It has been a couple of long days on the bus, quick stops, and late night stays at really wonderful resort rooms, but tonight it’s a dorm room at Rhodes University in Graham’s Town. We have officially begun partaking of the National Arts Festival. My contribution? Purchasing a new African adaptor for my appliances, an early shower, and downloading pictures. I did go have a great South African meal, a Xhosa Chicken Curry Pot, where a local celebrity had the wait staff females gaga.
On July 8, we stayed overnight at Arniston, lovely whitewashed cottages with thatched roofs, very near the beach. Five of us had a house to ourselves. That night the women of the village cooked us a Hake fish dinner and sang a couple traditional songs. One of the songs was about welcome to the village where the fish is plenty and the meat poor, but after talking to one of the women, I learned that it is the fish that is poor. Over fishing has become a problem in SA and many fishermen have no livelihood. They also served my new favorite dessert, Mulva pudding…omg, like bread pudding with ambrosia sauce! It was a good night to spend after so many hours on the bus.
On the way to Arniston, we stoped at Cape Agulhas, where the Indian and the Atlantic Oceans meet and climbed to the top of one of the oldest light houses in the country. Literally a series of ladders that took us through progressively narrow holes up to the actual light of the lighthouse. It was a bit of a climb, but not bad, unless you were wearing a skirt, poor Erica and Amy.
When we finished dinner in Arniston, we all gathered at one house for wine, music, talking and laughter, but that was my night to do the trip journal, so I didn’t stay that long, besides I have had more than enough wine J.
First thing in the morning we headed to Tsitsikamma, with Rich singing “It’s a long way to Tsitsikamma.” And so it was! Before we arrived, we stopped briefly in Mossel Bay at the Bartholomeu Dias museum, who sailed the cape in 1488. Inside was a real life replica of his ship. I felt like a pirate prowling around and took a bunch of pictures. My favorite item was the post office tree however. Legend has it that men would leave messages in a boot under the tree for each other. The trees pretty cool, I’m not gonna lie.
In Tsitsikamma we stayed in the MOST AWESOMEST PLACE EVER!!! We had an “Oceanette,” right on the beach, we could literally walk down several steps and on to the rocky shore if we wanted to. Here’s where I’ve seen the most wildlife so far. I saw a whale, no picture, just the tale , dolphins surfing the waves, pictures but fuzzy, Dassis, the closest relative to the elephant, and a couple Steenbok. It was a pretty good 6 hours at the park, I must say!
One thing I noticed as we travelled on the road. I could always tell when we were getting close to a larger town because outside each large town was a settlement township of corrugated steel shacks and plastic over the roofs. Even in the face of beauty there is poverty in South Africa, but everyone seems to accept it as part of the life here. Change is slow in coming.
On July 8, we stayed overnight at Arniston, lovely whitewashed cottages with thatched roofs, very near the beach. Five of us had a house to ourselves. That night the women of the village cooked us a Hake fish dinner and sang a couple traditional songs. One of the songs was about welcome to the village where the fish is plenty and the meat poor, but after talking to one of the women, I learned that it is the fish that is poor. Over fishing has become a problem in SA and many fishermen have no livelihood. They also served my new favorite dessert, Mulva pudding…omg, like bread pudding with ambrosia sauce! It was a good night to spend after so many hours on the bus.
On the way to Arniston, we stoped at Cape Agulhas, where the Indian and the Atlantic Oceans meet and climbed to the top of one of the oldest light houses in the country. Literally a series of ladders that took us through progressively narrow holes up to the actual light of the lighthouse. It was a bit of a climb, but not bad, unless you were wearing a skirt, poor Erica and Amy.
When we finished dinner in Arniston, we all gathered at one house for wine, music, talking and laughter, but that was my night to do the trip journal, so I didn’t stay that long, besides I have had more than enough wine J.
First thing in the morning we headed to Tsitsikamma, with Rich singing “It’s a long way to Tsitsikamma.” And so it was! Before we arrived, we stopped briefly in Mossel Bay at the Bartholomeu Dias museum, who sailed the cape in 1488. Inside was a real life replica of his ship. I felt like a pirate prowling around and took a bunch of pictures. My favorite item was the post office tree however. Legend has it that men would leave messages in a boot under the tree for each other. The trees pretty cool, I’m not gonna lie.
In Tsitsikamma we stayed in the MOST AWESOMEST PLACE EVER!!! We had an “Oceanette,” right on the beach, we could literally walk down several steps and on to the rocky shore if we wanted to. Here’s where I’ve seen the most wildlife so far. I saw a whale, no picture, just the tale , dolphins surfing the waves, pictures but fuzzy, Dassis, the closest relative to the elephant, and a couple Steenbok. It was a pretty good 6 hours at the park, I must say!
One thing I noticed as we travelled on the road. I could always tell when we were getting close to a larger town because outside each large town was a settlement township of corrugated steel shacks and plastic over the roofs. Even in the face of beauty there is poverty in South Africa, but everyone seems to accept it as part of the life here. Change is slow in coming.
I have a picture of a Dassis they are very cool little creatures...from what I understand the reason why they believe they are the closest is because they are 3 toed like an elephant.
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