Ana and Pablo (and Matt) in Cape Town!

I cannot believe how quickly the time goes! It was an amazing time with Ana and Pablo - and Matt. Matt arrived 2 weeks ago (sans luggage) to begin his African Down Shift journey. He flew to Port Elizabeth last week and bought his new KLM which he'll ride up the western coast of Africa on his trip to London before returning back to the States. He's a character to say the least - seen here as we're attempting to figure out my telescope :)

The time included the Cape Town usual: winetasting, rugby, moon hike up Lions Head, fabulous foods, our fair share of dancing, grilling at home... all of which I got to enjoy with them and they also fit in a safari, surfing, Cape Point exploration, shark diving (luckily the day after 3 tourists were killed doing the same), and Robben Island while I worked. Their last night was a surprise party at my apartment they they pulled off using my phone as the address book. I had no clue - Sarah suggests keeping the private investigation work to others. Another night closing down Dizzy's and we still made it to the airport on time for their flight - impressive, indeed.

Home...

On my way back to San Francisco, I was asked a few times whether I was going home or on vacation... interesting to go home to vacation.

The trip back was fantastic. The first week in San Fran seemed like I hadn't been away and was filled with morning walks for coffee with Natalia and Senan, a beautiful motorcycle ride to Stinson with the clan (perhaps even a gang), rock climbing, great food, and of course meeting up with friends. Snowbird was as to be expected - refreshing to be in the mountains and so good to see family... and the purchase of a new board from 'Mr. Black' certainly has me looking forward to next season!

So, I'm back in Cape Town. My trip back was not too bad (overlooking the lost luggage) and I visited the Tate Modern in London. I'm finally recovering from a 2 week cold, but the extra downtime helped me finish The Fountainhead. Reading that books makes me miss classroom discussion - there were so many points where I'd want to stop and just talk to someone about what they thought. Any takers??

It's interesting to be close to the coverage of the Zimbabwe election; it's appalling how a leader can continue so devastatingly for so long and remain in power. There are a lot of Zim expats here who still have family and friends back home. Sad story on many fronts... but the outlook appears encouraging??

Friday was another black-out; I'm not sure why they are called brown outs if they are scheduled. When all electricity is out (including street and traffic lights so you don't even know you are flying through an intersection if you don't know the roads) except for those with generators, I'll be calling it a black out in my book.

About to head to meet someone for my first Xhosa lesson (well, second if you count my overtired attempt on the LHR-CPT flight)... Grant is cooking dinner tonight - and then I get to go pick up Ana and Pablo at the airport - exciting!!

Oh and here's the picture from our full moon hike Lion's Head from February (that's the moon rising!):