Slight Change in Plans...

For those of you who don't know, I'm mixing up my previous itinerary a bit...Our program ends November 15, and I originally planned to fly out that day, now however, I've changed my mind. With the beautiful summer weather beginning to show and so many more opportunities presenting themselves, I've decided to stay until December 12. I've made such wonderful friends here that I'm just not ready to leave quite yet.

On another note, I spent the last few days in Langebaan (a little over an hour north of CT) where I had my first kiteboarding lesson. The wind wasn't perfect for it, but it definitely made me try a bit harder! It was so much fun learning how to maneuver the kite, although not the most intuitive, and the next time I go up for a lesson I'll be able to practice more in the water. Langebaan is a beautiful and quaint beach town on the West Coast and I'm still amazed by the drastic changes in scenery here in South Africa. One minute you're surrounded by dry brush, the next you're sitting on the beach with tropical turquoise waters lapping the shore.

Overlooking Shark Bay

OYSTERS

Where am I again??

Rocking the Daisies!

Just had one of the best weekends yet in South Africa. As of last Monday, I didn't think that I would be going to the 3 day music festival, Rocking the Daisies, but my luck changed. Although tickets were only about $70, I wanted to save it for something else during my stay; instead of paying for my ticket, I ended up going for free :). How did this happen? I walked 60k to the festival! One hundred of us were selected to join the eco friendly march, Walking the Daisies. The walk began four years ago when two friends decided to promote environmental awareness and it has continued to grow every year.

Our walk began 20 minutes outside of Cape Town in Blouberg, right along the coast. It was a beautiful Thursday morning, perfect weather for walking. We were split into different color groups, given snacks and then it was time to hit the road! Besides the green initiative, Walking the Daisies is also for charity. Instead of paying for a festival ticket, each walker donates 150R to Bob's for Good, an organization that in turn donates a pair of shoes to children who have to walk several km just to get to school each day. To begin our walk, all of us took off our shoes and walked bare foot along the sandy shores. Most of the day was spent walking on the sand, which began as a very relaxing event, but soon turned into a wearisome affair. Around 5 pm, we made it to Silverstraand, a beach campsite 25km away from Blouberg.

The second day we climbed inland and up to the top of the hills surrounding Darling (the location of Rocking the Daisies). The view was incredible from the top, and we could look down upon the festival, the ultimate reward for 60k of walking and too many blisters on my feet. The blisters are another story all together...to keep it simple, my team leader used a military treatment that causes your nerve endings to die...easily one of the most painful experiences I've ever had. After that though, it was time for some good food and music!

Looking down at Rocking the Daisies!

Singing our song, "Walking to the Daisies"

That Friday, Saturday and Sunday were some of the most fun days I've had here. Almost all of the musicians were South African, except for the headliner Band of Skulls, and they were all great. Rocking the Daisies is a bit different than US music festivals because there are several different stages that have everything ranging from the typical bands, to acrobatics and African dance. It was perfectly sunny all weekend, but the heat became unbearable during midday. Luckily, there was a dam on the wine estate where everyone was swimming and lounging about on floats. There was so much going on during the festival that it was difficult to figure out which stages to go to. No matter where I was though, it was always a good time :). Sunday morning South Africa played Australia in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal, so RtD set up the main stage with a live broadcast of the match on the giant screen. Although everyone probably got less than 4 hours of sleep, it was PACKED. It was a disappointing loss for South Africa, but it was still fun to be surrounded by so much energy. I caught a ride home from some friends around 1, and came back coated in dust and exhausted but happy. All of my Cape Town adventures seem to compete with one another for the top place holder and there is still much to do! I'm not sure if I'm going to come back...

Cooling off by the Dam

Sunday morning rugby! Packed for the quarterfinal 

New Weekend Plans

So...unfortunately, we couldn't hike this weekend because there weren't enough drivers :(. BUT, this weekend still ended up being great! Our house was pretty empty this weekend with 2 out of 8 people being gone, so two of my friends and I decided, on a whim, to take the train to Muizenberg Saturday. The trains are really run down, and move at a pace of about 5 mph, but we made it! There were supposed to be first and third class seats, with a difference of R5 (less than a dollar), but all the trains look exactly the same. When we finally got into Muizenberg we were greeted with a beautiful beach and an ocean filled with surfers. You are supposed to be able to go whale watching here, but we didn't see any that day. After walking around the beach for a bit (and seeing the iconic primary colored beach shacks that are all over postcards) we decided to just chill for a little bit before grabbing some fresh seafood. We ended up making friends with 3 South Africans from Jo'burg who invited us to lunch at a restaurant in Kalk Bay, 5 min. drive, called Brass Bell. Kalk Bay has a cute little town that I really want to go back to so that I can try the bakery and ice cream shop there :). The restaurant that we went to was really nice and extended out over the water and the surf would crash up at the windows. Our friends ended up treating us and also invited us over for a dinner party that night with their other friends from Cape Town, so we decided to go for it and break the American bubble that we're surrounded by.

When it was dinner time, they picked us up and we drove down to the marina near The V&A Waterfront and ended up driving into the residences that surround the One and Only Hotel. For those of you who don't know...this is a renowned 6 star international luxury hotel...There was a private marina where residents parked their yachts, and when we went into the flat there were platters filled with sushi from a popular restaurant called Beluga. It was so much fun to meet Capetonians and "seek rather than see" as one of them told me. The whole thing was surreal and just goes to show where a little spontaneity and friendliness can get you :). Pictures to be up soon...