A Mountain A Day Keeps the Doctor Away

So... South Africa! It was a busy week, and we could have easily spent a month trying to cover what we did in 8 days. Here was our itinerary:

Saturday- Gabs to Port Elizabeth, by plane
Sunday- Port Elizabeth to Storms River, by bus
Monday- Storms River to Nature's Valley, by bus
Tuesday- Nature's Valley to Plettenberg Bay, by bus
Wednesday- Plettenberg Bay to Swellendam, by bus
Thursday- Swellendam to Cape Town, by bus
Friday- Table Mountain and the waterfront, by foot
Saturday- Simonstown, Cape Point, and Lion's Head Mountain, by car and foot
Sunday- Cape Town to Gabs, by plane

Yep, you read that right. Nick and I rented a car and drove along the Cape Peninsula, on the left side of the road! Eek. No problem though; it was remarkably easy (perhaps because I haven't driven on either side of the road in 4 months?) and quite fun. We just had to coach ourselves along sometimes, saying, "Okay, turn right here. That means you're crossing traffic. Left lane, left lane!"

Anyway, here are a few of the notable parts of our trip:
- I saw dolphins! Actually, I sea kayaked right next to them.
- I saw penguins! They're called Jackass Penguins because these cute little tiny birds make a noise just like a donkey.
- As the title says, I climbed a mountain a day. Or at least a big hill. In Swellendam was the highest peak we climbed, 1426 meters high. I was feeling very ashamed and out of shape, thinking that was 1426 FEET high, until Nick smartly pointed out that here in Africa, things are measured with the metric system. That means it was actually over 4000 feet. Then we climbed Table Mountain in Cape Town, which is just over 1000 meters tall. We took the cable car back down, though, through the clouds called the "Tablecloth." And finally, on Saturday, we climbed Lion's Head, which is a piddly little peak at maybe only 600 meters, but it has a gorgeous view. We timed it exactly right by getting to the summit to watch sunset over the sea. All this mountain climbing, though, gave me majorly sore calf muscles after 2 months walking around the Delta and the Kalahari--probably two of the world's flatest places.

Overall, South Africa was beautiful. I loved the week I spent there, even though the country is almost entirely westernized (particularly Cape Town). It felt almost like being at home. Not at all like Africa.

Here's how I know that's true: when I got to the airport, I spent some time browsing in an African crafts shop. The store was packed with tourists! Most of them, I suppose, have never been into "real" Africa where they actually make these crafts and you can buy them for 25% of what the airport sells them for. Nick and I had a good laugh over the carved wooden spoons selling for 75 Rand when I bought a pair in Kasane for 15 pula (Rand and pula are roughly equivalent).

Also, it was an interesting time to be in South Africa, politics-wise. I'll probably post more about that later, but if you haven't read up on the xenophobia, I'd recommend it. And read about Zimbabwe, too. As my mom here commented wryly last night, "Maybe your Bush will come to Zim and do like he did with Saddam." Mugabe is wreaking havoc on his country, and now he's starting to blame America and Britain for his problems. America can't ignore the issues of southern Africa much longer.

D-tops and Claire Go To South Africa

D-tops, by the way, is short for Ditapole ("potatoes" in Setswana), a nickname bestowed upon Nick during the second week of our program by Alexa. There's no good explanation for the name.

Anyway, we made it to South Africa quite easily! And it is a totally different world here. For one, when we stepped off the plane in Port Elizabeth, I knew immediately we were at the beach by the warm salty breeze. And the humidity. Botswana is dry dry DRY and South Africa, at least along the Cape, is definitely not.

Also, people here don't speak Setswana. I find myself at a loss for how to greet them since I can't say "dumela." Saying "hello" just seems unnatural after nearly four months. I find myself strangely silent, offering waves and smiles but no verbal greeting as I pass strangers on the road.

A few highlights of our day-and-a-half here so far:

• My first experience with the Indian Ocean was when I fell in. We were hiking a very rocky trail and I lost my balance. Plop! At least only one shoe got wet.
• Ginormous waves. Like 30 feet high. Seriously.
• We found the African jungle! Storms River, where I am now, is home to the Tsitsikamma National Park, aka practically rainforest.
• My ISP on solar energy in Botswana claimed that Bots has the highest solar radiation of almost anywhere in the world. In the 4 months I was there, we had maybe 2 cloudy days. First day in South Africa and it's overcast... or maybe it was the ocean mist?? At least my ISP stands correct.

I may or may not have internet access the rest of the trip, but I'll share all my stories when I get back!