A little trip to... South Africa!!

A random invitation came from a former colleague who I only recently began started hanging out with on a personal level. She too was laid off from Red Mountain. We were poolside, on a sunny, Southern California day when she asked…”would you want to go to South Africa with me?” Would I want to?? Be serious!! South Africa has been on my list of places to see for quite some time. I thought about it. For awhile. Remembering a recent conversation I had had with Berenice, I decided that opportunities like this don’t come around often. I decided that I had to take it. With that, I began looking at fare prices with Chase. Within a week from that day at the pool, we had two, round-trip tickets booked to Cape Town, South Africa. Really?? Was I really doing this?? I was going to South Africa.

I’ll admit, leading up to the departure date, my life was a little chaotic, and by little chaotic, I mean…VERY chaotic. I was in Michigan for almost three weeks and upon my return back to Orange County, I needed to finish selling off my furniture and moving my belongings. Clothes and essentials to the Gurski’s. Things I didn’t need to Misa’s. The cat who I adore and some random things which were left over…to Michelle’s. I had exactly one week to pack up my apartment, move my things, move out of the apartment, to the Gurski’s…and oh yeah, prepare for a trip of a lifetime. Needless to say, I wasn’t able to really think about the trip much as there was too much on my mind. But I did it. With 5 hours to spare, I had time to sleep before I had to meet Chase for our trip to LAX.

The flight to Cape Town was anything but awesome. Ok, so we were on a partially full flight to Amsterdam from Houston, so we had some room to actually comfortably sleep. But, the flight from Houston was delayed…but we were assured if we didn’t make the connection in Houston, Continental would put us up for the night in Amsterdam. I mean…I can think of worse places to be “stuck”. Once we landed in Amsterdam, I hauled ass to the E terminal from the G terminal. Despite working those running shoes, I arrived to our gate to find out that our seats have been given away and we’d be rebooked. Well, we’re gonna have fun in Amsterdam, I thought. Not the case. We were rebooked…but to London…then to Cape Town. So five hours in the Amsterdam airport…what were we to do? Drink some domestic beer…that’s what. Did you know, 25 dollars will buy you, ONE pitcher of beer in Amsterdam. Effing’ euro. Oh well.

After a 4 hour stop in London, and over 30 hours later…we were FINALLY on our way to Cape Town.

The Players:
Me: Anna
Chase: Former colleague, now friend
Dustin: Chase’s brother
Kirsten: Dustin’s girlfriend
TJ: Dustin’s roommate, who is originally from Cape Town, now living in San Francisco doing her Master’s.
Cary: TJ’s boyfriend
Angela / Ang: TJ’s best friend in Cape Town
Nelson: TJ’s other best friend in Cape Town
Anj: TJ’s father

Day One:
Once we land in Cape Town, we are picked up by Nelson who’s a manager at the Cape Grace Hotel (read…one of the BEST hotels in all of South Africa). We were staying at the hotel that night…and man, oh, man…were we excited for our new digs. Plushy beds, bathrobes, slippers, and a view of the waterfront.

We met Nelson after we showered up and napped for lunch. He treated us with South Africa’s favorite shooter – the Springbok. Mmm… Tasty. It was pouring outside, so we decided to stay at Bascule, the Wine and Whiskey bar at the Cape Grace…I did some whiskey tasting. Yum.

Day Two:
We were joined by the rest of the crew. We had lunch with TJ’s father, Anj and her brother Patrick. After that, we went back to Anj’s house to get settled in. This would be home for the next week and half.

Day Three:
Our first full-day we went out to Boulder Beach to see the sand Penguins. Who would have thought there would be penguins hanging out on the beach! I just wanted to climb over that railing and go sit next to them.
After playing with the penguins we went to Cape Point, this is where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. It was breathtaking up there. During the drive up, we noticed numerous signs which warned us of baboons. Apparently they are “dangerous” animals. Despite their danger…I wanted to see one!! On our way out, we hit some traffic…caused by a baboon crossing the street.
That night we had a fun dinner and were joined by Ang and Nelson. I’d show pictures of that…but my first six days of photos got inadvertently deleted from my camera.

Day Four:
Our next adventure was going to be heading up to Table Mountain, one of Cape Town’s quintessential tourist attractions. Well, it was raining…and cloudy…so we went to the mall for a bit and then to a pub. Its funny how pubs can be a good alternative to just about any rained out adventure.

Day Five:
What better way to start the day, than getting your friends together, and getting picked up by a 9-passenger van with a driver? P.S. The van has been stocked with snacks, orange juice, and champagne. I’m pretty sure that the driver, Dominick, had no idea what his day was going to be like. He gave us the run down of the “Wine Farms” we’d be visiting on our adventure. Chase and I were particularly excited about the last stop… cheese. Mmmm… Silliness ensued after the first stop. Dominick had a jammin’ mix cd that he was bumping though the van. Our particular favorite… Sexy Chic. Yea, I still wish I had that video of Chase dancing to it. All in all, a fun, fun day full of friends, laughter, and WINE! And needless to say, we weren’t able to get cheese at our last stop…Dominick decided we were “too rowdy” to go to that wine farm. Fail.

Day Six:
Our next adventure had us heading out to Hermanus to watch the whales play. The drive out was about 2 hours…but so worth it to see the scenic drive and the whales. We didn’t see any breach, but we got to see their backs, their heads and tales!

On the drive home, I was overcome by the “townships” scattered throughout the country. South Africa has a huge disparity between the wealthy and the poor. The poor, mostly the blacks of the country, live in these makeshift communities. Constructed of garbage essentially. Though, the government has declared this land free for them to live, with free electricity – they are governed not by police, but by gangs. In fact, a few years back, the government constructed “project” type homes, the gangs couldn’t decide who should be able to live in these homes…and to today, they sit vacant. Seeing how these people lived made me feel sad for the lack of equality…and it made me feel humbled and blessed for the things and opportunities I have been provided in my life.

Day Seven:
After our day-long wine drinking extravaganza, I wasn’t anticipating any of us being ready for what was in store for our Friday night in Cape Town. We met everyone out for dinner…it was Nelson’s last night in town, and he declared that we were all “going big tonight.” Hmmm… ok, Nelson. After dinner we hit up a couple of clubs. There were Jager Bombs and shots a’ plenty. I don’t think Cape Town had any idea “Team USA” was on the prowl!!

Day Eight:
On Saturday, Angie’s family invited Team USA into their home for a bri. A bri is essentially a South African BBQ. Angie’s father cooked up quite a meal!! We spent the rest of the evening, eating, sipping wine, and playing board games. A nice night indeed!

Day Nine:
Our last day, we packed up Anj’s new car; Dustin got behind the wheel and headed out to our overnight safari. The drive was long, but scenic. And worth it. We got to go on two game drives at the Game Reserve. We saw giraffes, zebras, rhinos, elephants, impalas, cheetahs, springbok, lions and wildebeests up close.
Though, I spent a fair amount of time in Cape Town, I could have easily spent another two weeks there. The country is as diverse as it is beautiful. I had no idea what I had in store when I booked the ticket. I couldn’t have asked for better traveling partners or better hosts! I’m definitely KEEN to go back soon.

For the full album of pictures – go to this link!! http://picasaweb.google.com/anna.r.lauri/CapeTownSouthAfrica?feat=directlink