Saturday, January 21, 2012

Holiday In The Sun

Happy New Year! I can feel it in my bones that 2012 is going to be an epic year. So far it’s proved to be pretty great!

I got home on the 6th of January from a wonderful, beautiful, much needed vacation. The original plan was for me to go to Cape Town with my South African friend but unfortunately that plan didn’t work out. I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason though and I know I will eventually get to Cape Town (next Christmas maybe?) so I wasn’t disappointed. The trip I ended up taking was the PERFECT vacation! What was really cool was that I didn’t miss any work! My organization closed the day before I left, and opened the first Monday I was back. Now we just need to transfer this long holiday to the United States…

Here is the breakdown of my holiday.
Port Elizabeth.
First weekend away was just in my normal stomping grounds of PE. I showed my friend Will off as he was going to the land of all things wonderful – aka – the United States. We had a great time hanging out in the city and I looked ridiculous with my mass amounts of luggage. Most of which were only necessary for the first five days during our hike. Because normally I don’t travel with garlic salt and a huge knife…

The Shipwreck Hike.

This was my first real hiking experience. It was in a nutshell – amazing! We left from Port Alfred (which is supposedly my “shopping town” only 45 minutes from Alexandria and where my host sister works, yet no public transport goes there…therefore I never go there). Anyway – it was actually really cool doing something so unique right near where I stay! The hike was five days and four nights along the coast and going inland to the different accommodations. A lot of the hiking was along the beach – which was cool, but also can be the worst. It can be the worst when you aren’t on compact sand and you LITERALLY feel like you are hiking a stair master machine…for hours…and it never ends. We got smart eventually and realized that wearing shoes on the beach (while annoying with sand constantly getting in) is much preferable to no shoes. We had great weather the whole time – in that it was overcast therefore not sweltering hot. We had some wind, but it was always at our backs so that was fine. And on the very last day it did rain a little on us, but it wasn’t bad. Also I should mention we “slack packed”…so really didn’t have much work to do other than walking. Our bags were picked up and dropped off at the next accommodation daily. It was pretty sweet. This was a self guided hike (which at first terrified me) but the posts and signs were actually pretty easy to follow. Here are the highlights.

Day One: me being the only one who refuses to make it more difficult by walking over continuous dunes. Please – I’ll stick by the water thanks. There was an awesome sunset, and the little cabin we were staying in was sweet. My friends also got chased by bulls when they went for a walk (all of the accommodations are on farmers land who have partnered with this hiking company). Luckily they avoided real injury by running as fast as they could and hiding behind a bush. Crisis averted. This is also the day that I shouted “penguins!” only to have it NOT be a flock of penguins….oops.

Day Two: MY FAVORITE DAY! We were along the beach for a while but then went up a river to the camp of tree houses we were staying in. It was a long walk, but this was the coolest thing ever. The scenery was a combination of Indian Jones meets Jurassic Park. This was even more apparent when I tripped over a stump, shouted back to the group to watch out for the root, and was the only one to see a GIGANTIC lizard sprint away into the woods. I was TERRIFIED. Everyone heard it but only I had seen it. We asked about them, and apparently they are called monitor lizards. Google it. Anyway – it just confirmed that we were in our own version of Jurassic Park. We even had electrified fences that we had to navigate (dangerously close at points I might add). I guess that’s what you get when you hike through farm land.
The camp was the coolest. We also saw a crab on the rocks in the river (I was really taken with any and all wildlife we saw if you can’t tell). So there was a low tree house and a high tree house. I got to sleep in the high tree house and it was so fun! This whole day was my favorite because I loved the mystery and surprise of the terrain that we were hiking (jungle type) and then who doesn’t love getting to sleep in tree house?

Day Three: we had a delicious Mexican themed dinner. Even though we didn’t have electricity at any of the places except the last night we ate so well. We really did a good job on that front considering no planning went into it until we were at the grocery store buying our food. Also we were ironically staying at a building that had been used by the United States Navy during the Cold War. I don’t remember any other history of the place besides that.

Day Four: typical day, but started out bad. We meant to take the long hike option that went down to the beach to see these rock formations called the “Three Sisters”. Well, thirty minutes into the trail we realize we’re on the shortcut. The boys decide that it’s a good idea to try and go through the bush (so cut straight onto the beach) versus back tracking and taking the paths. I flatly refuse this option. I live in the Eastern Cape – I’ve seen the bush. I do not want to attempt to walk through it without a path. So, Veronica agrees with me and we back track. It’s not until AFTER we have split up in half that we realize maybe it might have been a good idea to discuss the possible options. Like, where we should meet for example. Or, if they can’t get through the bush – what will happen? Also – no one had really been keeping their cell on them since we weren’t connecting to the outside world. So, here we are, group split with no plan, and no idea what’s going to happen. Veronica is the kind of person who apparently does not freak out and can keep her cool. I was trying my hardest to not have a breakdown. All I know is I probably asked TOO many times….”but seriously Veronica…what if we can’t find them. WHAT are we supposed to do? This was a bad idea. A really bad idea. Ohmygod, I’m trying to not freak out”. Well me trying to not freak out was kind of failing but because V was so cool I figured I should try and keep my cool too…I didn’t want to look like a nut job. Yet the whole time in my mind I was going over every single possible horrible situation that could happen. One of them might break their foot and we will not know!!!!!!!!!!!!
Flash forward to V and me getting to Three Sisters and being like…wellllllll now what? We try to call/text both of them. Ethan finally answers and is like “we are by the big rocks”. Well, we knew there was no possible way they could be by the same big rocks we were by if they had cut straight across from the point of the trail we had been on when they decided to go through the bush. So we walk in the direction we are supposed to and go looking for the next big set of rocks. Long story short – they WERE at the same big rocks as we were – how we did not see each other is absolutely beyond me. But the morning started with us backtracking twice. I was not happy. The rest of the day was typical though and we got to spend the night in this really old original farm building that had electricity! A hot shower was pretty awesome.

Day Five: Almost the whole hike was on the beach which by this point I was dreading because it is really difficult to walk on sand for hours and hours. The best surprise came though when we were approaching something and I cried penguin again – this time I was right! We found a lone penguin on the beach. He had just gotten out of the water or so it seemed. He was really far away from where he was supposed to be and looked sad. Still, we were all really, really excited about this development in the day! I wish we had the phone number to the nature organization that picks up birds like that and rehabilitates them. There is one in the area but we didn’t have the number and honestly I didn’t even think of it until much later. All in all – it was a really great experience and I want to do more hiking! I have decided that one hike along the beach is all I need, but I would love to do more hiking like on day two. I like a little mystery in my hike!

Wild Coast.
At this point in the trip we rented a car which was great. It was like being real functioning adults again! We only had two drivers because it was about R200 for each additional driver. Just being in the car with people I know driving was enough to make it great though. Plus, I think driving on the opposite side of the road might have thrown me through a loop.

Cinsta: This was the first stop on our trip and where we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas. I am obsessed with this place. We stayed at this massive backpackers – Buccaneers. It was amazing! I had so much fun there I really want to go back! We got Chinese food for Christmas Eve which was a nice treat because it was a really fancy restaurant and was actually really nice and delicious! Then we had enough left overs that we had Chinese left overs for Christmas dinner too. The backpackers had a huge party on Christmas Eve which we gladly participated in. It was really fun getting to spend the holiday with people from all over the world, traveling and doing the same thing we were.

Then there was a Christmas miracle. On Christmas morning the sun came out and shone for the first time in over five days! It had been raining nonstop but Christmas morning it was hot and sunny! We went down to the beach and spent the morning playing in the waves (where I had to have a life guard rescue me because the tide was so strong) and laying out. This was after our complementary champagne breakfast I might add! We weren’t supposed to get it for free, but the owner said it was cool if we did because he was friends with the guy who ran our hike. Yay for connections! Anyway – I was actually having so much fun that I wasn’t even able to be sad that I was missing Christmas back home. I of course missed my family and friends – but it was not a bad way to spend the holidays! Side story: there were two people on this trip that I have to mention. The first is Brett. That is not his real name, but is the name of the Flight of the Concords band member that he [one of the Buccaneers staff members] is the long lost twin of. On the night before Christmas Eve I’m pretty sure I freaked him out when I basically stalked him due to this. “You know who you look like? Have you ever seen Flight of the Concords? This is crazy! Have you seen that show?! [To anyone willing to listen…repeatedly]. You look EXACTLY like Brett!!!!!”. Then I only referred to him as Brett, and I think I might have stared at him for a while. The next day I felt the need to apologize…but I do not apologize for being in love with him because it is the closest I will ever get to the real Brett. If you haven’t seen the TV show Flight of Concords you need to get on that.

Morgan Bay: We were camping at a camp grounds called Yellowwoods. This place was really cool, but we didn’t really get a chance to see much. This is also where the incident happened. So, Ethan and I wanted to go down to the beach and check it out one afternoon while V and Andrew were fishing. Ethan had mentioned that he wanted to hike up to these cliffs and see what was up there and I was totally down. So, we hike up and it is beautiful! It was so cool, we’re having fun climbing down and Ethan needs to go down at a steep spot so he asks me to hold his backpack.
Well, I also need to go down a steep spot so I think, ‘I’ll drop the bag onto this landing that I need to jump down onto’. Well, I drop the bag but instead of stopping on the landing like it’s supposed to - it rolls, and then rolls faster, and faster, and faster, down, down, down and then disappears off a cliff. While this is happening Ethan is screaming that he is going to kill me and I feel like I’m watching a scene from a movie. So, we establish that his wallet, phone, and camera are with him and not in the bag. Good. But there are other things that he really wants to save. So, we are looking to see where the bag has fallen, and I spot it…floating in the ocean…

Ethan tells me to stay where I am while he climbs down. The next 15 minutes (which felt like forever) were spent by Ethan almost drowning in the ocean to retrieve his bag (which he did by the way) and me watching this process from above crying, and praying that he doesn’t drown. There isn’t really good news to this story – but he did get his bag back. The bad news is that I killed his iPod. Which was just out of the warranty time frame by weeks. Ugh. It is not good. I still feel so bad about this, and wish that I could do something now to help him replace his ipod. Sadly, I’m a PCV – so I can’t. In 15 months though he can expect a gift. Oh, I also forgot both his towel and mine at this place. Nice.

Wild Lubanzi:
This place was another one of my favorite spots. This backpackers is in the middle of nowhere. All that surrounds it is a Xhosa village spread out on small plots of land. The backpackers is situated right on a cliff above the ocean. The views are breathtaking. They are relatively new and really alternative. They don’t have electric during the day, but turn on their generator at night. Their showers are solar powered and they make meals for the guests with fruits and veggies from their fresh organic garden. It was awesome! It was also really cool to go down to the secluded (basically private) beach where the only other people were the local children. They can swim like fish! It was so cute to see them all run into the sea and then play in groups. This is also the only beach I’ve been to where right on the grass at the edge of it cows roam freely.

I actually was so happy to be on this trip (I had wanted to see the Wild Coast) and it was really educational for me to see how other Xhosa people live. Where I stay is township style, so even though it’s in a rural area, the houses are close together like in a suburb and it’s very populated. Out on the Wild Coast it is totally different! There are rolling hills for miles and miles and you see colorful spots where people’s rondovals (the traditional round houses…which we only have one of in my township) are. The buildings are situated on small plots of farm land. It was amazing to see this different way to life from the one I know as Xhosa.

Port St. Johns:
We were at Amapondo Backpackers camping for the New Years. We had heard absolutely raving reviews of this place from our friends who had been there during the off season and we’re really excited. Well, we arrive and can’t even park because there are so many cars. When we go up to the office to check in they seem worried that we have three tents. Despite the fact that we booked two months in advance AND paid half of the cost in a deposit. Well, surprise, surprise there is not really any room for us. Excellent. We make do squeezing our tents into places that they really should not be, including a rather steep incline for Ethan in his tent…on top of rocks. Despite this – we can tell that this would be a cool place if it wasn’t packed to the absolute brim with people.

This has got to be one of the most hippie places I have ever been in my life. We were celebrating New Years Eve here and the party theme was “Anything But Clothes”. Before you’re too scandalized by the theme you should know that my first ABC party was when I was 18 at a fraternity. It was our first exchange as new members – GO GREEK! So, due to my vast experience with this party theme I suggested that we do what I did the last time which was a garbage bag dress. I did not take into account how freaking hot it was however. We were sweating profusely immediately. Ethan went with garbage bag pants. Andrew was the only unique one who did a big leaf over his briefs. Oh, and at this point we had picked up Sami another friend from our group who had done a different hike and then met up with us. We also unintentionally met up with two other PCVs from SA22 (group before us) that were also staying here the same time as us.

The party began and it was immediately trance music. I guess they were going for a certain vibe. So, for those of you more experienced in certain things might know what I mean when I say “trance” music. For those of you who don’t know what that means (like me before I was exposed to it and probably a majority of the population) it means really hardcore techno music while people can be in a “trance”. You can rest safe knowing that I am still innocent and only less naive. My friends and I didn’t participate in what we suspect some other people at the party did, but we did dance the night away like maniacs! If you know me, you know I love to dance. We were up until 5am and saw the sunrise while dancing. As Sami would quote me later while she’s trying to convince me and V to go to bed “if you don’t stay up to see the sun rise, the whole thing is a waste Sami!”. Truth.

The next day we moved from Amapondo to another backpackers in Port St. Johns that wasn’t as crowded and we had beds in the dorms. It was really nice to have a bed and not have to go to bed sweating or wake up by 7am with the temperature being at lest 90 degrees in our tent. What a NYE. Side story and person number two I must mention. There was a girl working at Amapondo – probably my age who I swear to God (and ask anyone else that was there with me) was time traveling from the 1800’s. We called her DH short for Dance Hall because – she is the image of a dance hall girl from the wild west. I kid you not, the first time I saw her I was taken aback because it was like looking at a history book (or an old fashioned photo of a dance hall girl). I’m not sure exactly WHY she looks so much like a dance hall girl (although her hair is in that style constantly…not sure if that’s on purpose or what) but anyone who I mentioned it to agreed wholeheartedly. It was very bizarre. Anytime I saw her I felt the urge to tell her my time traveling theory but figured she already looked angry enough she didn’t need someone harassing her.

Durban:
From the Wild Coast we went up to Durban in KZN for a few days. I had not originally planned on doing this but since Cape Town was canceled I figured why not see some of my PC besties and Durban (which is another city in SA that I’ve really wanted to see, right up there with Cape Town). It was really great to see my friends and also meet more PCVs (different ones from SA 22 although the ones that we had met in Port St. Johns came the day after we did to the same place in Durban). We had a lot of fun just hanging out and relaxing. We also went out dancing on my last night and that was so much fun! Sam who stays in KZN is my dancing partner in crime so whenever we get together now we try and have a night out of dancing. We also ate out at this place called Taco Zulu which is the first GOOD Mexican food I’ve had in South Africa – it was delish!

Fun fact about Durban, it is the largest Indian population outside of India. I kid you not. I knew this information, but was still a little taken aback by the sheer number of Indian people everywhere. At the movie theater where we saw the second Sherlock Holmes movie – half of the movie choices were Bollywood films! We got some delicious bunny chow in the Indian sector of town. It was R8 for a quarter of a loaf of bread filled to brim with curry! To put that in perspective – R7 gets you a can of diet coke. It was my first time eating it – and it was soooooo so so so good. I was full the rest of the day also.

Leaving Durban was pretty sad, but it was wayyyyy to hot. It was so humid that after you got out of the shower, you never dried off. No exaggeration. I should mention that I bought my bus ticket last minute and was going for the cheapest option. Well, my ONLY option was to take the bus service that everyone says to NOT take (which was still way overpriced). SA Roadlink. A few years ago they faced the government shutting them down because of so many accidents and problems. Well, obviously they had to have cleaned up their act or get shut down, but still – no one takes that if they can avoid it. Now I know why. The seats are TINY, tiny, tiny and they don’t have an arm rest separating them. Well, many South Africans are not tiny tiny. This wasn’t an issue for the first half of the ride when I had two seats to myself – yay! Flash forward to the bus stop right before it’s time to go to sleep and a massive man chooses ME to sit next to. I spent a lot of time doing the whole moving my arm to get him off of me throughout the night. At one point I remember saying “scoot over” and just pointing the direction away from me. Thank goodness my vacation had exhausted me so I slept the whole night through anyway no problem.

Even once I got back to Alexandria the holiday wasn’t over. I spent the weekend with Michelle’s family at Cannon Rocks for the Cannon Rocks Kite Surfing Classic that Michelle was competing in. She did really good by the way! It was so cool to actually get to see people competing – it looks really fun actually.

All in all it was an epic vacation. I got to see 16 different PCVs, stay at 11 different places. I met people from all over the entire world and made some really great friends. Most importantly I was able to escape my own mind and get refreshed for 2012. I didn’t think about work ONCE (unless we were sharing stories) and was able to be totally relaxed. In the end, I was ready to come back home and get back down to business. I’m so thankful though that I was able to take that vacation though. Thank you to anyone who helped me out (you know who you are!). You are the best. : )

A post will come really soon about the exciting things I have ahead of me in 2012. Like I said, I can feel it - it’s going to be epic.

“Find life experiences and swallow them whole. Travel. Meet many people. Go down some dead ends and explore dark alleys. Try everything. Exhaust yourself in the glorious pursuit of life”.
- Lawrence K. Fish