP had a thicker wetsuit, he let me layer up and wear his sleeveless hoodie top (another 5 mm) under my wetsuit. It made SUCH a difference (along with the 5mm gloves and booties). The dive was just under 40 minutes and only 11 degrees C at the coldest point and I didn't even feel chilled! The best part was swimming in the kelp; it wasn't very dense but still incredible to see. There weren't as many fish about but we saw more shells, jellyfish, starfish, abalone, and some South African creatures he pointed out but I can't remember the Afrikaner words...

I went hiking near Stellenbosch on Sunday but got caught in the rain - supposedly the locals are disbelief by the wet weather we've been having - sounds painfully familiar about how cold and unseasonable the winter was that we just went through. Anyway, my dad is arriving tomorrow followed by Ted next Monday so I'm sure pictures accompanying stories will soon be plentiful.