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You are here: Home / Archives for Destinations / Africa / South Africa

Changing Perspective Through Experience

February 24, 2010 By Jillian

Through Central and South America my question to every hospedaje, hostel and hotel receptionist was “Tiene agua caliente?” (Do you have hot water?). More often than not the answer was “yes, but…” and I would find myself faced with the dreaded electric shower head. While I have heard that some find the electric shock of the electric shower to be a nice wake up in the morning, I hated it and complained loudly the first dozen times it happened. Well, perhaps more than just the first dozen. Traveling provides many new experiences, but perhaps more important than the electric shower-head, is the new perspective those experiences can bring. Things don’t seem so bad once you have something worse to compare it to or as good once you have something better. We’re often asked how did you like (insert famous structure/country/city here), and its hard to respond. “Well, where have you been before?” we often ask for it doesn’t matter what we think of it, it matters how we think it compares to the famous structure/country/city you’ve been to before.

In trying to make places relative, we say things like: “Rio de Janero is the love child of New York and Miami,” to an American or “Capetown is like the San Francisco of South Africa.” While this works for some people it won’t mean anything to you if you haven’t been to New York, Miami or San Francisco. When travelers refer to Buenos Aires as the Paris of South America I have to question- have you been to Paris? Because what I love most about Paris—the sidewalk cafes—are severely lacking in Buenos Aires. That is not to say that Buenos Aires isn’t incredible, because it certainly is, but it is not Paris in South America.

Managing expectations becomes a chore, and when we’re trying to size up whether its worth the time, money and effort to go somewhere we often read between the lines and try to figure out what new experience or perspective we’ll get from going there. Sometimes its as selfish as, I just want a few days on a cheap beach with cold beer (ok then we’re off to Mozambique), and other times its I’m looking for the real Africa (then we’re off to Lesotho). Not every travel experience is going to have a profound impact on you, let’s face it, the fifth time you’ve gone to a beach isn’t not life changing, but maybe the little recharge you get from being somewhere different, from meeting a new person, maybe that small experience changes your perspective and makes yesterdays problems seem small in comparison. So next time you’re frustrated at life, work or home, remember you don’t need to go around the world to change your perspective just a new experience.

Filed Under: Africa, Headline, South Africa Tagged With: cultural differences, travel

Capetown- the San Francisco of the South

February 23, 2010 By Danny

I don’t know if its called the San Francisco of the Southern Hemisphere, but if it isn’t and the name catches on, well you heard it here first. The winelands are close by. There is a famous prison in the bay. The vibe is cosmopolitan. The coast is wonderful but without a wetsuit you might find yourself a bit cold. Cape Town has the world’s largest population of Great White Sharks, followed by the waters off shore of San Fran. I suppose the biggest difference, on the surface anyway, is that San Francisco is dotted by huge hills whereas Cape Town is divided by a huge mountain. But, that’s just the surface I’m talking about.

Cape Town was founded when Portuguese sailors 400 years ago were looking to go east and found Table Mountain instead. Eventually the need was realized for a couple of lighthouses on the point (the first one was too high and always shrouded in fog) and a permanent settlement was established, complete with wine courtesy of the Dutch. The need for cheap labor lead to slave imports (from Angola, Madagascar, and Asia) which is a large part of the reason Cape Town is so cosmopolitan today. Much of its own history, like that of the entire country, has been shaped by events in Europe as Capetown slipped from the Portuguese to the Dutch and then to the British.

The city is beautiful to look at but it is not without its blemishes. During Apartheid the government, as the story goes, couldn’t have things be so cosmopolitan and so they took to demolishing one of the most vibrant parts of the city, District 6. (If you’ve seen the movie District 9, currently up for best picture at the Oscars, you might notice some similarities.) Naturally District 6 was a poor area but it was a mixed area for coloreds, (that means mixed race here) blacks, Jews, whites, and you get the picture. With this area knocked out, as it still is today, people were force ably removed to the other side of the mountain where many continue to reside today in squatters camps and shanty towns. The glitz and glamor of the coastline condos to these camps could not be in greater contrast.

After spending a good day hiking up Table Mountain to look down on the city below, we realized the city does have a lot on offer: diving just offshore, hiking all over the place, and enjoying the best of waterfront nightlife. There are plenty of museums to keep you busy and it is has a real, walkable, downtown area which is not something we’ve seen since Buenos Aires. Between the funky boutiques lining Long Street and the Green Market Craft Square, the downtown is a nice mix of Africa and funky cosmopolitan. This town may remind me of San Fransisco, but while in SF I’ve never seen baboons or watch as street performers dance and sing zulu war songs while sipping my cheap, local wine.

Filed Under: Africa, Headline, Hike, South Africa Tagged With: cities, hiking, travel

Driving the not “right” side in South Africa

February 22, 2010 By Danny

Preparing to drive for the first time was more than a bit stressful. As I tested out all the controls to make sure I knew where they were, we had the following conversation:

D: Right, that’s the blinker, not the shifter.
(Car eased out of parking space in first, into the wrong lane.)
J: You’re on the right side.
D: So I am…..was that the wrong right or the right left?
J: Better practice using the blinkers.
(Wipers go on. Somehow we make it out of the parking lot. Approaching turn.)
J: Put on your blinker.
(Wipers go on again. Then wrong blinker.)
D: This is a left, that means its a short turn and I’m going to stay on this side of the street.
J: Good, you’re on the right side.
D: What (swerve) I’m on the left.
J: Left, that’s what I meant.
(Some time, and a few ostrich, pass.)
D: Shit, now its raining.
J: At least you know where the wipers are.
(Blinker goes on.)

And so it went, somehow we’ve survived a month of driving already and to be honest it has been a pleasure. Our car is little, so little in fact that it isn’t even sold in the US. With all four cylinders contributing to a massive 1.1L engine it struggles a bit on the big hills. Most of which are on one-lane highways. People here use the shoulders to allow others to pass. Although this is something we’ve seen everywhere we’ve been since Mexico, this is the first time I’ve actually driven in it and it is rather nice. If I scoot over for someone I can expect them to flash their hazards once they’ve passed me, saying ‘thank you’ and I am to respond with a flash of my high beams to say ‘you’re welcome.’ Oncoming cars will also scoot into the shoulder to allow more space in that imaginary center lane.

After 9 months through Latin America we only rented a vehicle once, and that was our final week with others doing the driving. It may seem surprising then that we’ve had our own set of wheels here in South Africa, driving on the left side of the road and all, for 6 weeks through 4 countries. The decision was a financial one, along the main route the car for two was cheaper than bus, which has allowed us to explore far more of the country while allowing us to camp and cook ourselves everywhere we’ve gone.

The thing I like the least about having the car is that, like the backpacks, our entire life is inside of it. The difference is that the backpacks are never left out of our sight in public whereas we frequently leave the car in public parking lots. Theft and vandalism here is such a problem that most parking lots have attendants in each lane to guard the cars…a service that you “optionally” pay for when you return to your car. We’ve seen this in other countries (Brazil, Argentina, etc) but needing to payoff the guard is something that still seems alien to us.

We’ve made it this far without a problem, driving through South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, and finally Namibia. Sometimes we find ourselves on the right (wrong) side of the road, and the wipers continue to make non-raining appearances, but otherwise we’re doing OK. The most amazing thing though, is when we’re approaching an intersection and Jill says “make a left at the light” and we both know that means to make a right.

Filed Under: Africa, Headline, South Africa Tagged With: cultural differences, driving, travel

Foodie Friday: The wines of Stellenbosch

February 19, 2010 By Jillian

Forgive us, but we figured it was ok to highlight wine instead of food this week. The existence of wine in the Cape Colony is no coincidence. Sailors long at sea often demanded wine in order to herd off scurvy and other fun diseases. Almost immediately upon founding the colony expeditions were went to the ‘frontier’ to find suitable land for agriculture, wine chief amongst the concerns of colonists, even though grapes had already been planted closer to town. The industry here got an added boost at the start of the 19th century when Britain and France were at war. Today pinotage is the king South Africa varietal, a hybrid of pinot noir and cinsault grapes, making it a light and fruity red wine.

The nicest part of the tastings in Stellenbosch was their format. Although we are from professionals, we’ve been to quite a few wine tours now. Generally the format for these things is to show up, stand at the bar while the bartender pours your new taste and tells you about the varital, remain standing while drinking, and quickly downing or dumping the remainder so that the bartender can begin the next taste. Not so in Stellenbosch.

At the first vineyard, we were handed a menu, told to choose our first selection, handed glasses and invited to sit on the patio. When we were ready for our next we got up and made our selection. If we wanted to try each Chardonnay, a second glass was given to us so that we could compare them side by side. Given that the tastes were quite substantial, and we each were allotted 5, we were there for quite awhile which kept us from visiting too many other vineyards. The second winery just sat us down, brought us each three glasses, filled them up, and gave us each a piece of chocolate to go with each wine. Can’t beat that.

Perhaps the reason for the difference is the age of the the South African vineyards (the first were planted around 1650) when compared with everything we’ve ever had in the Americas but I’ve gotta say…. Mendoza, Argentina needs to take note.

Filed Under: Africa, Beer & Wine, Headline, South Africa Tagged With: foodiefriday, wine, winetasting

Sharks vs. Chiefs

February 18, 2010 By Danny

Opening game of the season, the Sharks of Durban taking on the Chiefs of….New Zealand?

Yes, thats how sport works outside of the USA. Sure you can play against your countrymen but that isn’t nearly as fun as mixing in the other countries as well. The Sharks are one of 5 South African professional teams that play not only for the domestic championship (alongside several other lesser teams as well) but in the Super 14 League of teams including Australia and New Zealand. (Argentina is due to join shortly bringing the number of teams even higher)

The game opened up as a rather boring game with each team kicking the ball back and fourth and back and fourth…it actually seemed as though we were watching a soccer match. The reason for all the kicking was that it was pouring and kicking in the rain is easier than catching and throwing the ball. No one could make it to the end zone instead kicking it through the uprights on penalties twice each, leaving the score at an even 6-6 at halftime.

The stadium was pretty similar to any NFL stadium. Perhaps a bit smaller, and with a much lower ticket price, it was every bit as enjoyable. The food for sale was generally the same, plenty of beer on tap, but men walking around with biltong instead of cotton candy. The stadium was in the shadow of the new world cup soccer stadium across the way, and there were jerseys for sale in the stadium shop.

After the half the game was very different with each team running and rucking the ball. The sharks never made it into the try zone but managed to kick three more times making the 15 – 6. Then a break-away and suddenly the Chiefs were threatening to put a try on the board, the Sharks held though and kept holding, eventually kicking the ball away in what could be described as a brilliant goal-line defense. Eventually though, there was another break-away and before we knew it the Chiefs had scored their try, made their conversion, and were leading by one point with 2 minutes remaining on the clock.

The next minute and a half was flurry of rugby and somehow, with 30 seconds remaining the Sharks (that’s the home team, remember) drove most of the way to the goal, were awarded a penalty kick, and were suddenly ahead by 2 points. The crowd was wild and rowdy, the rain still pouring down and as the final thirty seconds ticked down…game over! But wait. After the clock expired the referee was there, on the field, blowing his whistle awarding those Chiefs a penalty of their own…they kicked and it was good…leaving the crowd boo-ing the Aussie ref out of the stadium as the Chiefs took the win in “overtime.”

Filed Under: Africa, Headline, South Africa, Weekend Warrior Tagged With: competition, games, rugby

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