My South African Adventures

Midweek Break

2010-02-04T11:29:00.000+02:00

While last weekend was the official full moon hike on Lions Head, I went for my own on Wednesday. Grant and I have been working pretty long hours (and he's an earlier bird than me!) so I planned a break for Wednesday. After work, I did a quick change at the apartment and raced to Lions Head hoping there would be enough people around and it would be light enough to hike. I made it to the parking area by 7pm and there were at least 20 cars. There's really one path up (excluding the chains shortcut) and I felt comfortable with safety in numbers (even though the numbers were strangers). I made it up in 30 minutes and the sun had already ducked behind the clouds at the horizon. I started talking to 2 guys at the top who started down as I stretched and sat to take in the views. On the way down, I caught back up with them at the chains. Since they offered to walk together, I came down slower pace and used the headlamp once it was dark.

All safe and well and a much-needed midweek release.

Complete Disbelief

2010-02-01T22:40:00.031+02:00

I still cannot believe that I'm back. I arrived last Tuesday morning (one day late) and within the first few days, overcame the jetlag and moved into an apartment in the Waterkant district.

Driving on the left still keeps me on my toes and I have walked to the wrong side of the car a couple times. The first time it happened was in London and it was the sharp reminder that I was actually going back to Cape Town. On Day 1, the biggest surprise was not the radio playing the latest hits like New Kids on the Block's The Right Stuff - the radio still leaves much to be desired - but seeing the people at the next table get rand (instead of dollars) out of their wallet. Cape Town is so familiar to me in terms of the city, the accent, and the culture that differences catch me off guard.

My first weekend was full of Cape Town's finest: early Saturday morning hike up Platteklip Gorge on Table Mountain and took the ride down. It was my first ride in the cableway and it was beautiful (and much faster). In the first picture, you can see the new stadium for the World Cup on the right of the picture.

After a fabulous breakfast with Grant, we went to Franschhoek to a few vineyards and a picnic at Rickety Bridge. We took a different route home and found an Afrikaans monument near Paarl and stopped for a look.

That's the end of my pictures; Sunday was store visits, grocery shopping, Australian Open watching and a few afternoon beers, and an evening dinner watching the sunset on Camps Bay.

Last rainbows

2008-06-17T18:15:00.010+02:00

A quick recap on the last two weekends... The first included a wintery Saturday (by Cape Town standards) so I caught up on my reading, drawing, exploring in the car, and finding a local fish market in Strand. The morning was wet and rainy with pockets of bright blue skies - creating a few rainbows over the Atlantic. You can just barely see the second one in this picture just to the right.

That evening Grant cooked me an amazing 3 course meal - including an amazing seared tuna salad, which takes the prize of the best salad I've had in Cape Town! Sunday, we spent the morning and afternoon drinking wine on the rocks of Sea Point, reading Tarot cards, and checking out some real estate in the area. Then I attempted to recreate the fabulous seared tuna salad (not bad, I must say) and made an early evening.

The second weekend included a new adventure - diving up the coast at Brittany Bay. The water was quite murky but I caught my contribution to the evening's braai: fresh crayfish (more like a lobster without the claws)! As we got out of the water, the sky was painted orange and pink. The homes along the water are all white; I walked back to Roy and Linda's along the beach appreciating the colours reflecting off the summer homes. A sunset to remember.

One year later...

2008-06-06T16:37:00.000+02:00

I cannot believe it's been one year - two memorial days spent on planes and before I leave for the last time, it'll be two birthdays.

I will remember last Sunday for the rest of my life. With a sunny forecast and few of those left here, I left early (while the crew in Sea Point was just finishing their work of hand painting all the traffic lines and crosswalks) and headed out to Jonkershoek.

Earlier in the year, I hiked the Panaramic Trail with a dead battery in my camera - devastating mistake as it ranks among the best single day hikes I've ever done. The Swartboskloof Trail now competes for the best trails I've been on, but not my best hike.

Buying my permit, I debated which trail to do - I longed to get back one particular point on the Panoramic with my camera. It's in the saddle of 2 peaks, but has a view of mountains for as far as

you can see in any direction, with no sight of human existence besides the trail that gets you there. Words do it no justice. However, the morning chill was still hanging in the air and realising Swartboskloof Trail was on the opposite side of the valley, the sun - as opposed to the shade for another couple hours - was definitely enticing. Hearing that the views were comparable, I was sold on a new adventure.

The Swartboskloof Trail is a kilometer longer than the Panaramic, 18km with a 2km walk along the road back to your car to finish the loop. I started around 9:30am in pants, a tank top, a synthetic long sleeve top and a fleece. Within 10 minutes (the first 4.5 km is the ascent up the mountain) I was down to the tank top and enjoying the first vitamin D my skin has had in too long - especially for the first of June!

The hike was amazing - every 5 minutes, I wanted to stop and take a picture. Looking over my shoulder, the view continued to improve with elevation gain.

A few hours in, I lost the trail. I wasn't worried because you always had a sense of where you were. There was never a point when I couldn't pick out North using the sun. I also had a rough topo map and the mountains make land markers because I could always see for kilometers. After some searching around, I found the trail and built a little cairn for the next person. (Check out the picture; I started close to - and at the elevation of - the lake in the distance.)

I was soon (it's all relative) at the top and could not make out Table Mountain and Lions Head in the distance (~70 kilometers) . After taking the picture of my shadow, I left my pack (3 liters of water, pb&j, snacks, extra clothes, etc.) for a quick jaunt where I thought I might get a glimpse over the next peak... and there I found False Bay! I could make out the mountains going to both the Cape of Good Hope and Hangclip Point which are the two points on either side of False Bay. (In the picture below, you can see False Bay on the left side of the horizon line and Table Mountain and Lions Head are on the right.) It was quite the location for my little picnic lunch.

This is one of those hikes that gives what one shouldn't 'earn' with just a day hike. I felt like I should have only been experiencing those views after at least 2 full days of hiking and camping. While it's winter in South Africa, even in the summer, Jonkershoek is relatively empty. There's something about hiking alone that prevents the distraction of casual conversation from taking full appreciation - even notice - of the surroundings and the insignificance of day-to-day worries. It took me back to the 30-minute segment of solo hiking on ELC Backpacking II in the Rainbow Wilderness Area. A part of solitude brings that relief - appreciation and balance that comes with recognition of the bigger picture. There's a quote I enjoy that challenges you to try to remember precisely what you were worrying about one year ago from today - usually insignificant or even unmemorable now.

I continued on until I reached a T. I knew which way the trail was headed so I picked right but my path dead-ended into sticky bushes (not harsh enough to be called thorns but definitely avoided as long pants only lessened the discomfort). I returned to the T and tried left only to find the same result. So... I went back on the path to the right, made a marker so I could pick out the spot and return if needed, and bushwhacked through thigh-high weeds and branches to find the trail.

Instead, my foot found a stream. Looking around, I found waterfalls in the mountain above; I found the creeks on the map but wasn't sure if it was only existent due to the recent rains. I decided to follow the stream down a valley because I knew the trail followed a stream down to finish the hike and at one point crossed it. Stepping/hopping rock to rock was actually much easier going than the bushwhacking. Fortunately, I was wearing my Vasque Gortex cross-trainers and my feet stayed dry until the couple times when I was over ankle deep in water - and yes, there was the full slip that left the entire back of one leg wet.

So as I'm carrying on, I'm doing a status check of everything I have with me. I wasn't fearing my life or anything, but it's a mental preparation thing. I've always wondered how people get lost on Table Mountain because the landmarks (uh, the city, the water, etc.) don't move. I still believe it's either getting in a position that you can't get out of (climbing up something you can't climb back down) or weather that comes in and wipes visibility. The same holds true in my head about Jonkershoek.

I had plenty of water, warm clothes, and a phone that had a signal an hour before my trail-losing escapade began. So, worse case, I could hike back up the creek (not so excited about that), back up the valley (even less excited about that) and back the way I came. I also had the mobile number of the 'ranger station' in case something went wrong. I was more concerned with causing Grant any anxiety as I sent him an sms when I started with where I was and that I would check in 4-5 hours later. I was quickly approaching that time. My next problem came, as I approached an end of the creek. This end came in the form of a waterfall. I poked around and looked for a 'safe' way to descend the 30-foot problem. I picked my way down a bit and stopped when if I were to continue, it would get more technical. The rock was actually full of nooks, knobs, and handles; it would have been great for climbing- but not without ropes and a belay. So, I gave in and started back up the creek.

Another ELC recollection was keeping a smile on my face. There was a kayaking rule that I don't even remember completely. Something about making you get your feet wet - the boat had to be floating or you had to be at least calf-deep before loading the Duluth packs or getting in the boat. To achieve the rule (floating 0r calf-deep), you were obviously wet; you'd make sure to only load and get in once it wouldn't cause the boat to hit the bottom. BUT, if there hadn't been the floating/calf-deep business, you'd try to get loaded and in with staying as dry as possible. It resonated with me because once my feet were wet (the big slip, one might say), I'd choose the more stable rocks, albeit submerged, than the

perhaps tippy stone that would keep my feet dry. Those smart ELCers...

I came to the point where I had met the creek and painfully started the bushwhacking back up the valley. Seriously, travel slows to fraction of the pace when you're trailbreaking - kudos to the explorers and seeds to the people who decided the trail wasn't 'too overgrown' to deem upkeep (come on, I paid R25!).

Looking to the next peak, I saw... my saviors. The first group I'd seen on either the Panoramic or the Swartboskloof. I whistled and they stopped (comes in handy for not only hailing cabs and SOS calls). I held their attention for a minute with more whistles and shouts and I started up the valley to make my way to them but they began hiking again and disappeared as I was still significantly below them. Quite a downer; it would have been clear that I wasn't on a trail and I didn't understand how they could have come to the decision to carry on. I wasn't 100% which trail they were on but I was determined to get to the path they were on. As I trudged on, they came back into sight and I whistled again. They stopped; this time I was hoping that I was close enough to yell and be understood. As they stalled I began bee-lining my way to them. It's like trying to run through knee deep water while someone is impatiently waiting for you a mile away. Eventually, I made it to them and the guy in the back of the group introduced himself. It was so bizarre. After I asked him if I could join them, they started again and they all spoke in Afrikaans except Cobus spoke to me in English. They turned out to be grad students in Stellenbosch studying IE and cabernet, quite the combination between them...

So, that was my hike. I've decided to leave that trail alone and if time allows, I'll bring my camera back on the Panoramic. I was a little shaken returning to my car (perhaps more exhausted than shaken) and took a picture looking back at the Jonkershoek Mountains as I drove towards the N1. A beautiful sunset and warm shower welcomed me at my apartment - the day ended with home cooked chili at Grant's.

Welcome Back Indeed

2008-05-29T08:53:00.005+02:00

Well the commute isn't getting any easier, my 'welcome back' to South Africa this week was made stunning with an AMAZING bouquet of flowers. I stumbled into finding out about flowers being sent on my last day here before heading back for Ben's wedding; apparently they were rescheduled. So, to those I dropped a note about the flowers - no, they are not from a romantic interest... instead a thank you for some work that had me pretty consumed the last couple weeks of my last visit.

Also, here are some more pictures from Molly's visit that I got from her camera while I was home. Enjoy!

And a view that just doesn't get old...

2008-05-12T08:39:00.010+02:00

Wow - May 12th. This last trip flew by due to the constant influx of visitors (since day 3 in fact) and a demanding piece of work on which I’ve been focused. The major deliverable is now complete, which is why I’m not trying to get an update to my blog (aiming to please Ms. Evia who I have kept waiting!)

Molly and I return both begin the trip back to the States today, but sadly on different flights. Her trip takes her through Johannesburg, London, and Chicago and I'm blessed with a shorter journey - only London and Dallas... Matt is now staying in Constantia where he has access to a shop and more tools. Never would have believed that I’d beat him out of Cape Town – smile. We met up with him last night for jazz at the Green Dolphin and I asked him the chances of him still being here upon my return... we'll see!

Anyway, Stéphane arrived last May 2nd from Strasbourg and had the opportunity for a quick nap at the airport waiting for his ride… I was able to make up for it by arranging wine tasting and a fabulous meal at Terroir, a consistently ranked restaurant in Stellenbosch. Molly arrived Saturday morning and was welcomed with an on-time pick up! The highlight of the weekend was the Clifton-style braai (outdoor gas grill instead of the traditional open flame) that evening with the team. I’m not sure if the finale was the gifts from Stéphane’s shop (he’s a chocolatier: http://www.declinaison-chocolat.com/) or the after dinner game featuring Heineken… Here's a picture of my team trying to be mean, Julie can't help but have a friendly smile!

More pictures soon (when I get them from Molly and Stéphane); until then, here's one of some wine glasses at Haiku from one of my more creative moments.

Ana and Pablo (and Matt) in Cape Town!

2008-04-23T10:15:00.018+02:00

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...

2008-04-06T14:43:00.008+02:00

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!):

Full Moon on Lions Head

2008-02-26T07:54:00.009+02:00

Last Thursday was the monthly hike up Lions Head for the full moon. Sammy, Matt, and I met up just after work equipped with 2 bottles of wine, cheese, crackers, and water for our sunset picnic. We hiked up along with many other people; there was actually a line formed behind the chains; little did we know that was just the beginning. We summitted around 7pm and claimed some rock on the sunset side of the top overlooking the Atlantic. After the sun dipped below the horizon, we continued chatting until a woman approached us to pass along word that the moon was rising. We moved to the other side (city side) and watched… the moon rise. I took a few pictures that do it no justice and made friends with a guy with a DSLR and tripod – hopefully he’ll be sharing his spoils with me via email… For now, here as overexposed attempt...

The hike down was absurd; imagine hundreds of people (one estimate was that there were 1000 people that went up that night) hiking down, single file, in the dark. Add in some cliffs, big steps, and some slippery roots to keep it interesting. With the moon so bright, you barely needed flashlights (especially with all the people and flashlights ahead and behind). We broke away from the group, with a large following I’ll add, and took the chains down saving probably 30 minutes. Quite an amazing experience. At work the following morning, a few people were talking about seeing all the lights coming down as if a string of Christmas lights had been wrapped around Lions Head.

As for the weekend, Saturday we went wine tasting in Stellenbosch (some things just don’t get old) and I now have a new favorite vineyard (okay, it at least ties with Waterford and the chocolate). Sunday morning I woke up early with a plan to go hiking but after looking at the map, I gave in to the little voices telling me to skip a day of the solo hikes.
Instead, I brought The Fountainhead to the Rhodes Memorial and read with a beautiful view of Cape Town and the wineland mountains. The rest of my day was split between groceries, a quick visit to the Groote Schuur Hospital (world's first heart transplant occurred here in1967), the climbing gym, and grilling ostrich for dinner with Grant. Another good weekend, but I’m definitely looking forward to my trip home and not feeling the safety issue as much.

But there’s always an upside. Just as I was packing up to leave work this evening, Garth called me to tell me he brought in an old surf board that I could use for the rest of my time in South Africa. It’s a little shorter (and with a sharp point) than anything I’ve ever ridden; if I can get my feet on that, it’ll be a success story!

Yanks = 5; South Africans = 3

2008-02-18T14:36:00.001+02:00

The sunshine finally returned to Cape Town last Friday to kick off my weekend. Saturday morning, I woke up before sunrise for fishing on False Bay with JP. Being the only American, I had to represent; JP caught 2 and his friend from Pretoria caught 1 so the final score was: Yanks = 5; South Africans = 3! JP and I split the fish and I went home with the task of filleting and cooking them up. It's been years since I've filleted a fish and a sharp knife has been added to my shopping list. ELC's lessons are coming back more and more frequently...

After cooking and a quick tasting, I met up with a few med students on a rotation from the States and went out on Long Street, the vibey part of town, for a few drinks. Sunday morning was a lazy morning and I slept in the latest I have since returning to South Africa. (I can see Ana smiling!) The rest of the day included a bit of work, starting The Fountainhead on the beach, and a visit to the indoor climbing gym. I think I was asleep Sunday night by 9pm... 0verall a great weekend!

Dinner with Grant's Family at Jardine

2008-02-13T14:50:00.001+02:00

The chef, George Jardine, was recently named Chef of the Year in South Africa.

beet and horseradish tartlet

west coast oysters presented on salt stacks (Mike was generous enough to let me try one)

springbock loin (I can't believe I ordered it, but it was amazing!)

My First Lead!! (and an incredible weekend)

2008-02-04T15:26:00.000+02:00

Where do I even begin!?! Last Thursday started a little tough - nearly 15 hours in the office - but the ending couldn't have been better. At home, I walked in to the apartment where a glass of wine, cheese and grapes were waiting and were accompanied by a foot soak/massage and shoulder rub from Theresa. Then, they surprised me with grilling fresh vegetables on the grill and ostrich steaks. It was the perfect ending to a productive day. Friday was a big day at work but I managed to get out a little early and we kicked off the weekend with some rock climbing.

We drove to Silvermine (near Muizenberg) for some rock climbing - and my first lead!!!!! I've only climbed on a top-rope set up before where you only fall as far as small amount of slack in the rope and as much as the rope stretches (with a good belayer, of course). Lead climbing is where you are tied to one end of the rope and your belayer (below you) has the other end. When sport climbing, there are bolts in the wall that you clip your rope into as you climb. So, the distance of your fall can be much greater - however far above your last bolt (known as your run-out) is how far you can fall below that bolt. If you are 10 feet above your last bolt, you have a 20 foot fall coming if you come off the rock.

After a short hike in (and taking the first picture on this post), we repelled down a 5.8 climb and warmed up on that route. Then, we moved to a 5.7 and it was my first lead (with no falls, thank you). Then, in preparation for Saturday, we did a harder climb to test out my ability for more challenging climbs at Paarl. We went up a 5.10b and there was only one sticky place for me. I came off and was happy to not be leading :) We had to be out of the park by 7pm so we finished with a climb up the 5.8 (I led) and hiked back out. It was an amazing day.

On the way back to town, we stopped for dinner and halfway through, load shedding affected me for the first time. South Africa has been witness load shedding for the past few weeks but Cape Town had not been heavily impacted since I arrived. It appeared the entire city had its lights shut off (including suburbs - we were 30 minutes away and had no power). The wait staff had to go back through and ask what we ordered to handwrite the bill; the could not accept credit card; candles were lit down hallways and stairways to make it out of the building. Driving back the city was mostly black (allowing for incredible star gazing) with few stoplights working. At my building, the 'caretaker' was up with the garage door open (big relief) and we found some candles in my apartment so that we could repack and get situated. Check out this link for more info on the load shedding: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7208628.stm.

We woke up Saturday morning at 5:30am so we could get climbing at Paarl when the park opened and beat the heat of the day. Luckily we had electricity and brought our morning coffee in the car for the drive to Paarl. We were waiting when they opened the gates and went straight to Sands of Time, a 4-pitch climb that took the 3 of us 2 hours total. (The second and third pictures were taken from the top after writing in the summit book.) The hike down turned into a repel and as the sun was heating up, we found some shade for a break. While resting, I was eyeing up the Little Dutch Boy (the climb I'm on in these two pictures!). It's a 3-pitch endeavor that starts with a 5.10a climb. It's probably nearing the toughest climb I'd want to lead but I had the last two day's adrenaline going and I didn't think I could leave without giving it a shot. And, I made it! I only had a foot slip from a smear once and my hands had solid enough holds to keep me until could find a better hold for my foot. I cannot tell you how good I felt when I reached those anchors at the top of the first pitch. I also set the anchor independently for the first time and top belayed Peter up so he could take out my quick draws from the bolts and then we repelled down. It was another unbeatable day. I can't get over these pictures - another thanks to Peter and Theresa for taking me to this next level!

On Sunday, we had a 4:30am wake up call to go fishing but due to weather, we slept until 7. It was the first morning that I actually felt well-rested in a while. We met JP in Cape Town and drove out to Gordon's Bay (on False Bay) with a stop to fix the timing of his pick up along the way. He seriously took a wrench and adjusted so it would run cooler - I wish I could do that! The fishing was fun - caught 5 elf but only 2 were over the 30cm minimum for keeping. Theresa had a big one, but we never got it in the boat - next time!!

Cape Town's Welcome Back

2008-01-31T12:06:00.001+02:00

I've passed the one week mark... and it's been amazing. Peter and Theresa arrived last Friday night (a couple hours after my luggage, thank you) and they have been keeping me busy. Not sure how they'd feel with the jet lag Saturday, I made no plans. To hint at how the week has been since they arrived, we started up Platteklip Gorge (you can see the path up the gorge we went up on this first picture) on Table Mountain Saturday morning at 9am. Six hours later, we were back at the car after summiting, walking to the far edge of the mountain (MaClear’s Beacon, the highest point on the mountain at 3,563 feet), and ready for a break from the 95 degree heat. After grocery shopping, a quick ocean dip and showers, we invited the rest of the team (Mike, Tom, and Lynne) over and grilled ostrich steaks on the grill on my patio; it was quite the perfect day.

Sunday was another Table Mountain summit and we went up Devil’s Peak. It was a shorter hike and different from Platteklip because we actually had a nice breeze and didn’t feel as we were hiking up the racks of an oven… Then we cleaned up and headed out to Stellenbosch and visited 2 vineyards for winetasting. After two fantastic days, you could say that I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of the approaching work week.

The fun activities continued through the week complementing my work . With Peter and Theresa as extra motivation, we’ve fit in some beach runs, a morning hike up Lion’s Head, and another Table Mountain attempt (we ended up halfway up the mountain, missed the ravine and instead had a scenic traverse walk on the ocean side of the mountain). The week has flown by and I’m excited for the weekend. The agenda will hopefully include plenty of rock climbing as well as some fishing on False Bay. Peter and Theresa’s vacation here is spoiling me – but it’s definitely a positive!

Back to Cape Town - luggage would be nice...

2008-01-24T09:00:00.000+02:00

I have just arrived back in Cape Town for the last phase of work here. After 2 months at home and only having 2 trips by plane, the 41 hour door-to-door commute took a little gearing up for - and knowing that my old apartment on the beach was still going to be the door on the Cape Town end certainly helped!

I had 11 hours to spare in London so I left Heathrow and took the tube to watch the sunrise while standing over the Thames River on the Tower Bridge. Still quite early, I walked up river to cross the London Bridge and returned back down and over the Tower Bridge again. By that point, the Tower of London (previous fortress, royal palace, and prison - all in one!) was open and ready for me. Being a weekday and early, there was no line to see the Crown Jewels and I gawked at the largest diamond in the world (530 carats) until I'd had my fill - wow. Then I moved on to the second largest diamond in the world...

After the Tower of London, I explored a bit by foot before the wall hit me and I realized how tired I was. I made it back to a tube stop and battled to stay awake on the ride. I lost the battle but luckily Heathrow was the last stop. After a quick shower and snack in the British Airways lounge, I made my way to the guantlet (also known as the jet bridge) for my 12 hour flight.

All and all the trip wasn't so bad - including 3 good movies (Into the Wild is the winner) and a big chunk in my book - until the baggage claim conveyor stopped without my luggage on it. Unfortunately, British Airways had no record of my luggage but I felt pretty confident that it made it through JFK and to London. The took all the details (brand, color - both black, and type) and told me that they'd call me with an update. By that point, my ride had left (knowing that all other passengers from the flight had long since left) and it appeared it couldn't get worse... I should know better. While out shopping for clothes (yoga pants not being appropriate for work), they delivered one bag. Sadly, the blue bag they delivered wasn't mine. I tried to laugh at the fact that they could have just checked that my name was not Victoria like the tag on the blue bag stated... but yes, my address is Victoria Road. Easy mistake or cruel joke?

I've since traded bags and have one... wonder what adventures tomorrow will bring!

Catch up on Zambia and Botswana

2008-01-23T17:43:00.000+02:00

My last week in Africa in 2007 was spent in Zambia and Botswana with my dad and my friend, Ted. After wrapping up work on November 16th, we left Cape Town and flew to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.

The Zambian part of our adventure came from a connection from my dad. My dad has trucked farm equipment from Minnesota to the port on its way to a farmer in Zambia. The farmer's cousin, Gladstone, has worked with my dad and happened to be in Zambia at the same time to attend a family wedding. Gladstone had invited us to both the wedding and then to spend 4 days at Costain's (his cousin, the farmer who is pictured above with his wife, Ted, and me - Costain is also a likely candidate to become the next Zambian president!) 25,000 acre farm. (This picture is of workers separating the soybeans from the husks and then churning them in the barrel to coat the seeds with fertilizer - yep, both Ted and I took our turns).

The wedding was similar to weddings I've been to in the States (white bridal dress, cutting the cake, toasts, etc) but the most interesting part was all the choreographed dancing of the bridesmaids and groomsmen - dancing I wouldn't be comfortable performing in front of family!

The following day, we drove about 2.5 hours to the farm. Gladstone took us around showing us the different irrigation pumps they have and the different fields (including the bananas)and we saw some of the farm equipment my dad has hauled out in the fields - small world!

This picture is of the burning in Costain's fields in preparation for the next crop - led to an interesting discussion about freedoms: Freedom to do as you wish on/to your land without requiring a permit versus the freedom to speak out against one's goverment.

Oh, and the first picture on this post is of a group of female employees walking back to their homes - each with a large bundle on their head AND a baby tied around them in a wrap.

We left the farm with Desi (pictured in the RWS hat), another cousin of Gladstone, who was going to drive us to Livingstone to see Victoria Falls, supposedly 5 or so hours away. Things were going smoothly until the fan went out on the car and we pushed it to 'Dallas Ranch' and hitched a ride (luggage and all) 30 minutes down the road where Desi had a friend and we could get another vehicle. Hitchhiking in Zambia - check.

Victoria Falls was amazing; the water was flowing substantially less than normal (so we were told) but it was nice because we were only misted while taking pictures instead of being drenched by the spray.

We stayed just outside Livingston along the river in a little hut with mosquito nets. Almost as scary as the hitchhiking incident was seeing the snake crawl up the outside of our screen - they are not my favorite creature.

But the Falls made up for the snake scare! We also hiked down to the 'Boiling Point' and watched people bungee jump from the bridge connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe. Such a beautiful place.

From there, we went to Botswana for a safari and stayed in a beautiful lodge on the Chobe River (bordering Namibia) and saw plenty of animals including the season's newborns: a baby crocodile, baby warthog, kid elephant, and an impala being born. There's something about watching the animals on safari that captivates you; no matter how many lions you see, you can't stop staring...

After Botswana, we made our way back to Livingstone and flew to Johannesburg and then back to the States (all on different flights...) and I made it back just in time to have a glass of champagne with Jack to celebrate his birthday...

Imizamo Yethu

2007-11-14T12:58:00.000+02:00

Sunday we drove south along the coast to Hout Bay and I had my first planned visit to a township (I confused the M44 for the R44 a few weeks ago and drove into a place that wasn't the safest). Imizamo Yethu (a.k.a. Mandela Park) was established for a few hundred people and is not home to thousands.

I struggled with whether or not to do a this while I was here because at in effect, you are going on a tour to see people in poverty.

It was eye-opening and sad. Africa (our guide) met us just outside the township and told us the history. He took us to his home, a local food store, a shebeen (bar), and my favorite part was a visit into a church. There were about 20 people inside the tin shack singing, dancing, and playing improvised instruments. Pictures do more justice than my words...

A little note about this picture: the van driving by is the transport- ation residents (through- out the Cape) use to get around. It's about $1 for a ride into Cape Town and the operators fill the vans as full as possible to earn more money. It's a very sad story - there are frequent news reports about accidents involving these buses and people dying due to lack of seat belts and the vans having too many passengers. Up on the hill, the sign posted says: Occupation of this embankment poses a threat to life and property.

fire drills, fishing, and .... a shark!

2007-11-10T21:16:00.000+02:00

It was another picture-less week; my camera grew some legs last week and I'm hoping it walks its way back but it's doubtful. My dad's arrival was well-timed as he'll take more pictures than I'll know what to do with.

The fire drill we experienced at work demands a recap. Our team heard a rumor that a fire drill was scheduled but figured we'd ignore it and continue working. A few minutes into the light flashing and annoying beeping, a woman began giving instructions on the PA system to evacuate the building. We packed up (with plans to head to Bread, Milk, & Honey, a nearby coffee shop) and headed for the stairs that cascade through the open atrium in the center of the building. (As a side note, a part of the fire emergency protocol includes certain people putting on neon yellow vests and hardhats so they are easily identified and can help usher people out of the building.) Halfway down the first flights of stairs, we were caught by a yellow vest and were told that we are not following the proper procedure and needed to return the way we came and use the marked emergency exit. We climbed back up to the 6th floor and wander our way through the building looking for an emergency exit. Long story short, the yellow vests had difficulty finding this 'well-marked' exit for us to use...

Anyway, my dad arrived on Wednesday and we spent today (Saturday) fishing on False Bay with JP. After a dead battery and fried jumper cables (one car's battery had the ground connection in red and the live in black), the fishing didn't go as well as planned. But, while we were waiting for the nibbles on the calamari and sardine bait, I noticed a big black shadow and asked JP what it was. It was a great white! He came up to the surface about 20 meters away from our boat and was 4-5 meters long- huge! We watched him for about a minute and then he slowly faded away again. Ironically, there was actually an attack last week nearby and a surfer lost his feet. Luckily for my toes, we leave Cape Town next Saturday and I won't have time for another surf session before then...

whisky, scuba, and rain

2007-11-06T22:35:00.000+02:00

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.

Andrea and Stacy's Visit

2007-10-31T23:39:00.000+02:00

I cannot believe how quickly the last 10 days have past! Andrea and Stacy left today back to the States.

Their visit included wine tasting (imagine that), hiking both Lion's Head and Table Mountain, a quick

(we're talking real quick) trip down a flight of stairs, drum lessons, the parade welcoming the Springboks and the Webb Ellis Cup to Cape Town, as well as plenty of Cape Town attractions they visited while I worked...

The winning of the World Cup initiated conversations regarding South African unity and the post-apartheid culture and progress since '94. The Springboks actually won the Rugby World Cup in '95 as well, when the finals were played in South Africa (closely following the end of many international sanctions).
(the parade was in front of city hall, where Nelson Mandela first spoke following his release in '90.)

Specifically, the media brought to light the irony that the '07 team is just as 'white' as the '95 team. In April, the head of the sports committee in the South African parliament even threatened to withhold the passports of the Springbok team because the squad did not reflect transformation sufficiently. He obviously gave in and was seen in Paris in a Springbok Jersey.

One morning, the public radio had people calling in to share their opinion on requirements to have a team that's racially representative of South Africa and whether a multiracial and a winning team were exclusive. The Afrikaans people (of Dutch descent), in general, are built big and thick and usually take the positions in the scrum. There are less positions on the team for smaller, faster players (if any, these are the positions here played by non-whites).

Another challenge the Springboks (and the country) face is that while schools were (and still are in many areas) so recently segregated, few non-Afrikaans play rugby growing up causing a limit to both talent and interest at the college. It's all fascinating to me here; the good news is that the competitive teams that feed the Springbok roster have improved beyond the all-white teams of the past.

Catch up...

2007-10-25T13:48:00.000+02:00

So, I fell off the blogging wagon but I'm going to try to jump back on... To get caught up, here's the last 2 months in a nutshell. I was home in San Francisco for two weeks before returning to Cape Town for our next phase of work. I was in Cape Town for 3 weeks and spent the weekends wine tasting (first picture taken in Franschhoek), hiking (second picture taken of False Bay), and finally visiting Robben Island.

Robben Island was staggering – think Alcatraz for political prisoners. The ‘guides’ are ex- political prisoners or ex-warders (guards) themselves and share their personal stories. I’m reading Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom and it is fascinating living in and visiting places he’s written about. It amazes to me to hear about and to read the ways of apartheid knowing it all occurred in my lifetime. The second picture reveals how even in prison the food rations were based on race. The tour was a very moving experience and better shared in person – pictures will have to suffice for now. I took this last picture looking down at Robben Island on my last flight back into Cape Town.

Then I went home again for 2 weeks (perfect timing for Fleet Week but a little heavy on the overnight flights in a short period of time).

One flight was made a little more interesting than the rest - if only passengers could still visit the cockpit enroute! I returned to Cape Town last week and should be avoiding flights for at least a few more weeks...

The weather has finally turned and it’s beautiful here. Light in the mornings before work and in the evenings after work – it’s fabulous. Last weekend, we went to Muizenberg for the annual kite festival and for a walk on the beach.

Muizenberg is where I go surfing but it was only on this trip when I learned more about the shark spotting program. This picture is taken from where the 'spotter' sits on the mountain with binoculars and is apparently able to see the sharks. The next is of the hut on the beach with the key to the different shark flags. What bothered me the most is that there is a flag that is put up after it’s been at least 2 hours since the last sighting; I think I’d almost prefer that the ‘shark spotted’ flag wave a little longer??

We then drove back into Cape Town to watch the rugby match with some folks and we had strong represent- ation of both South Africans and Brits (of course, I was wearing green). Cape Town came alive; I can only imagine when they won the '95 tournament in South Africa!

Anyway, another week down. It's great having Andrea and Stacy here. Bring on more excuses for going out and exploring the city.

Last weekend... for a while

2007-08-20T03:24:00.000+02:00

I can't believe these 3 months have gone so quickly; I leave Cape Town this Friday for SF for 2 weeks at home.

A quick run down of my last weekend starts with tennis at sunset below the 12 Apostles (the back of Table Mountain) Friday evening. Saturday, I surfed with Garth, a local who showed me around - I'm definitely bringing my wetsuit back with me - and a drive up the west coast past Blouberg to watch the sunset and take some pictures of Table Mountain.

Sunday morning, I hiked Lion's Head at sunrise, which summits above the clouds - beautiful - followed by an afternoon of surfing. I got home just in time to watch the sunset at Clifton.

The only downside of the weekend was Monday morning's news; there were 15 muggings on Table Mountain over the weekend and 7 on Lions Head. That will be the end of my solo hiking...

Safari - Day 3 and 4

2007-08-06T22:53:00.000+02:00

Day 3 (this reminds me of ELC writings!) kicked off with another early wake up call from our friendly ranger, Dale. Some of us felt better than the others; clearly the elephants have a little more body weight to help absorb some of the Amarula… We had another great drive with plenty of game and the highlight being watching a bull elephant push over a tree – it’s an amazing feat! The capability of an animal so big is fascinating – check out how he locks in his back legs for power! Little educational side note: elephants use their tusks to get to the food under the bark of trees or they just push the tree over and eat the roots. They can actually be destructive to the ecosystems and kill too many trees – interesting how before humans had the ability to control where the elephants roamed, nature seemed to more or less take care of itself – now there are efforts to ‘protect areas’ from the elephants. We also saw the same pride of 7 lions (including our blue-eyed friend) again, and they were lying less than 100 yards from where we had taken our morning walk on the previous day. Realizing how close we may have been is more than a little unnerving…

After the morning drive, we went for a morning hike in search of zebras as we hadn’t seen any yet – but all we found were fresh tracks, giraffe bones, elephant watering holes, and hair from a hyena that had been carried up a tree by a cheetah. We packed our things and after writing our notes in their gigantic guest book (largest book I have seen in my life), we left Lukimbi for Idube, the sister lodge. We had been told it would take us 2-3 hours to drive through Kruger and then another 20 minutes outside the park to Idube, which is within Sabi Sands. We had hoped to spend all 3 nights at Lukimbi but due to availability, we (Herman) booked us at Idube. In retrospect and such as life, it all worked out. The drive through Kruger is not to be missed. It is fun to take on the responsibility of finding the animals on your own. Along the drive, we saw impala (of course), elephants, giraffes, rhinos, wildebeests, warthogs, monkeys, and …zebras! After 5 hours, we found ourselves in the same boat as we had been in two days ago and rushing along dicey roads in order to make it in time for the evening game drive (ah, the beauty of rental cars). We called ahead and they said that we’d be sorted when we got there. Quite the relief because at one point, we came around a corner and a HUGE rhino was in the road and we had to wait until it got far enough from the road to prevent provoking it into turning our car into a top for afternoon entertainment.

Idube’s location within Sabi Sand makes it an entirely different than Lukimbi, which is on a concession within Kruger National Park. The different game parks in Sabi Sand have an alliance and share information regarding the movement of the animals and various sightings. On that evening’s drive, the highlights were a herd of water buffalo, sleepy lions (they had a successful hippo kill the previous day and were roly poly with bellies full of hippo), and finally a cheetah. By the time we found the cheetah, it was past dusk and he was walking along a dry creek bed. It was as if he didn’t know we were there – even with our spotlight on him. There were 2 of our Land Rovers there and we were actually driving alongside of him. His gait was beautiful and majestic. At one point, he said down and we stopped alongside him; there were literally only a few feet between him and our vehicle. He definitely could have walked into the woods on either side of the creek bed (which he eventually did) to escape our staring eyes, but I felt as if we were intruding. Lukimbi in Kruger Park is more my style; it’s hard to put in words and I’m glad I experienced both styles of safaris.

Following the drive, it was time for dinner. Dinner at Idube is outdoors and there are tables set up circling a campfire. Every chair had a blanket and I wrapped myself up and enjoyed a fabulous dinner of kingclip. Exhausted from the long day and in anticipation of the early wake-up call, we returned to our beautiful rooms for our last night in the bush.

Monday morning’s game drive was our final drive and featured a herd of 20+ elephants and a giraffe kill. The entire trip, I had been fascinated with the idea of seeing a kill. Now, I’m struggling with sharing it. Upon returning to Cape Town, it wasn’t something that I included in my recap with friends. While we were watching the elephants (and at one time getting too close a bull elephant trumpeted and stomped towards us a few meters until our ranger revved the engine and then backed away – again, I felt as though we were antagonizing), our ranger received word that a baby giraffe had been attacked by hyenas. We drove for 20 minutes (seeing Virgin Atlantic’s Richard Branson’s impressive lodge en route) and came upon the noticeably distressed mom giraffe in the road. The baby had been attacked and was lying in the grass 15 yards away. 4 heynas were circling but wouldn’t go near the baby with her still in the vicinity as a giraffe kick could bring their laughs to a quick end. The entire trip, I had wanted to see a giraffe drinking water as they look quite goofy reaching for the ground. Unfortunately, I saw this stance as the mom would stretch down to muzzle her injured baby. The baby would go into shakes and the mom would stomp her foot – not on the baby but sometimes she’d get its leg. I don’t know if this was a recognition that the baby was suffering? Then she would walk away and look to the baby; in my head, it looked like she was ready to leave but wanted her little one to get up and leave with her. As she increased the distance between her and her baby (up to 20 yards, the hyenas would get closer to the baby. Then she would circle back and the hyenas would recede. You have no idea how much I wanted the mom to give a good kick to the hyenas when they would laugh. Finally, the mom distanced herself enough for the hyenas to begin their feast – remembering the sounds makes my stomach turn.

I left Idube with a broadened perception of ‘circle of life’. Both in seeing the hyenas and giraffe and seeing impalas and other animals in proximity to lions and wild dogs. In my head (without ever really thinking it through I guess), I imagined that the impalas that survived had never crossed the path of an animal higher on the food chain. I learned that they aren’t quite the sitting ducks as I had previously believed.

We packed up at Idube and made our way back to the Nelspruit airport for our flight to Cape Town via Johannesburg. Candice and Susanne left us in Johannesburg for their excursion to a diamond mine while Patricia and I headed back to Cape Town. It was definitely a weekend of a lifetime.

Safari - Day 2

2007-08-04T14:12:00.000+02:00

The second day at Lukimbi started with our 5:45am wake up call from Dale. We bundled up and walked from our hut (if you can call them that – see the picture of the bedroom and bathroom – we also had our very own patio and a private outdoor shower…) to the main lodge where coffee was waiting. We loaded into the Land Rover and set off. Words do not do the animals justice so I’ll keep it brief – or at least try!

Our first sighting was the rare black rhino; they differ from their cousin (the white rhino) in the shape of their mouth – it has nothing to do with their coloring, just a confused translation (we’re told the word wide was mistranslated to white).

Next was a family of 5 giraffes when Dale heard from another ranger (from Lukimbi on the radio) that a pack of wild dogs (aka spotted wolves) had been found – another very rare animal in Kruger. Our friends here are surprised when they see our pictures because many people who have taken multiple safari trips have never seen wild dogs. The morning drive also included white rhino, numerous impala, kudu, elephants, and a puff header - an extremely venomous snake. Unfortunately for him, he became intimate with the tires before Dale could stop.

After the drive, we ate breakfast (think 5 star hotel quality) and then went on a walk in the bush. Walks are meant to allow for guests to learn more about the vegetation, smaller game, and of course about the different footprints and droppings. We got lucky and walked up on 2 white rhinos. White rhinos are nearly blind and depend on their sense of smell and hearing. It was quite windy and we were pretty close before they heard us and trotted off. Next we saw a couple giraffes in the distance – and then 3 bull elephants. They started making our way towards us so we turned around and headed the other direction to keep a safe distance. We ended up finding again and were sandwiched the white rhinos between the two while trying to keep safety cushions. Eventually the rhinos heard us and trotted away again. Dale and his sidekick, Roger (? funny I don’t remember his name as well) showed us the way to spit some dropping – supposedly it’s big competition in the bush but we resisted the urge to participate.

Back at Lukimbi, our afternoon was rounded out with lunch and massages. Before we knew it was time for our evening game drive. The Italian family of 3 had left that day and we now had Dale and our spotter, Doc, to ourselves. It made for interesting conversation along the way. That drive helped add two new animals to our list: a crocodile and a cheetah. Counting the glimpse of a water buffalo as we were racing to the wild dogs that morning, we had seen ‘the big five’.

That evening, we had a candlelit dinner outdoors with plenty of game to choose from: crocodile, kudu, and ostrich to name a few. Dale joined us for dinner and then entertained us with his bartending skills, introducing us to the ‘nutty elephant’ which is made with Amarula. Amarula is a liquor made from a tree known to locals as the elephant tree because the elephants like its berries so much – smart elephants. Then Dale escorted us on our walk home - here's a picture of the walk back to the huts during the daylight. And finally, a picture of dusk - with some impala scattered near the tree.

Safari! Aug 3-6

2007-08-03T00:50:00.000+02:00

August was kicked off with a trip of a lifetime – the standard keeps going up and I don’t know how I’m going to beat that one. Even the events leading up to our departure were eventful. Due to a school holiday in South Africa, when it finally came time to book for the weekend, all Patricia and I could find were full lodges or those that were over $500 per person per night. Lucky for us, one of our South African teammates grew up close to Kruger National Park, which is the largest game reserve in the country, roughly the size of Massachusetts. To make a dreadfully long story short, being South African, Herman finagled reservations for us at 2 amazing sister lodges at the local price, which is significantly lower than the tourist price! Unfortunately for Herman, he had to make the payment and it took 3 weeks and numerous phone calls to both a Chicago bank and a South African bank to get the money transferred. He actually didn’t receive a confirmation of the wire until after we were already enjoying the safari!

Anyway, we (Patricia, Susanne, Candice, and I) left on Friday morning and flew to Nelspruit via Johannesburg; immediately were pleased with the warmer weather as the cold and wet weather of winter had returned to Cape Town. After a quick snack at the airport, we picked up our rental car and set out for Lukimbi, the lodge within Kruger which we would call home for the first two nights. Within 10 minutes of entering the park, we spied our first treat – a giraffe noshing away at some trees alongside the road. It’s captivating seeing these wild animals so close. While we probably could have stayed and watched for hours, we needed to arrive at Lukimbi by 4pm for our afternoon game drive – and the speed limit within the park is 40 km/hr on the gravel roads. We continued on and soon realized we were pushing our 4pm deadline. Resisting the urge to stop for all the sightings (impala are everywhere!), we hurried to Lukimbi and although we were about 10 minutes late, we were shuttled in the open Land Rover to meet our guide for the week, Dale. The pictures along this story are from our first game drive – what a welcome!! More soon but it’s past my bedtime and I’m going to try to be at the top of Lions Head for sunrise!

an old friend

2007-08-01T00:00:00.000+02:00

This is my friend from shark diving a few weeks ago; Amy went and visited him today and he told her he missed me...

Seriously, this is a picture of a print from our underwater 35mm. The quality is diminished and it's still this crazy!!

Anyone who comes to visit: I want to go visit the sharks again!!

Back!

2007-07-31T14:00:00.000+02:00

Back in South Africa – the first week back has flown by. I had an eventful flight back (both good and bad) including a wonderful 9-hour layover in London. I took the tube (minding the gap, of course) to meet Mike, a Londoner who I met on my birthday in Stellenbosch who offered to show me around for the day. We started with coffee at a café where we could sit in the square where all the major film premiers take place and people-watch. From there, we went and found the double decker bus tour; touristy but fun :) Afterwards, we went and found lunch at another cafe before I got back on the tube for the airport. I went to the British Airways lounge for a quick shower and was informed that I was the lucky recipient of an 'involuntary upgrade'. Seriously, I'm getting way spoiled...

Anyway, Amy and Katie (from DC) beat me back here and it’s been great having guests again. They are shark diving today while I work… pictures and stories soon from this past weekend!

Cape Point!

2007-07-29T22:38:00.000+02:00

The plan last Sunday was to take another swim with the sharks but the weather wasn't cooperating and all shark diving trips had been cancelled all weekend due to the large swells. The alternative was a trip to Cape Point (and another visit to the penguins to see some more waddling of those cute little buggers). It was another humbling day; Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope was the consolation; the drive was just a beautiful as the destinations.

We started at Cape Point which is known as the point where the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean meet. Regardless of the many warning signs, the baboons patrolling the point were able to confiscate their fair share of snacks from unprepared tourists. They are very bold and we witnessed them grabbing food right from people's hands when they weren't paying attention. We'd heard countless stories about the baboons getting in cars and being a nuisance and we kept our distance.

After a scenic lunch overlooking the Indian Ocean, we went to the Cape of Good Hope - a short drive from Cape Point. Again, the beauty of this place is grounding - I could have sat and watched the waves crashing all day. There was a great rock to stand for pictures and as I was taking a photo of the Chicago crew, I was standing too close to the edge and was put in my place (a wet place) by a wave... sounds like the chocolate milk colored waters of Lake Superior!

Next we went to Boulder's Beach to see the penguins before returning to Cape Town.

There were baby penguins everywhere. Their coloring is lighter in color and more downy than the adults. The gulls were the scavengers and we saThere werew a couple make it away with penguin eggs; the picture of the gull shows one in his mouth... Gulls moved down in my book after witnessing it.

After hot showers (the wind and water had a chill to the bone effect), we went for dinner in the city.
Monday was supposed to be shark diving for the visitors (while Patricia and I worked) but it was again cancelled due to weather. Luckily, Amy and Katie were able to change their flights to depart a day later (Wednesday morning) and the weather allowed for the shark diving on Tuesday, although they may disagree as to whether or not the swells were really calm enough...

another trip to stellenbosch

2007-07-28T21:16:00.000+02:00

So, I just got home from a fabulous safari in with hundreds of pictures. But first, a little catch up from the visit of Amy and Katie. The week was busy work-wise so the evenings were somewhat low key besides Africa Cafe (Dizzy's for happy hour pizza and beer, La Mez, Bucini's, etc).

Saturday was a different story. Patricia had 3 friends in town so we hired a driver and combi to take the 7 of us wine tasting in Stellenbosch. We visited 3 different wineries with the best being the Waterford Estate (the picture on the left with lavender greeting guests) where they pair their wines with ... chocolate! Seriously, what could be better for 7 ladies???

The day was rounded out with lunch in Franschhoek at le Quartier Français, which has been ranked among the world’s top 50 restaurants the last 3 years. I had wood roasted red pepper soup to start followed by a butterfish fillet with spiced tomato, leak, and asparagus stir fry - so good! Since, I looked up the list of the top 50 and there’s one more just outside of Cape Town. The restaurant just happens to be at a vineyard which has my favorite South African sauvignon blanc – I may have to try to squeeze that in!

cafe africa

2007-07-25T00:17:00.000+02:00

So I'm about a week behind... but with good reason: it's too nice having guests to spend extra time behind the computer. Sadly, Amy and Katie leave this morning so I'll try to get caught up in the next day or two. For now, this is a peek at one night at a recommended restaurant for visitors. Cafe Africa is a Cape Town restaurant that is a tourist attraction, but for good reason. There is no need to order dinner because the dinner menu is set. After the hand washing ritual at the table (using warm rose infused water which smelled incredible), they bring out all the different native foods, representing different South African tribes and other African countries. The samplers were reasonable size and then they will bring more of whichever options are your favorite. There were at least a dozen different foods to try and I didn't even make it past the samples before I was full (well just full enough to still have room for the dessert, of course). The food served is also painted on vases on the table to help confused diners to help remind diners what they are eating. It was fabulous and my favorite was a chicken curry - and the pecan dessert. Dinner is followed by fun dancing as the staff (including a chef) makes their way room to room with drums and singing to accompany the dancing - such a great experience!

Sharks and Homebound...

2007-07-13T05:35:00.000+02:00

I’ve got 2 hours left of my flight until Chicago and I’m going slightly stir crazy – so I figured I’d share the highlight of last weekend: great white sharks! We booked on Friday and we picked Sunday as the weather was supposed to be not so hot (yes the forecast said, “not so hot”) all weekend, which meant high chances of cancellation. We lucked out and the only rain we saw was Friday evening (I actually got some tennis in before the bbq at Patricia’s).

We woke early on Sunday morning for the 2 hour drive to Gansbaai. We check in and over breakfast, we learn more about the great white shark. Part of our lesson includes a discussion about Shark Alley and the process of attracting sharks to the boat. The ‘leave no trace’ camper was a little wary of the process due to the negative rumors around chumming and changes in the sharks’ behavior, especially after recently finishing Devil’s Teeth, a book about the great whites in the red triangle near San Francisco. Shark Alley is actually the narrow strip of water between two islands XX miles off the South African coast. The sharks visit this area due to the 50,000-70,000 seals on one of the islands. Our boat, Lady T, puts an oily mixture of fish (don’t ask) that creates a type of slick on the surface of the water that draws the sharks close to the boat. There is also the bait, a large fish (with a yellow buoy) on a long length of rope to get the shark right next to the boat. The bait is not intended to feed the shark and we used the same bait the entire day. Lastly, we get instructions about what to do while in the cage. The cage floats on the top of the water and in the 6mm wetsuits, you’re quite buoyant so there are bars to hook your toes on (while keeping them inside the cage) to stay underwater as the sharks pass. Scuba gear is usually skipped because the sound can keep the sharks away so you simply hold your breath and pull yourself underwater.

Anyway, we board the boat and as Lady T is lowered down the ramp. After the two outboard engines’ props are in the water, they start the engines for a test (the captain had made a replacement and wanted to make sure everything was alright). The test failed and the tractor pulled the boat back out of the water. There was 20 minutes of conversation in Afrikans and some checking the engine before it was decided that we were ‘good enough’ for the day. We back down the ramp again and Lance, our shark expert’ gave us instructions about the life jackets. As he’s showing us how to find the whistle on our jacket, he half-jokingly mentions that it’s up to us how much we want to use it as it could perk the sharks’ curiosity. This is when it hit me that we were really in shark territory – wow!

The quality of the ride out to Shark Alley depended on your comfort level of swells. We bobbed the whole way out and while I loved it (giggling about how much our boat changed its perspective to the horizon – way above and then way below), there were a few who were slightly less thrilled. Just as we’re approached the area where we would anchor, we witnessed a full shark breech. This is where the shark comes straight out of the water with his entire body above the surface at once. Sharks very rarely breech in Shark Alley, possibly because it’s somewhat shallow and harder for sharks to get enough speed to be able to clear the water. There are boats chartered on False Bay for people who hope to see shark breeches. I only saw the splash; Jack and the crew were the lucky ones.

We anchored and the oily fix mixture was scooped off the back of our boat and we began the waiting game. Lance pointed out that it doesn’t matter if you see a dozen sharks if you don’t get what they call ‘a good working shark’, one that will go at the bait. We saw a couple sharks near the boat but we waited to put on the wetsuits until Lance felt we had a ‘working shark’. Every time we saw one, we announced it so everyone could see. Seriously, we had no idea what we were in for; we were all getting excited about a shadow in the water.

Once we had a ‘working shark’, we suited up (into the slightly damp and cold wetsuits). Jack, Emma, Patricia, and I went in first. It was AMAZING!!! We climbed in the cage and acclimated. We each practiced finding the toe bar (to avoid sticking any ‘little piggies’ outside our safety zone of the cage. We were too excited to be cold. It surprised me how many fish were in the water. They were nibbling at our bait and I remember thinking that if I was a fish and realized I was nibbling at shark bait in Shark Alley, it’d be about time for me to be migrating. Actually, while in the cage, the scariest part for me wasn’t when the shark was swimming by; it was while waiting for the shark and just as the shark was leaving. It was so eerie, waiting in the water for sharks.

You would bob at the surface until Lance would say, “Down and look left.” From the boat, you have a better perspective and it’s easier to spot the shark; while in the cage you can only see a few meters in any direction. You pull yourself under and see the big guy just casually patrolling the waters, almost casually. I’m getting jumpy in my seat just thinking back on it now.

Twice a shark actually HIT the cage!!! He didn’t go for the cage at all but the bait was right at the edge of the cage. As he swam by, mouth open to display his fabulously numerous teeth thank you, his body thrashed into our cage. After he was gone, we exploded out of the water and relived the moment. We brought an underwater camera and I’ll need to scan and upload a couple of the shots. Both being in the cage and being on the boat while the other group was in the cage were wonderful. It’s unreal.

My attempt to capture the experience does not come anywhere close to serving the day justice. Anyone coming for a visit: be warned that I’m up for another go!

Sharks are very opportunistic and do not waste energy. For example, a shark will sometimes breech from below at an unsuspecting seal. Sharks have better vision at farther distances and due to their missing eyelids, they roll their eyes back just before attacking for protection. If the seal happens to wiggle free or is only slightly wounded and can escape (sounds as far-fetched as the tip to surfers regarding a shark attack, ‘punch them in the nose, but anyway) the shark will many times give up instead of pursuit and relies on the surprise factor instead. Sharks are also more agile after a meal than on a hungry stomach. The meal is turned into a fluid in their stomach and it’s easier for them to change directions quicker. I’ll remember that if I’m ever attacked: I hope it’s a really hungry shark so I have a shot at out-swiming him!

Sunday evening we drove back at sunset along the coast to Cape Town. After a quick dinner and hot showers, we got ready for the Eagle Eye Cherry concert in the city.

I left Cape Town Wednesday night for home and got quite the surprise. Boarding the plane, I felt almost like I was walking the gauntlet. Yes, I am on my way home, but it’s quite the journey. I switched seats to the back of the airplane but to an aisle seat with an empty seat next to it and I was wondering if I’d be able to curl up in the two seats and be able to sleep. Then I hear, “Ms. Pflueger, we have your new seat ready. If you gather your things, I’ll be happy to escort you.” My memory jumped back to my birthday, when I met a British Airways 747 captain, at the winery we visited. He had asked for my flight information to see if he was assigned the flight and teasingly (or so I thought), he had said that if he wasn’t flying, he’d try to get me a better seat. I feel guilty about how nice it was. I got up to brush my teeth post dinner (with a menu that included 6 different wine selections, in addition to the champagne and port options) and the flight attendant asked me if I wanted my bed made up. Are you kidding?!? When I returned, there was my seat, 100% horizontal and with white linens and a fresh pillow. My seat/bed was more comfortable than many beds I’ve slept in and bigger than the ‘twin’ bed from the train car hostel in Mossel Bay! Probably the only time I’ll ever sleep 7 hours on a plane without stirring! I don’t know how I’ll pass that one forward…

Heathrow was a security mess; you have to go through security just to transfer terminals even though you never leave the secure area. I had just enough time to visit the Admiral’s Club and get in a quick shower and tea before heading for my connection to Chicago. I spend a day there with my mom and then head to DC for Chris and Stephanie’s wedding and will be back home in San Francisco on Monday. I head back to South Africa a week from Sunday. Until then, I’m excited to enjoy the long summer days and see everyone before heading back.

My cell will be working again so feel free to give me a shout this week!

BBQ with a view

2007-07-10T23:22:00.000+02:00

Last Saturday, we grilled out at Patricia's place on her beautiful patio overlooking the Clifton beaches.

Thanks to Jack and Emma for visiting and sharing in and making the adventures! The bar has been set high ;)

Little late posting but last weekend was...

2007-07-05T21:36:00.000+02:00

... another fabulous weekend! Every day, South Africa continues to keep me grounded; the beauty of this country is incredible. Jack, Emma, and I made the most of the past weekend with a trip along the Garden Route through Knysna to… one what is considered one of the top surf locations in the world: Jeffrey’s Bay.

We left Cape Town at sunset on Friday (first picture) and drove to Mosselbaai (aka Mossel Bay) where our ‘Rough Guide’ earned new meaning with its tip regarding accommodations. On the way, we read a good review about a place where “guests get their very own private train car” and called ahead for reservations. Along the way, I’m thinking what a great idea – use train cars as guest rooms. We can say that the Rough Guide was a little generous to the entrepreneur who ran a couple sleeping cars to the end of a railroad line - our room was about the size of two dining room tables pushed together. After our jokes finally ran dry, we passed out until we were greeted by the sun rising over Indian Ocean horizon.

Saturday was simply unreal. Some friends from work had recommended Knysna so we consulted our Rough Guide (undaunted confidence) and found a coffee shop where I had the best breakfast of my trip – yogurt, fruit, and muesli and fantastic coffee. After a little shopping, we continued on for our next stop – ELEPHANTS!!

We each got a bucket of fruit and veggies and were able to feed the docile giants. The baby in the pictures was 6 months old and completely fearless. He saw us approaching and left his mom’s side to run and greet us (or more likely, the white buckets in our hands). The Elephant Park started after rescuing orphaned elephants babies and after serious poaching in the area, these elephants there are the last of the Kynsna elephants. Just after Jack snapped the picture of Emma and I completely focused on feeding the little guy, Mom came and tapped my shoulder with her trunk and scared the living daylights out of me…

We drove on through the Tsitsikamma Mountains to sleepy Jeffrey’s Bay and found a hostel near the beach and short drive from the infamous Super Tubes. J-Bay’s Super Tubes are the venue for Billabong’s annual surf competition (starts next week) as well as the locale for Emma’s surfing debut. Being South Africa’s winter, we rented 4-3 wetsuits which is the same thickness we wear in San Fran, and surfed Sunday and Monday. The best part of J-Bay is how relatively empty the water was for the quality of the waves. Monday morning when we woke up early for a little surf session, we had the waves to ourselves.

The best ride of the weekend was definitely Jack’s as the sun was setting Sunday evening while Emma and I were watching from the shore; the runner-up was Monday morning when we all somehow found ourselves riding in together - which says a lot! Ending on a solid note, with the 3 of us on the same wave, we said our goodbyes to the water (and the dolphins that had just joined us) and returned to the hostel for hot showers before starting the 8 hour drive back to Cape Town.

SA THE 99TH MOST PEACEFUL COUNTRY

2007-07-04T16:44:00.000+02:00

Only 3 behind the US...

Business.Africa 31/5/2007
South Africa is the 99th most peaceful country of 121 throughout the world, according to a global peace index compiled by the intelligence unit of the Economist. South Africa was ranked the 14th most peaceful of 21 African states, behind those at the top of the list, Ghana, Madagascar and Botswana, but ahead of Ethiopia, Uganda and Zimbabwe, and bottom placed Sudan, Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire. The world index was topped by Norway, with Japan in fifth place, Canada eighth, Germany 12th, Italy 33rd, France 34th and the United Kingdom 49th. The United States was ranked the 96th most internally and externally peaceful nation and Russia the 118th. The index was commissioned by Australian IT entrepreneur and philanthropist Steve Killelea, who founded The Charitable Foundation in 2000.

2007-07-03T07:40:00.000+02:00

A night's moon that challenged my 'sleep like a champion' skill:

Thank You~

2007-06-25T22:54:00.000+02:00

Another incredible weekend - made even more outstanding with the arrival of Jack and Emma! A quick summary of the weekend: Friday evening, Patricia and I went out for Italian at La Perla (definitely will be a favorite of the trip!) and then had a quiet evening at her place. Saturday morning we woke up early and drove to the Salt River Neighborhood Goods Market, which is a farmer's market with mostly organic treats. Then we toured the District Six Museum.

Up until the 1970s, District Six was home to almost a tenth of the city of Cape Town’s population. In 1966, the apartheid government declared District Six a white only area under the Group Areas Act. By 1982, 60 000 people had been forcibly removed to barren outlying areas aptly known as the Cape Flats (the townships), and their houses in District Six were flattened by bulldozers.

Following the museum visit, we explored more of the city before heading home... as it was time for me to get ready for my first rugby match!!! It was so much fun and surprisingly, easier to pick up than American football - I'm definitely looking forward to watching a few more matches.

Jack and Emma arrived Saturday evening and we celebrated with another braai (this time a genuine braai with a true fire - no charcoal).

And Sunday, I spent the early hours of my birthday reading in bed while listening to the waves. It was perfect - probably also because I knew I had friends from home, albeit fast asleep and unadjusted to the 9 hour change. Then a group of us hopped in a bus and headed to Stellenbosch for a day of wine tasting and great food. We got back as the sun was setting - leaving us with enough time for naps to recharge - so we could head to Camps Bay for a few drinks at a bar... you wouldn't believe the people watching!

Tonight was home cooked dinner with good company...

Another beautiful day

2007-06-18T08:07:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was the drive to Hermanus - the day started out beautiful but the clouds rolled in to bring the winter rains. The seas were really rough (it looked like what I've heard Missi's day on the Darula to be!) and I'm glad we were out on the water Saturday instead.

This sign is posted at a robot (AKA a stoplight) along the main highway with how much water the city was using - and the reservoir status!

Not only are we sitting on a whale tail bench (as Hermanus is known to be one of the world's best sites for land-based whale watching), but in the back of this picture is Danger Point which is said to be the location of where the first time the "women and children first" rule was carried out. There are paintings and such of the ship's sinking documenting that tidbit of history.

Our afternoon entertainment...

The picture below is of the top of one of the mountains on the drive back; just a couple of rocks to the casual glance, but it's known as the rhino and elephant team.

This is from a mountain overlooking Hermanus - slightly windy... Well, it's just the start of the work week and I'm already looking forward to next weekend - including the arrival of Jack and Emma!

not the typical week - but that's what's great!

2007-06-16T22:15:00.000+02:00

Another week has past so quickly! In the last 6 days, I’ve spent 5 of them (or at least the evenings after work) with new people, most of them locals! Monday and Tuesday evenings, I went out to dinner with different people from the client and Wednesday evening I met a mutual friend of a coworker who comes to South Africa a few times a year to support different HIV/AIDS clinics in the townships throughout South Africa. (Townships were created as living areas for non-whites under the old political system of Apartheid and are made up of miles and miles of rows of many times tin shacks. A township tour is still on my list of things to do so more to come on them soon.) It was so interesting talking to her about her experiences and her work!

On Thursday evening, a few of us from my team went to dinner and then saw Oceans 13. Friday night, Patricia and I went to Kristin’s house for happy hour and dinner. (Patricia had been put in touch with Kristin through a friend.) Kristin has been living in Cape Town for a few years working in the film industry and teaching at the university. She made an amazing meal and the other guests were all currently living in Cape Town AND it was the first time I ate ostrich – not bad! She lives in the Woodstock area, which is 15 minutes from downtown, which can be described as a ‘hectic’ neighborhood. Patricia and I drove and fortunately we were able to park right outside her house. To explain ‘hectic’, one of the guys at dinner, Mike (who moved to Cape Town from Iowa 12 years ago and is a correspondent for NPR) lived less than 3 blocks away and wouldn’t walk home after dark. It was good to have a reminder about being aware…

And then today was another amazing day and I owe a thank you to Bill and Pete, for putting me in contact with JP, another native South African. I got up early this morning and as it appeared to be a cloudy, rainy day, I bundled up to prepare for a day out fishing on his 17’ boat. However, we were pleasantly surprised to see the sun was shining at Gordon's Beach on False Bay (the water on the other side of the Cape Point). The day was fantastic and I keep thinking how incredible this place is; it’s SO beautiful. At one point, I was driving us through the swells and scanning the water (long-formed habit of deadhead searching on the Mississippi) and we found 2 whales! I didn’t get any good pictures between worrying about the boat and wanting to see them but I’ll be more prepared next time! As for the fishing, we had a friendly competition between the ‘Yanks’ and the South Africans and while Patricia and I didn’t come through with the win, I did manage to pull in two small ones (a catfish and an I don't know what). After pulling in the boat, we enjoyed a few beers, watched part of the rugby match (South Africa vs. Australia) and by that point, I was exhausted... We drove home and now I'm preparing for another full day tomorrow with Hermanas, a BBQ, and perhaps some live music before another week of work...

G'night!

All moved in - and the Point!

2007-06-11T21:24:00.000+02:00

Another weekend down – and the sense of my time here running out is already creeping in; there’s so much to see and do! Saturday morning, Patricia and I met Neil to take a look at a couple of apartments for her, followed by coffee on the Camps Bay strip.

We then met Wendy, a woman who works at the client and was letting me into the apartment. Someone at the client put our team in touch with Wendy because she heard Wendy had a furnished apartment available to rent. While my teammate took Wendy’s apartment, Wendy checked in with her friends and found this apartment for me. After looking at a beautiful apartment for Patricia, I was hoping I made the right decision and as soon as I walked back into my new place, any worries flew away. While we haven’t seen too much of the sun since the first weekend, the winter season is definitely allowing us to stay in amazing places due to the seasonal prices.

After unloading all my belongings (2 suitcases), Patricia and I set out for a late lunch and found a place with amazing curry; I had the local kingclip fish. Due the rain, we decided to explore in the car. It was late afternoon and I believe the words were, “Well, do you want to just go see the Cape of Good Hope?” Appearing as a consolation due to the weather, it’s funny just how far off that statement is from how I feel. So many things each day paint a smirk on my face as I wonder how I ended up with this opportunity to be here. From the South Africans’ accents to driving on the left; from the gorgeous scenery to needing my power adapter to plug in my South African mobile, I am constantly in disbelief that I’m actually here.

The drive to Cape Point was amazing (the picture above)! From Hout Bay, the road winds along the coast, hundreds of feet above the water, but right along the edge. The cliffs above the road are lined with nets to catch falling rocks; at one point the road goes into the cliff like a half tunnel with a ceiling but no outer wall. It’s hard to describe but I’ll be returning and will get a picture because the national park at the very tip had just closed when we arrived. No worries as I loved the drive down – definitely would be a fantastic motorcycle route! Also along the way, we spotted a road sign with a penguin on it. I’d heard and seen pictures from Stephanie’s trip, but I was clearly not prepared. They are adorable! And they were so close to us and the car – it was unbelievable. I could have spent hours watching them waddle their cute little way around! However, we continued on to make sure we made it back before dark and came upon a car that was stopped right in the middle of the lane due to some large rocks being on the road (or so I thought). I slowed and started to overtake the stopped car – and then realized the ‘large rocks’ were actually 4 baboons!!!

Sunday was a little less exciting; we visited one of the local malls for Patricia’s first visit to the client’s retail store and some grocery shopping. We did make it to another of Cape Town’s attractions, the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Even during their winter season, it was beautiful; my favorite section was the ‘Useful Plants’ area – check out the one we found!

Following the gardens, I cooked my first dinner in my new place – butternut squash soup and asparagus. Ok, bedtime for me – miss you guys!! I hope you're realizing that the pictures are partially aimed to convince you to come and visit me!

Drive on the left. Drive on the left. Drive on the left.

2007-06-08T23:37:00.000+02:00

I left the office today just before 5 to make sure the downtown car rental facility would still be open, neglecting to consider that my would force my debut of driving in South Africa to occur during rush hour: bad idea #1. Anyway, I complete the paperwork and as we're approaching the car, I try to look like left driving is all I do. After last weekend's mistake of walking to the driver's side door of Neil's (the guy who showed me different apartments) car, today I wanted to avoid looking like a fool by approaching the passenger side door. After a successful demonstration of knowing which side of the car to get in, I took my seat and tried to orient myself; the car is also a manual. I've driven a clutch in Scotland (where you drive on the left) but that was 8 years ago and it was probably a ten minute drive! So, I was sitting in my newly acquired rental (still in the garage) preparing myself... the gear shift is on my left; I can do this; I will drive on the left side of the road; wow, this exit between the pillar and the next car is pretty skinny (my mirror thought so, too); I should have thought through my route back to the office before pulling out; oops, the blinker is on the right side of the steering wheel (as I turn off the windshield wipers)... Surprisingly, I made no wrong turns (as far as directions or onto one-ways in the wrong direction) yet it was still quite the relief to park the car back at the office.

Just after 6, Patricia and I packed up and as I was sitting in the car gearing myself up for driving on the left, I realized I wasn't finding the seatbelt. I turned to look where my fingers were coming up empty and found them grabbing at the air just over Patricia's shoulder - on my left. Oops again, the driver side seatbelt is on the right... I buckled up and refocused to get driving left on my mind. After the short drive to the hotel and again obeying the one ways, we parked and I suggested taking a cab to find dinner at the waterfront. I figured I have plenty of time to acclimate to the leftward driving, no need to drive through the city with no directions, in the dark, and walk from the parking deck to the restaurant in the dark (justification can be so easy when you've already made the decision!)

Tomorrow morning, we're driving over to the Camps Bay/Clifton area to look at apartments for Patricia and I'll move into mine. I'm thrilled at the idea of not touching my suitcase again for a while - such a nice touch to this gig!

naked chocolate and topless coffee?

2007-06-06T08:36:00.000+02:00

The topless coffee is what I had previously known as bottomless coffee but naked chocolate remains a mystery. Some morning on the walk to work, I'll be sure to investigate.

I continue to be impressed by the friendliness of the South Africans I have met. First, I have never been called 'stunning' quite so many times (yes, they were probably referring to my work) but it's still a day-maker. Then this morning, I sat down for breakfast at the hotel and pulled out my book until the others arrived. The woman working came over with a glass of water for me (she knows I drink tap water each morning - my green tendencies continue over here) and I complimented her on the pretty fruit salad I saw her making yesterday morning towards the end of our meal. I read on and a few minutes later, she brought me a single serving of fresh fruit she had just cut up for me. I've encountered many people here who go out of their way for other people; it's wonderful.

Another team member arriving today - exciting!

Week 1!

2007-06-03T21:09:00.000+02:00

It's almost midnight in Cape Town, marking exactly one week since I have left my San Franciscan home. And, not surprisingly, I’m still thrilled to be here. The jetlag caught up with me on Wednesday (my second day) and I was challenged (to say the least) to stay alert at some afternoon meetings. We were offsite for the client’s leadership meetings and my biggest takeaway was their emphasis on social responsibility. To conclude the afternoon session for their top 150 roles in the company, they showed An Inconvenient Truth. Prior to the movie, they reflected on their 4 major priorities right now, being to:
· Accelerate transformation (transformation refers to changes post-apartheid to promote equality)
· Drive social development
· Enhance environmental focus
· Address climate change
I’m so impressed with their effort to be aware and place such an emphasis on sustainability.

The evenings last week were filled with nightly team dinners exploring the different parts of Cape Town. The team is fantastic with great personalities and idiosyncrasies that I’m sure will keep us all entertained. We will be a complete team of 6 when another woman from the States arrives on Wednesday.

Friday morning, I decided that I may be looking forward to my weekends here even more than back at home because every weekend holds so much opportunity for new adventures and experiences. My first weekend was support of my theory.

Although the hotel I’m staying in is fantastic, I’m planning on moving into a bungalow or apartment on the Atlantic just outside the city (a 15 minute drive to work instead of the 5 minute walk) to take advantage of the beautiful coastline. So moving from the purple star to the green star… I set up an appointment for Saturday morning to look at a couple places in the Camps Bay and Clifton areas…

Neil from the accommodation shop picked me up Saturday morning and drove me along the scenic route to Camps Bay. He showed me the areas over there and a couple of apartments, including a cute little bungalow that was leading the charge until I saw a coworker's place. I'm now looking into finding an apartment in the same building or near a coworkers - the search will continue this week. I'm taking this picture from Tom's apartment building looking back towards the bungalow (which is above the last beach in the picture) Anyway, after the two apartments, I found a coffee shop and took in the sights (both the people and the surf) and read my book. Tom, a coworker, gave me a call and I went to go see his apartment (and read more on his balcony with the waves crashing in the background, of course). Friday night was another great dinner with South African red wine - quickly becoming a favorite evening drink of mine...

Saturday morning started out with a lazy 11am breakfast back in Camps Bay and a conversation about whether or not today would be appropriate for the hike up Table Mountain, which I'd been told would take anywhere from 1 hour to all day depending on who was asked. A few of us concluded that we'd hike up and take the cable car down, saving our knees and making sure we were off the mountain by dark and the incoming rain. We also had been told that one shouldn't go at it alone - perhaps in a group no smaller than 6 for safety in numbers. We park and hear that the cable car is closed due to high winds but that it may open back up. So Mike and I start up... It's beautiful! And also like climbing 40cm steps constantly for 2.5 hours. While hiking, the phone rings; it's one of our friends who chose to drive up Lion's Head (another Cape Town beauty) warning us of the incoming cold front that he sees from the vista overlooking the ocean. We decide to continue and worst case, we can always turn around early. More and more, I was encouraged each time I notice someone behind us because then we won't be the last people on the mountain. Success is ours and we close on the peak. We're happy to make it to the top with the gorgeous views of Cape Town, the Atlantic, and the 12 Apostles (12 peaks hugging the coast southward). However, it is then confirmed by other hikers there not only is there no cable ride down - but there's also no beer to re-energize us as the restuarant has closed as well. Long story short - and 4 sore knees later - we made it back down with only the wind reminding us of the incoming weather.

We cleaned up for the evening and went to the Water Front for dinner (which was incredible - curried banana and potato soup and kingclip fish for me - interesting and delicious!) I'm now back at my hotel, sipping jasmine green tea and listening to the thunder and lightening outside. Even though I've always found thunderstorms calming, tonight I'm particularly happy that I'm home instead of lost somewhere on Table Mountain :)

Okay, bedtime for me; another week to look forward to! And I get to read the last 30 pages of Get the Edge tonight! My best to everyone! Thanks for the fun emails!

2007-05-29T23:55:00.000+02:00

Greetings from Cape Town!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I made it safe and sound. After a delay out of SFO and little mix up at LAX, I got to my connecting gate in the midst of boarding. I had just finished up some of my last phone goodbyes which left me a little subdued. On the jetway, I noticed a woman struggling with her heavy bag so I offered to carry it to her seat (also a way to distract myself that I was turning off my phone for the last time in a long time). She didn't speak English and upon arrival to row 45, she instead said thank you with a kiss on my cheek. It turned out that the kiss wasn't my only reward; across the aisle from my assigned seat, there was a man with 5 seats to himself. I slid over and we each were able to lie down (the benefits of being 5'4" is that I can lie down in only 2 seats and be comfortable). After reading only the first 7 pages of my book I realized I didn't stand a chance to staying up and succumbed. I almost felt guilty as I probably slept for 8 of the 11 hours flight. At Heathrow, I got into the British Airways club, and ate some good food, showered, and felt surprisingly refreshed.

While taxing to the runway, I also saw an old British Airways Concorde jet parked; only 16 Concordes were ever built for production and there one sat alongside a hangar! Sleep was not coming as easily on my third flight even after I tried some Tylenol PM paired with South African wine but I was able to get deep into my great rock climbing book (thank you Tim).

We approached Cape Town just as the sun was rising and I was welcomed with a beautiful view of the mountains and coast (first picture). After a quick shower at the hotel, I met up with my team and we walked a couple blocks to the client site, where I'm writing this now. It's Tuesday afternoon here (9 hours ahead of PST) and luckily the jet lag hasn't hit me yet at all. I'm sure it'll catch up with me but for now I can't stop smiling that I'm actually here. The second picture is of the view from my hotel room (which is the same view I have outside the window from our team's working room). Life is good!

2007-05-11T18:51:00.000+02:00

This is when I finally started to believe that I was going to Cape Town. What's worse is that there were two more that aren't in the picture!! T minus 18 days and I'll be on my way!