16.12.2013
- Day of Reconciliation
- Woke up early and got ready - met Alex at grocery store to get snacks before catching a bus to the Royal Yacht Club - met by Ralph who runs Cape Town Sailing - walked to boat, the _____ - joined by fellow students: Petrais, IT analyst and father of 2 year old _____; Ali, student from Jo'burg here visiting her sister for the holidays and taking the class after her course at UCT fell through; Orion, from Argentina who is hoping to sail back to South America after completing the course - too windy to sail today with gusts up to 35 ____ gusts in the harbour alone and nearly 50 ____ on Table Bay - lots of theory work learning a whole new language for the sailing world and learning to tie knots - will be sailing on two boats over the next couple of weeks - his other boat, the ____, gained international infamy after a whale breached onto the deck as he was sailing, caught on camera and film - we joined Ralph for a soft drink at the yacht club after our session ended with Amanda and Shane, former students who now co-own a boat with Ralph - have tentative plans to connect with other students outside of sailing and have a tentative invite to join Ralph and his friends for a 3-4 day sail up the west coast over new years - life is pretty good
- Petrais dropped Alex and I near home where we stopped at a wine shop offering a tasting - feeling tipsy without lunch in me we ducked into a grocery store and made our way home for lunch - talked with Katherine and other guests - worked on my blog - relaxed for the afternoon
- Rushed to get ready for dinner date with friends of Christina Alessandra, my dear friend back in Bellingham and former roommate of more than four years - her childhood friend, Leah, is living in Cape Town with her husband who is from South Africa and we were put in touch for a social visit - I was a few minutes late meeting them at a burger joint having misread the directions and overshooting the restaurant, actually passing the couple on my hurried walk - finally found the correct place and ducked inside to talk and order wonderful food including my veggie burger with gluten free bun! Leah and her husband are expecting their first child any day now as the official due date is only two weeks out. We talked about our life journeys that brought us to Cape Town and our dreams of the future as influenced by the values of society paired with the values we hold for ourselves and hope to pass along to our children. We also gabbed about the beauty and people of Northwest Washington where Leah was raised and where the couple might resettle and which I miss dearly these days. We also talked about the politics of the nation today, wealth disparity, life after Madiba, and growing up white in small-town, apartheid South Africa. Conversation was easy and stimulating and I found myself more comfortable and chipper around than I have been since Kevin left. Noting that we could probably talk forever and that we would surely see one another again giving my ever-extending time in Cape Town, we called it an evening and I walked them to their car for a hug and farewell photo. I went home contented for a cup of tea and few pages of my book before a bedtime shower. Another day of gifts from Cape Town.
17.12.2013
- Spent the morning starting to work on my blog again - lots to update -
- Finally got myself together to get out of the house for a bit - went to the store before grabbing a cab to the trailhead for Lion's Head, the rocky mountain just in front of Table Mountain - tonight is the full moon which seems to be a widely celebrated occasion in Cape Town with various picnics, beach walks, winery tours, and other events - it is also a popular night for hiking in the summer when you can walk the trails by moonlight when the skies are clear - I hiked to the top of Lion's Head with enough time to catch the sunset - long path winding around the small peak which eventually leads to a rock scramble including a series of ladders and chains and "staples" to climb up before reaching the top - the view across Hout Bay was wonderful and the sun was warm with only a light breeze on what was otherwise a very windy day - sat and ate my dinner and drank a ginger beer (with a float or raisins) and smiled when the large crowd clapped when the sun finally dipped behind the clouds on the horizon
- Almost immediately people began to shift to the eastern view where a full moon began to rise behind purple clouds in a pink sky - walk back down as the moon rose higher over the city - long queues for the ladders and staples - ran into Orion on the way down - talked with Ranger, Nathan, and his dog, Baxter, on the way down the mountain - he was nice enough to call me a cab which I ended up sharing with two other tourists staying down the street from me
- We dropped the other tourists and I kept the cab to head to the Mahogany Room to meet Alex - he is moving into a house in our neighborhood at the end of the week and was meeting his new landlord, Alan, for some DJ'd African music - arrived to a man spinning his vinyl collection who I found out later was a founder of Island Records and kind of a big deal in the industry and is retired to Cape Town where he plays his favourites at bars to keep his passion public - had a G&T and talked and swayed a bit to the music in the intimate environment - had a great time connecting with Alex and being on the town - took a cab home and went to bed not too late, but late enough to make sailing in the morning a potentially tiring prospect.
18.12.2013
- Sailing - Jonathan and Orion and Alex -
- Dropped anchor for lunch
- Back to the harbour and had lunch at the yacht club - talked with a woman and her son who are from SA but live in the UK who are here to do the Cape Town to Rio race on January 4th - three generations on one boat - caught a bus home and rested for a bit - worked on blog for a while - taking forever to upload two months of photos and videos with shared wifi in a hostel -
- Alex and I walked down to _____ Square to an Indian restaurant called ______ - wonderful samosas, a chicken liver starter cooked with spices and chili peppers and served with papadam, a vegetable curry with a side of dahl and butternut squash - sooji for dessert topped with vanilla ice cream and sprinkled with cinnamon - chat with owner for a long while about India, its food, and family life - the restaurant is all his mother's recipes - walked around the square checking out other restaurants and enjoyed a quick but cool walk home - perfect alfresco dining
- Home and read one chapter of my book before I was nodding off - long day today
19.12.2013
- Up early for another day of sailing - had to be at the boat by 8:30 but was there by 8 - Ali, Petris, Jonathan, Orion, Alex, and I on board this morning - stronger winds today - 35 knot gusts - lots of keeling - got to stand at the helm for a while and keep us on course - was more active today in our sail, wenching in lines for tacks and gybes -
- eventually pulled into V&H Waterfront - felt very different to come in over the water - ate at a restaurant near the water where Ralph had negotiated a 30% discount after years of bringing students here on a regular basis - ordered a terrific smoked salmon salad with fresh strawberries and basked in the heat of a lazy brunch - joined by a 30 year friend of Ralph's whom he had not seen in almost 15 years - she is from South Africa but has been living in France, Italy, and now Belgium for many years - after her parents insisted that she accounting in college, she made a life change and pursued her travel interests teaching languages abroad and, now in retirement, is pursuing a dream of getting a fine arts degree and focusing on her painting -
- Sailed back lying on the deck of our boat which tilted in the water at a 45 degree angle affording a great view of sea and sky - moored and had a few moments to buy boat gloves for my poor baby hands which are getting a bit thrashed pulling boat lines - sat and had a drink with Ralph, the crew, and a man and his friend who moore in a berth across from Ralph
- Ali gave us a lift home and we exchanged contact details for some possible social plans soon and maybe even a sailing/road trip after the first of the year - home to make lunch and talk with my hostel hosts, Susan and Katherine - worked for a while on blog and emails - later in the evening I caught a cab back to the waterfront to see the new Hunger Games movie - saw the first one on a plane home from Asia last year and now I am committed to finish the series - well done - felt very lonely as the credits began to roll - miss Kevin
- Cabbie on the ride home told me about how cab companies work in Cape Town, how cab drivers manage to navigate the system to actually earn money, and which cab companies to avoid that do not treat their employees well - few of my hostel mates up watching a movie, Elysium, when I got home - still feeling a bit lonely so cuddled on the couch for the end of the flick and some chatter - shower and to bed late
20.12.2013
- Conversation with Ann from London's Pioneer Productions
- Mama Heidi - 3 minute travel videos
- Brazil youtube video - singing to people
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=trueview-instream&v=2mhbQ_94DrA
- London Road
- Crypt
21.12.2013
- Sailing - Mandy - crew opportunity
- Biscuit Mill - lunch at Bread @ ______
- Home to find new hostel - catch up on blog - committed to new return date with kevin
- out with Alex - he moved out tonight - Ainnoa joined us - dinner down Bree street - veggie burger and cocktail - walked up to Orphanage Cocktail Emporium - talked with manager and schmoozed our way out of cover charge and into a free round of drinks - red hats - drink: another tea vicker, served in a floral tea cup with jello on the side - talked outside with manager who came here after managing the Viper Room in LA - talked with South African who is a tour guide - talked with another man who was raised in Singapore about racism and priviledge and white culture in South Africa
- Walked home in our red hats
22.12.2013
- relaxed day catching up on emails - stomach ache overnight and didn't sleep well - emailed with mentor, Tracy, and we are planning to go on safari together in Namibia
- Out to Company Gardens to walk the market - gift for secret santa tomorrow at hostel Christmas party - store to get food for brai
- Annoa and I walked up to Alex's new home - beautiful gardens - beautiful home - 4 yo Sean - fish brai - chatted about fashion culture - talked about burning clothing - German men - publication - dessert - good to be in a home
- Ainhoa and I walked to Kloof Street House for tea - lovely space
