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Penguins and Baboons and Gatsbys, Oh My!

August 24, 2010 By 13 Comments
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 Happy Tuesday, everyone! Thanks for the fun comments on my last post! I know I am a sporadic blogger at BEST out here in the Moz, but you lovely people stop by anyways, and I appreciate it :)

Yes, I am STILL uploading stuff from Cape Town. Nearly two months later. To my credit, the internet has been MIA, but hey, who cares? I only have one post left after this and I still think they are worth posting. We call it “Africa time” here… 15 minutes late is early, an hour late is on time, and anything past that just isn’t worth being surprised about. So I am posting on African time.

This post has pretty pictures of scenery and pictures of EXTREMELY unhealthy South African food. There are also baboons, and penguins. If that does not interest you, no offense will be taken. :)

I have a series of non-world cup posts coming as soon as this is out on stuff that hopefully you all will find interesting, so I promise that I won’t be blogging about past trips for the next several months… just want to knock these out. So here goes!

One of our last days in Cape Town we elected to rent a car so we could head to Cape Point, the southernmost tip of Africa, unreachable by public transport. Sarah was the only one with a valid license to drive (apparently mine expired…) so we set off with her at the helm.

As we drove out of Cape Town proper it started feeling a little like the northern California coastline. Breathtakingly beautiful and a ton of adorable little towns I would like to explore slash move in to and never leave. We didn’t have too much time to chill, though, because the USA/Slovenia game was on at 4pm. Priorities.

  Not too long later we arrived at Boulders Beach, famous for its penguins. Am I the only one who LOVES penguins? There is just something about that waddle that I find utterly irresistable!

  And apparently they hang out under cars. I loved this sign.

  This pic didn’t come out so well, but it points to, among other things, “Cape Town,” “penguins”, “sunrise”, and “the moon.” It helped. Poor tourists who can´t find the moon!

 I don’t know what I was expecting, but I certainly wasn’t imagining THIS many penguins… at such a close distance!

  After we had our fun observing the penguins (and being observed right back) we headed down to Cape Point.

  Here, no penguins (sad) but there were baboons.

  And apparently they love food? (We have that in common.) While we were there one ran up and grabbed a girl’s snack out of her hand and ate it. Haha. Wouldn’t have been so funny if it had been me, I guess…

  There was a funicular up to the top of the point, but it was expensive and plus, any hill to climb would seem easy after our Table Mountain adventure the previous day. So up we went!

  The views and scenery were seriously breathtaking. It was weird to realize that nothing was south of us besides Antarctica! (Note to self: must visit Antarctica next. On second thought, maybe somewhere warmer.)

  Plus, the baboons were fun.

  We were a little rushed which was unfortunate, but there was World Cup to be watched, so we prioritized. On our trip out, we had decided to eat lunch on the way back in one of the adorable little towns that we passed through. Fish and chips was mentioned, and that seemed pretty appropriate.

 When in Rome… so we stopped in Fish Hoek. Yes, that is the name of the town.

  This place seemed pretty straightforward and there was parking close by, so we went for it. Fish and chips!

Inside the place was a bit weird. The dude working there had never eaten fish (ummm…) and you had to pay for napkins and plastic utensils. Okay, whatever. There was also some sort of extreme wrestling on TV, which aforementioned non-fish-eating dude mentioned was OUR type of TV. Actually not so much. Whatever, just feed us!

 So, there were two different types of fish to choose from as well as a bunch of different combos on the menu. Although most did involve fried fish, and French fries.

There was something called a chili bite which looked like something I had to have, with some tartar sauce. And these might have been my favorite things I ate in all of Cape Town! Also probably the healthiest…

 I knew a couple of people who grew up in South Africa and I had heard of the elusive Gatsby, a type of sandwich that is a tradition in this Cape region. I saw this huge sign with a ton of options and decided I should go for it even though I had no idea what I was getting into. I figured it wouldn’t be healthy, but a half sandwich can’t be THAT bad, right, and it comes with salad. So I asked for a half fish Gatsby.

  And this is what I got. This is my half sandwich. Size of my head much?

  Yes, this is a huge piece of bread filled with a huge piece of fried fish, an entire order of fries, half a bottle of ketchup, and I think one piece of lettuce (that would be the “salad.”)

Its funny, people talk about eating food that could kill you…. THIS COULD KILL YOU. I love fatty and fried foods, mind you, and usually they don’t make me feel too bad. But I think I died a bit inside after doing quite a number on this one. (I was really excited about the fried fish part… but the rest? Yeah.) We were all a little uncomfortable after our meals. But it’s okay… I tried a Gatsby. If you are in the Cape area… try one at your own risk!

We jumped back in the car (okay, plodded with our full bellies) and made it back just in time to watch the USA game with a bunch of Americans. The picture below was taken right after we won. All those spots in the air are literally showers of beer that someone (or many someones) were throwing in celebration.

We were happy too. America won something!

This was an extremely memorable day in Cape Town and one of my favorite parts of our trip. After spending the week there I really felt at home, like it was “my city.” If it was not 10,000 miles away from everything else I would move there in a heartbeat and never leave. It is THAT wonderful. It is a bit more European, not very African, but a perfect mix of everything. And plus, there are penguins.

Good times. Até a próxima, blog world!

Have you ever tried something ridiculous in a foreign land? Or, have you ever visited someplace and felt that it was “your city”, or somewhere you could live forever? Where and why?

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    Table Mountain Day!

    July 30, 2010 By 8 Comments
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    So one of the things on the MUST-DO list for Cape Town was Table Mountain. Table Mountain is the iconic mountain basically located smack dab in the middle of the whole Cape Town area, giving the city one of the most beautiful and unique landscapes in the world, being sandwiched between the Indian and Atlantic oceans and a big flattop mountain (hence the name).

    There are two options for a visit to Table Mountain: schlep up it or take the cable car. At first we were all for hiking, then I started getting a little nervous with the freezing and unpredictable weather. Were we prepared? Would we get stuck? Could we carry enough food and water with us? Etc. but then when our hostel owner said, screw the cable car, that was all we needed to hear. And plus, I was excited to get in some intense exercise. I was running half the mornings, but those runs often ended at a bakery (no joke… more on that later) so this would provide a welcome opportunity for some active sightseeing.

    Fuelled up with some oatmeal—can you believe this is an instant oatmeal packet, just made with milk and water in the microwave, with some nutella and banana added in? it is like, A FULL BOWL! When I make instant packets with hot water (much more common for convenience when I am in, say, Swaziland or in the bush of Africa far away from any kitchen appliances) it takes like three bites to eat the whole thing. This my friends, is a new way of life. Anyways.

    We splurged on a cab to head out to the base of the mountain, which was actually really high up as it was. There we saw the line of people waiting to take the cable car. It was a TON of people. Plus, the cable car was ascending into a mass of clouds—no visibility from the top, it seemed. I started wondering if they knew something we didn’t, no one seemed to be hiking.

    But that is because those people are not as badass as us.

    The route we took had been described as “walk straight up the mountain for half an hour and you will want to kill yourself, but then you cut across the side of the mountain and it is basically flat and pleasant for like an hour, and then another half of hour up to the top.” Sounds simple enough. So off we went!

    The path was pretty steep—nothing like I have encountered on other mountains or hikes but enough to get to that point where you just want to STOP walking up huge stairs made of rock while all these other people are passing overhead in the comfortable cable car. I started getting sweaty and grumpy.

    Yeah, basically that.

    But before long we reached the intersection with the other trail that would afford us a bit of a break as we cut across the mountain. Got some nice views of the city bowl below us and got to walk through a waterfall at some point… nothing like a little refreshing blitz of freezing cold water when you are sweaty and goosebumpy.

    The views were really nice and we had a decently easy stroll across the mountain before it was time to start heading up again.

    Not gonna lie, I was TIRED! I am also the WORST person with temperature, I think my internal regulator does not function well. I am either freezing with goosebumps or sweating. The in-between does exist, but it is a fine line. Walking up that mountain in the freezing cold, chilled to the bone, but while also sweating and then having it dry right away and give me chills, I felt like the hugest wimp! Does this happen to anyone else? It reminds me of skiing, getting SO hot on your way down the mountain, but one you are back on the lift you are freezing again. Or maybe I am the only one whose body screams in protest in these situations. Ha.

    Before long, we reached the summit! While the views were beautiful on the way up, nothing could have prepared me for the amazingness at the top. I love that about climbing mountains. No matter what, the view is always better at the top. (Unless you get caught in a cloud cover or a whiteout or a lightning storm, I can personally say that all three of those situations kind of blow).

    We took the requisite pictures and then some.

    We had been hiking near another group of American dudes who brought their vuvuzelas all the way to the top with them, just so they could do this. It reminded me of the 20-something American dude version of those old Riccola commercials… anyone know what I’m talking about??

    We had snacked some (I brought trail mix and an apple) on the way up but once we got to the top we were HUNGRY and I couldn’t wait to crack open my summit sandwich!

    We had been at the mall the day before and there was a Subway (!!!) I wasn’t hungry at the time, but I got a Pastrami to bring up the mountain with me. Paired with the hot chocolate I am pretty sure it was the best sandwich ever. Okay, a day-old slightly squished subway sandwich that is supposed to be hot and fresh is not exactly gourmet, but we don’t really get sandwiches where I live so paired with the overpriced and underchocolated hot cocoa this was pretty perfect.

    We did what all true athletes do: take the cable car down. There was no way I was walking back down that thing. We rushed the cable car line to get “good spots,” but what we didn’t know before is that the whole cable car actually rotates throughout the whole trip up and down the mountain. Pretty awesome.

    GREAT day. Anyone who ever visits Cape Town MUST climb the mountain. I don´t even remember what we did the rest of the day. If it was anything like every other day in Cape Town, we probably ate and watched World Cup.

    I think if I lived here, I would come up this mountain all the time. Definitely a place of zen, if you take out all of the tourists. Ha.

    Only have a few Cape Town posts left (including the foodie ones and the one about penguins and baboons) and then I can get back to Mozambique life… there is a LOT I have to post about that, too. No internet for weeks definitely gets in the way. But here´s to trying, anyways!

    Have a WONDERFUL weekend, everybody!

    Do you like to hike? Where can you get “a taste of nature” near where you are? What outdoor workouts are your favorites?

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    Scenes from a World Cup Game!

    July 14, 2010 By 7 Comments
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    Wow. So TOTALLY neglected the blog this week, and not by choice—this is my first time getting access to Internet for more than 1 minute since last Wednesday. Well, actually NO access minus two minutes on Monday morning to introduce you all to Simon. Annoying, but I also like that I can be cut off from the world for a week and totally survive. I think it’s funny when people say “Sorry I have been M.I.A…” I am pretty sure no one actually notices, so life goes on.

    Anyway, I wanted to post this this weekend in honor of the World Cup final (woooo!) but the no-internet thing made that impossible, so I am posting it now!

    Anyone who reads my blog knows I recently went to Cape Town, South Africa. I have shared some pictures and stories already but most of the best are still waiting to be shared. (Wine tasting… penguin petting… well kind of…) so paciencia is the word. For me, at least. As stated before, I do not think any one else cares. : )

    What brought me to Cape Town in the first place was the World Cup, and I got to go to the Portugal vs. North Korea game on June 21st. I had high hopes for what this day would be like and I was NOT disappointed.

    We woke up and it was cold and rainy. Of course. We got really lucky for the first few days with NO rain and decent warmth (it was freezing and wet the whole week prior) but we weren’t going to let it dampen our spirits. Sarah and I headed out early to the ticketing center to pick up our tickets.

    We thought it might be complicated but it was easy as pie. The girl working there was giddy and excited like we were and even offered to take our picture!

    A big part of the “event” that was World Cup was walking the Fan Walk towards the stadium. It was only about two miles, but you could have made a day of it! As we started to move, we were treated to a variety of entertainment, including a rocking group of older women beating the crap out of some djembes. I was impressed.

    Something I didn’t realize was that all the fans got decked out for EVERY game. Pretty much EVERYONE was in some sort of Portugal gear even though a good chunk of them were probably there to support other teams… but it was just for the spirit of it all. I was wearing green, but I bought a Portugal scarf on the fan walk… much better.

    Lining the last stretch of road to the stadium were DOZENS of brightly painted “shacks” offering all different kinds of goodies, including vuvuzelas, Portugal gear, arts and souvenirs, and food. The boerwors (very popular, slightly spicy South African sausage) filled the air with the sent of delicious barbeque.

    Perhaps the most popular stand was the face painting, which Colin and Sarah happily took advantage of.

    I turned down the spicy meat (it is hard for me, believe me) but then I saw this sign and I knew my willpower was totally gone. Especially when they gave me “two for the price of one…” I’m a sucker for a deal but the next time I walked by that was the price they were giving everyone, but still.

    Nutella-ish spread, maple syrup and sugar on a pancake, and then covered with another one. Pancake sandwich! The perfect fuel for a world cup game if you ask me…

    Not surprisingly, there were no North Korea fans. Having a closed country makes it a bit hard to go cheer on your team when you cannot really leave… rumors were flying, including that North Korea hired Chinese to come serve as “fans” at their games. I cannot speak to what the truth IS, but the whole situation was a bit weird. Luckily, the mood was lightened by the four or five American dudes who came decked out to support North Korea. Good for you, guys. It really made me want to research and learn more about North Korea, though, and the situation there.

    McDonalds was a big sponsor of the World Cup and there was even one built right at the stadium. Smart move… the line was huge for people trying to grab a Big Mac (if that is even what they are called in ZA…) before the game. Not so smart move: the McDonalds was ONLY open for the games! A few days later, I was on a run and tried to grab a McMuffin to take back with me (its been YEARS…) and after running around like an idiot, I asked a guard and found out that no, I wasn’t totally inept, it just wasn’t open at all. Weird.

    We got through the line pretty fast and the rain (which was kind enough to almost stop for us during our strut down fan walk) started up again, HARD. There was still time to snap a few pictures and hope the downpour didn’t ruin my camera…

    And then time to find our seats. We were SO blessed in that the Cape Town stadium was covered so we were nice and dry for the whole game… unlike the players, who got to play in a torrential downpour. It was seriously like a slip n slide out there.

    Our seats were HIGH up, but almost perfectly in the center, so we had a great view of all the action.

    At half, Portugal was only up 1-0 and North Korea was really staying in it. I thought it might be down to the wire… until somewhere in the 60-somethingth minute when Portugal scored. And then scored again. And then AGAIN. Three times in seven minutes. That was right about when we stopped feeling bad for North Korea and wanted a blowout. And that is what we got.

    Several minutes later, we got another three goals, including one that pretty much bounced in off of Christiano Ronaldo’s neck. He was lazy and whiny the first half, but the second half he was awesome and I have decided that I still do like him and the part about him being completely beautiful doesn’t hurt either.

    Final score: seven to nothing. It was a huge party leaving the stadium. Everyone just had so much fun and the mood was jovial.

    It was one of the most electric experiences of my entire life. I don’t think I have ever really experienced that fervor, that feeling of being a part of something special, with people from all over the world sharing an experience. It is kind of weird being in a moment that you KNOW you will remember forever… besides from maybe your wedding day or the birth of your child, how many of those moments are there? When you KNOW, at that very time, that what you are experiencing now is going to be ingrained in your memory for a long, long time? Not many… so it was nice to be able to savor that.

    I took a bunch of videos of the stadium erupting during the goals but haven’t been able to post them, maybe later.

    Basically, it was completely, totally, and utterly awesome and I am already daydreaming about the awesome beach house I am renting in Rio de Janeiro in 2014 for the Brazil world cup. If anyone wants to come with, let me know : )

    More posts coming soon I promise! Still waiting on the foodie ones, I know…

    Have you experienced anything recently that you think will stick with you forever?

     

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    Happy July and the Cape Town Pictures Continue!

    July 2, 2010 By 9 Comments
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    It’s July! Happy July!

    First of all, I just want to tell the like-minded soul who recently reached my blog by searching “how many calories in licking leftover icing,” to not worry. There are no calories in icing because it is made of love.

    Anyways.

    I am going to continue on with my Cape Town posts but since it is the beginning of another month it always seems to spurn some reflection for me (and across the blog world). May was a month of goals—this was one of my first “real” blog posts! But the stress of that month (not because I had set goals) really got to me and in June I declared I was just going to let it go. Now it’s July. HOW IS IT JULY ALREADY??

    This is going to be a crazy month for me. Also a comparably cold one, because we are in the depths of winter (aka daytime temps are down to the mid-seventies, but hey, that cold shower BITES!).

    At work, I have my second-to-last trimester planning (at which I conduct activities) and I NEED to put it 110% to make sure that the work I do is not only being executed well NOW, but that there will be continuation after I leave in November. This is stressing me out the most, realizing that I am leaving SO soon and I don’t want to look back and feel like I failed or that I didn’t put in enough. I want to feel like I have contributed in a meaningful and lasting way here.

    In terms of health, I need to get serious. I had been up until mid-May, where stress got the best of me and then continued through two vacations. I feel sloppy and not up to form, and really need to take this month to get back to where I should be and make smarter decisions. Registering for my marathon on July 15th should hopefully provide some more motivation… even though it’s not until May 1st!

    In terms of the future, this is the month that the ball gets rolling on graduate school and scholarship applications (I need to start early because I have to have them all done by October!). That can also be a source of stress so I just need to concentrate on following my heart and not getting too caught up in the future’s uncertainties.

    Personally, I need to reconnect with myself. I feel like I have lost sight of a lot of what is important: my relationship with God, the importance of constantly outpouring love not only to others but also to myself. If I am to get through these last four (four!!!) months of Peace Corps successfully, it needs to start on the inside.

    Phew. Let’s see how it goes!

    SO, on to my next Cape Town update. I ventured out on the morning of our first “real” day in the city to explore it more. Our hostel, on Long Street, really was the ideal jumping-off point to explore basically everywhere you would want to go.

    I woke up in the morning, ready for a run. Okay, I love to exercise but am definitely not one of those at-all-costs people, and the night before margaritas and freezing cold (for me) made it hard, but the fact that I had basically been sitting for the past 72 hours made me anxious for a run. And plus, I could explore the city!

    Sea Point is beautiful, and there is a PARK! Where people WALK and RUN! Lots of people!!! This does not exist in Mozambique, and it was SO amazing to go for a run and not get stared at or followed, and not have to run in ankle-deep sand.

    Later we did some more exploring—there is actually a good amount of art around the city, which I loved! And flags were everywhere.

    What made me even more excited were the RECYCLING BINS and the FREE DRINKING WATER stations that were absolutely everywhere! Mozambique doesn’t recycle and it pains me every time I throw away cans and plastic bottles… it felt SO good to be able to recycle.

    Also, to cut down on more plastic waste from people buying bottled water, they had these faucets all over the place for free drinking water! I just carried a bottle and refilled it everywhere. Apparently South Africa´s tap water is the third cleanest in the world?? WHO KNEW?? You can´t drink the water in Moz, and this might have been one of our greatest luxuries on the trip. Unlimited water! Without boiling or filtering! Seriously, I almost died of happiness every time I refilled my water bottle in the sink in the hostel kitchen. It was that exciting to me.

    As we were walking we stopped into various places along the way (exploring), including a wine shop that basically forced us with kindness into a tasting. Wine tasting before noon is okay, right?

    Of course, I made us run into a gourmet-looking supermarket where we proceeded to wander aisles, dumbfounded (or maybe that was just me) where they had REAL THINGS! I saw quinoa! And tons of different veggies! And hummus! And GREEK YOGURT! These things do not exist in my life and for a moment I felt like I was in the real world… which felt weird in itself. I live in a hut. I do not eat greek yogurt with honey. This is just how life is.

    We headed over to V&A Waterfront which is a HUGE mall/shopping area and a TON of fancy restaurants right on the water. Basically it is an overpriced tourist trap, but for good reason. It is a great place to hang out and people-watch and eat.

    The mall is full of crazy stores, from names you might recognize (Guess, Gucci, Louis Vuitton) to other more interesting shops such as this designer clothes botique, Marlboro Originals. Yup…

    Basically there is a huge outdoor area as well as a ginormous mall inside, where, as the sign requests, people don´t blow vuvuzelas. Totally did NOT work to keep any order, but hey, it´s the World Cup.

    Colin wanted a beer, so we stopped in the first place we saw, Mitchell’s Waterfront Brewery, which my friend Nick informed me was on the list of Top 150 Places in the World to Drink a Beer. I didn’t know this at the time, but when in Rome…

    …Order the beer sampler.

    I tasted each one. Honestly nothing was too exciting to me, but hey, its beer! Pretty decent but nothing I will be writing home about. It was just fun though.

    Roommate got the fish and chips which kind of looked amazing. Wait for me to get to MY fish and chips experience. That one will send you healthy-living types running for the door!

    Next stop was the FIFA store, where Colin and Sarah got suited up in team USA gear (a jacket and jersey, respectively). I envied their awesomeness but was content to check out the vuvuzelas, which I am sure you heard in the background if you watched any WC games. Most annoying invention ever. It can seriously make you go deaf. But of course now I wish I brought one back as a souvenir…

    That first night was full of some beers, some burgers (mine was falafel), and a 3:30AM snack as I stumbled home. (Completely sober, mind you… stumbling due to being up 6 hours past my bedtime and having spent the last five hours on my feet dancing and singing along to a live band… unhealthy food was necessary. Because hey, I was on vaycay…as you can tell, I spent a decent amount of time on this trip making excuses!)

    I have a muffin addiction. This will be discussed in upcoming entries as you see variations on this picture in pretty much every post.

    Okay, I know this was not the most exciting update but I had to get the ball rolling! Upcoming World Cup posts will be about climbing a mountain, playing with penguins, driving to the southern tip of Africa, going wine tasting, and of course, the foodie tour of cape town. Don´t worry, it´s coming. I take no responsibility if anyone gains five pounds by simply looking at the pictures : )

    Have a WONDERFUL day everybody!

    What does July hold for you?

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    Moz to Cape Town: The Ultimate 2010 Road Trip

    June 30, 2010 By 10 Comments
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    Hi all! I know a lot of you saw my Cape Town/World Cup overview so now I am going to break it down into more posts, I hope you enjoy them :)

    So, as you may have read, part one of world cup adventure twenty-ten had me hitchhiking to Maputo… just in time for part two. We boarded the Intercape overnight bus to Joburg with a few other PCVs and friends, and then we were off! Sarah and I scored the coveted (well, we covet them…) front seats on the top of the double decker bus and were excited to get on our way, for the next leg of our 3000 KILOMETER overland journey.

    After a freezing two hours outside in line at the South African border, our moods changed decidedly for the worse. People had warned us that SA would be cold, so we brought all we had—not much, considering we live on a beach in the tropics. The temperature on the bus continued to descend until none of us could even talk. I felt like my body was shutting down! In my years of living in the snow, going skiing, experiencing all kinds of climates… I have NEVER been that cold in my entire life. I was just willing my body to get through it. Words cannot really express how this felt. It was like every inch of my body was screaming for warmth, so angry at me for letting it suffer. I tried to pretend I was being a bad ass but really it just kind of sucked… my memories are a bit hazy from these hours. Seriously.

    We arrived at the Joburg Park Station at 4AM, where we would have to wait until our train left at 12:30. We ran inside, struggling all to move or think or make any sort of decisions in the cold. We could only hope that inside the station was better…

    It wasn’t. It was equally cold if not colder, being a large essentially open-air cement structure. We all went to the bathroom and put on everything we owned. I emerged wearing two pairs of socks including SmartWools that went up to my knees, sneakers, leggings, jeans, tank top, t shirt, long sleeve shirt, Under Armor mock turtleneck, Under Armor long sleeve hooded pullover, fleece jacket, raincoat, scarf, and beanie.

    I looked hot.

    And I was still cold. There are no pictures from these dark hours because that would have demanded me moving my fingers.

    It was around 5AM at this point and we began searching for the least cold place to wait out the frigid hours without going completely insane (I was a bit worried). We ended up camping out in a stairwell next to some secret door.

    I started walking up and down the stairs in a futile attempt to stimulate blood flow. Though my body protested.

    But it turns out it was unnecessary, because our guardian angel, a lovely South African woman named Gloria, appeared at the door. We just so happened to be sitting by the access door of the information kiosk.

     

    She welcomed us inside to her little nook, insulated from the cold, and then TURNED ON HER SPACE HEATER AND MADE US TEA, and then started chatting us up. I can absolutely NOT describe the level of gratitude in my heart at this time!!! She let us stay there for the next several hours and while it was still quite cold, it was nothing like outside. THANK YOU GLORIA. You were our guardian angel. (Sarah has a picture of Gloria, I am going to have to post it here somewhere to pay proper respect! What an amazing woman!) We were joined shortly thereafter by a German dude who saw us curled up inside and Gloria welcomed him in as well.

     

    I regained some semblance of sanity slash brain function and was able to enjoy the rest of the ginger biscuits (think gingerbread but soft, and delicious) I had bought at a midnight gas station stop.

     

    Around seven stuff started opening and we ventured out into the ice to Wimpy, a South African fast food ish chain restaurant (great name huh?), for breakfast. Colin had to wrap his arm around me to keep me breathing for the first several minutes.

    At least they had a decently nutritious breakfast option! I love sweet breakfasts normally, but this toast/egg/baked beans/onions combo was a winner…

    So I didn’t have to eat breakfast here:

     

    I couldn’t wait to get back into our slightly warmer nook, where it was time for napping and reading… anything to pass the time.

     

    I was lying on my huge backpack… I am a really good traveler but a horrible packer. Ok, maybe that makes me a bad traveler. But how do I have a 40 pound backpack for two weeks?? And I wore everything I brought! Embarrassing. I am not even a stylish person. I don’t know what the heck was in this thing. I need to cut it in HALF before I backpack Asia.

    All the South Africans had these HUGE blankets they were swaddled up in, so finally around 11AM (several hours too late!) we ventured outside and found them. 20 dollar blankets. These things weighed TEN POUNDS!!! We also bought hats and gloves. We were told the train ride might be even COLDER but at least now we were adequately prepared. Ten pounds of crappy materials prepared. BOOM!

    We boarded a sitter car on the Shosholoza Meyl and set off on our 27-but-potentially-40 hour train journey across almost the entirety of South Africa.

    South Africa has ELEVEN official languages, which was evidenced right when we got in our car! It is great being able to communicate in English, but it is not most people’s first language. Depending on the region, an indigenous language is spoken, whether it be Zulu in the East or Xhosa in the West or SeSotho or SiSwati or any number of languages! Many also speak Afrikaans which is similar to Dutch. It is really interesting communicating with everyone in English but also knowing it is not their language of choice. Sometimes I feel really spoiled to be a native language speaker, and other times I am jealous that I can’t use three different languages fluently like everyone can in so many other parts of the world. But I know that it isn’t necessary in America and that’s why, and I can just do my best to acquire new skills as I travel.

    It was awesome to be able to sit back on our little plastic teal chairs and watch the country pass us by.

     

    After our last night on the bus and NO sleep, it was pretty easy to conk out.

     

    It got a little cold so the blankets were used. Very stylishly, of course.

     

    In the morning I stole some hot water from the dining car for a very pathetic little cup of oatmeal. (I learned a new instant-oatmeal cooking technique on this trip that changed my life… look out for that in a coming post :)

     

    But luckily, some dude sold me this big bag of naartjies (oranges) for five rand (about 65 cents), which I went on to demolish. I love the dudes walking up and down the trains selling things, even if just to giggle at their choices (tiaras and princess socks? Is there a market for that on most trans-country trains?). But this bag of fruit was awesome and Colin even later bought a cup of ICE CREAM from a dude walking around with four different flavors. Pretty clutch.

     

    Finally, the scenery started getting greener and JUST twenty-seven hours after we had departed, WE ARRIVED IN CAPE TOWN!

    We dropped off stuff at our hostel, Two Oceans Backpackers on Long Street, showered (my goodness was that necessary…) and headed out on a quest for Mexican food. There were two Californians and one pro-Mexican food Arkansan, so who can blame us. Its our first real meal in the real world, of course we are going to make it good!

     

    We were SO EXCITED to get there and begin our journey.

     

    I ordered what I thought would have been the healthiest thing on the menu (fish fillet, tomato and avocado salad, and a little rice) to make up for the rest of the indulging that I knew I would be doing, but of course the fish was fried unlike it appeared on the menu. Oh well. I guess I´ll eat it…

     

    And if I have to…

     

    I HATE tequila shots. I actually don’t really like booze anymore! But I will always love a good margarita and it was our first night, so strawberry and original on the rocks were on the menu. Starting it off right. All about moderation right… (Is it moderation if you pretty much don’t drink at all for months and then have a bunch of margaritas on the same night? I think that qualifies… maybe…) But after this night I didn´t touch much alcohol. Over it! I got my margs.

     

    We made some friends at the restaurant and then walked through the city to find Fan Fest, to watch the England vs. Algeria game that was happening then at the stadium in Cape Town. (We didn’t have tickets, boo.)

     

    Fan Fest was FULL of people, and full of places to tag your child. Yes. To tag your child. There was also biscotti and cocoa. Um, please. It was fun, though the game was boring.

     

    After the game, our days and days of traveling, we decided to turn in “early” (um, 11 o clock at night is NOT early! My bedtime is 9!!!…) and gear up for the week to come.  

    What do you order at a Mexican restaurant?

    Also, friends… I need your advice on my blog! I am a new blogger and trying to figure this all out. I know my blog does not always “look” good, how the posts come out, which is probably due to my horrible internet. I am really going to work on it this month to make it better! But, I want your opinions: I am confused about pictures… the last post I wrote I used bigger pictures but normally they are this size (smaller), which I think I gravitate to because MY African internet is so bad, but, what looks better to you?? What do you prefer? I will blog the rest of World Cup with the preferred option : ) Thanks for putting up with my shoddy internet and often not-so-asthetically pleasing blog. It is a work in progress and I appreciate you reading :)

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    I’m baaaaaaaaack! With a Cape Town/World Cup Preview! Woo!

    June 27, 2010 By 24 Comments
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    Honey, I’m hoooooooome! : )

    Well not quite… I am officially back in the ‘Bique (in Maputo, the Mozambican capital city I seem to be frequenting often these days) and will make the last 12-hour leg of the journey tomorrow to return HOME to my hut. I will have been gone for a full fourteen days, which is the longest I have ever been away from my site save over the Christmas holiday when I went back to the States. I was not ready to leave Cape Town but I am ready to get back into some semblance of a routine and dig back into my “normal life.” Not to mention going back to work. I am a little anxious about returning to said “normal life” however, after a glorious and very surreal two weeks back in the western world (People speaking my language! No one staring at me! Stuff to do! Food options! Hot showers!)… I am actually really nervous. But it will all work out!

    I have about three thousand entries in my google reader and very slow internet at home, plus about six hundred pictures of my Cape Town/World Cup experience to sort through, so God knows it will take me a LONG time to get caught up with my blog and also with everyone else’s, but I figured for the time being (while I am traveling and getting caught up on my work/job/life) I should leave y’all with a little preview… more to come on all of this, I promise!

    So in sixty seconds or less, here’s what I did in Cape Town!

     I… road tripped from Maputo to Joburg where I was the coldest I have ever been in my life, and then got on a 27 hour train to CPT.

    I immediately launched into world cup mode with drinks and Fan Fest.

    I explored the city for hours on foot and fell in love with it.

    And by running along the coast some of the mornings, but it was also freezing, so staying under the down comforter was often more attractive.

    I did beer tasting at Mitchell’s Waterfront Brewery/ale house. Nick Wilson, this one is for you.

    I went wine tasting at a few winieries in the Cape Winelands. Cannot wait to share my newfound knowledge with all of you : )

    The tour included cheetahs…

    And gourmet pizza in Stellenbosch, an iconic town in the Cape winelands.

    Basically I ate my way through the city. I indulged… at least three to five times per day. AMAZING food from all over the world. This city is a foodie’s dream. Especially if you have been living in the equivalent of “under a rock.”

    Oh, and I like, went to a World Cup game or something.

    Portugal may not have won 7 to 0. Best game of the first round, huzzah! Communism is defeated!!! Ha. Kidding.

    And in my free time I climbed a mountain. (Table Mountain, to be exact–the iconic mountain smack dab in the middle of CPT!)

    And saw pretty views.

    And visited penguins in a native habitat.

    And visited Cape Point, the southern tip of the continent where the two oceans meet.

    And watched a TON of soccer, with a TON of awesome people/new friends from all over the world.

    Not too bad of a trip! I am pretty sure every one of these “bullet points” could be its own entry but I at least wanted to post a lil recap : ) so if that satiated your interest, feel free to ignore my blog for the next couple of weeks! But as I have time and my electricity and technology allows me, I will be posting about my adventures as well as about the cultural, racial, and socio-economic situation in South Africa and perhaps even a little about those vuvuzelas… ayoba!

    Who has been watching the World Cup? Is it a big deal in America, or do people not really care? How do you feel about it? Take it or leave it or love the excuse to settle down with a group of friends and a cold beer? : ) Who are you rooting for (now)?

    Sad for team USA getting kicked out but… Go Ghana!

     

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