Table Mountain and Clifton Beach

My last organized excursion was a hike up Table Mountain.  I must say, given the heat, and my lack of eating dinner the previous night, I wasn’t 100% confident I’d make it to the top without developing some sort of heat exhaustion.  However, by going along very slowly, I did make it, and there was lots of interesting plant life on the way up.   

 

taken from the highest point, looking towards the cable car with lion's head in the background

 

we took the cable car down, given that it was sunny, 35˚C, and 3PM

 

clifton beach #4, where I spent my last full day. the water is FREEZING!

Cape Peninsula

My second day I went on a bike tour of the Cape Peninsula.  By car my guide, Jason, took me along the coast to Boulder’s Beach to see the colony of African Penguins, to the Cape of Good Hope, and to Cape Point.  From there, I biked (with the Cape Doctor winds at my back all the way along the other side of the peninsula through the Cape Point Nature Reserve.

 

African penguins mate for life

the cape of good hope

 

there are quite some number of baboon colonies within the cape point nature reserve. after we got out of the car to look at them (leaving the windows rolled up...), the alpha male opened the car door, got in the back seat, and starting rooting through backpacks looking for picnics!

 

biking through the nature reserve

 

wildflower season was getting started

 

being in a protected area, this one won't wind up an ostrich burger!

 

i passed 2 herds of bontebok

 

the dassie is a close relative of the elephant due to it's foot bone structure. they way they live in families in the rocks running around reminds me of rocky, coastal prairie dogs.

 

black girdled lizard - looks like a tiny alligator

 

road out of the nature reserve

i guess this means baboon and gazelles?

 

the "tablecloth" forms during summer afternoons due to the Cape Doctor (strong summer winds)

Lion’s Head

Lion’s Head is part of the Cape Town backdrop.  It’s near Table Mountain, although not nearly as high.  Two British guys I met cage diving invited me to walk up it with them the same afternoon.  The panoramic view was amazing, and the walk was satisfyingly tough, but didn’t kill us.  Afterwards, we stopped at their hotel bar for much deserved mojitos.

 

This is a puff adder. They are actually quite dangerous due to their fast strike. Luckily, we left it alone (as we didn't know what it was at the time)

 

Looking out to the West on the way up

 

once you get almost to the top there's a little climbing

 

view from the top

 

my british hiking buddies and me on top of the world. robben island is in the background.

 

yikes!

Cape Town – Shark diving

I kept myself busy in Cape Town, hence the lack of recent posts.  Overall, Cape Town was my kind of place.  Pretty much any extreme sport you can think of is available, plus sun, nature, wine, and a fun bar scene too.  I could easily spend 2 weeks in the region, so I guess I’ll have to go back sometime.

The first thing I did was cage diving with Great White Sharks.  The cage sticks out of the water and takes 5 people at a time.  The noise of scuba equipment sometimes bothers the sharks, so you just take a deep breath and go under whenever a shark is coming.   To be honest, although it was really neat being in the cage and seeing them underwater, the surface viewing from the boat deck was actually better.

 

swimming towards the boat

they all swam really close to the cage

going for the bait

Back to civilisation

Don’t take that the wrong way.  I’m not saying Madagascar’s not civilised.  not by any means.  However, I am currently sitting in the Joburg airport, writing emails and posting on my blog.  And it’s fast.  And there is a latte stand about 20 feet away.  I have so far been miraculously lucky with my baggage.  I have 2 giant duffle bags (thank you Karen).  I haven’t been charged extra yet.  I actually wasn’t able to post this from the airport, because the flight started boarding early!  (left and arrived early too!)  

I arrived at my hostel to find out that my shark trip was leaving at 5AM today.  Pretty early after not getting settled into the hostel till midnight….   However, the trip was absolutely amazing!!!  Only 10 minutes after anchoring and chumming, we saw our first fin!  We saw 8 sharks total, which is a really lucky day.  Water visibility wasn’t great, but being in the cage it was SO impressive when they swam by only a few feet in front of us!  Pictures to come soon!

Sahambavy and leaving Fianar

On Friday, Maribeth and I went to Sahambavy, to the Lac Hotel for a relaxing night in the country.  Gabe was supposed to go too, but backed out.  We got there on a taxi-brousse, and  Maribeth picked up 2 packages at the post office before we left, which made us look rather like vagabonds as we entered such a nice hotel.  Since we’ve met the owner before, we managed to score an entire cottage.  It slept 7 at minimum, and had a kitchen.  It was a little slice of heaven for a night.  On Saturday morning, we went for a walk to visit the Sahambavy Tea Plantation.  On the way, some farmers in a rice field yelled out in Malagasy (joking) that we should come help them weed their rice.  So, we took off our shoes and climbed on into the rice field.  It was pretty neat, and the farmers sure got a kick out of it.  Pictures to follow.  Returning, we wound up in the back of a pickup truck with benches in it.

Saturday afternoon, my host family came to my room to thank me for the support I’ve given them (in the form of rent), and to give me a small going away present – an embroidered tablecloth for an end table.  We all cried a little, and it was a really neat moment – it’s a really matriarchal family, so it was just Mme Elysoa, Mama Tendry and her sister, and her little daughter Kenia.  In the evening, I had dinner with Karen and the girls one last time, and then we went to Karaoke.  I haven’t been in awhile – it’s usually pretty busy.  We were literally the only ones there for quite awhile.  Gabe, Haddie and I did a pretty awesome rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody.

Sunday was the drive to Tana.  Mariette packed me a big lunch, and I had a person per bag help me get things down to the car.  A Peace Corps volunteer named Haddie needed to go to Tana too, so she came along with us.  It was nice to have her along.   We stopped for a break in Antsirabe and checked out the gemstone market – pretty cool stuff!

Now I’m in Tana, and feeling much more relaxed now that the goodbyes are over.  I can’t wait for Cape Town, and then to come home!  Tonight we’re making a Thanksgiving dinner – I helped Theresa’s housekeeper make pumpkin pie today (from actual pumpkin, not the canned stuff!).  I fly out on Wednesday, and it’s off to see the beautiful sights of Cape Town.

The End is Near

Well, my trip to Madagascar is all but over.  On Friday, I’ll be going to Sahambavy to stay at the Lac Hotel with Gabe and Maribeth just for a fun ,relaxing mini-trip.  Saturday I’ll be packing and then going to Karaoke night at Soafia one last time.  Sunday, I’m off to Tana where I’ll stay until Wednesday.  I won’t be doing much there but working on my internship report and avoiding going anywhere in the city.

 

The last month has really flown by, and it’s been a good one.   It seems like just in these last weeks friendships have strengthened, little weekend trips have worked out, and I’ve started feeling more like a real resident here.  Sophie and Zoe had me over for dinner on Sunday, and they gave me a set of beautiful hand embroidered sheets for a going away present.  I was so touched…I didn’t expect anything, and I’m really going to miss having them as neighbors.  It’s been so nice to have 2 girls who are my age who I get along with so well living above me.  We’ve had a lot of nice times just hanging out on my porch talking about our days etc, and a lot of nice Sunday lunches together.

 

I’ll also miss Mariette, owner of the Snack.  She just makes people so happy.  She seems to have nothing but goodness in her heart, and whenever she feels that she’s shown any bit of negativity, she prays it away.  I’ve spent a lot of time chatting with her as I come and go, and when I have a weekly lunch at the Snack.  She gets such delight when people leave her restaurant satisfied (which is always!), and is one of the warmest people I’ve yet encountered.  She’s done a lovely job starting a small business in the Old City, and now that the word is out, business is good.  I hope it continues to prosper.

 

Both Gabe and Maribeth have become quite good friends too, although I wish Maribeth lived closer so that I could have hung out with her more often.  While I’ll miss them both a lot, it’s also likely that I’ll see them again in the states, which helps. 

 

And, of course, Karen and the girls.  I don’t really know what I would have done without them here.  I feel like they’ve become my honorary family here.  Honestly, they’ve helped me on a lot of different levels.  As an American living alone (sort of) here, I’ve appreciated all of the meals they’ve fed me, the places they’ve taken me, and the excitement we shared after the election.  As a student, I appreciated all of the career advice I got from Karen, and the sharing of her own professional experiences.  As a woman, I think it has been immensely softening for me to see an example of a very career oriented woman, with vast professional and educational expertise and experience, who is also a mother.  It’s refreshing to see someone who delights in doing it all, rather than complaining, or declaring the injustices of it.  Her daughters are absolutely lovely people, and it has instilled hope in me that having a family can bring much joy.  I feel incredibly lucky to have become friends with these people.

 

Overall, I’m at the point where I’m ready to go.  I’m very excited for my 5 days in Cape Town, and then to get home and see Patrick, my family, my friends, and my felines.  Fun and exciting times are ahead too.  Even though I’ve been on an adventure the last 4 months, I think that moving in with Patrick will be another adventure, if a different kind.  My experience here has been immensely satisfying – I’ve seen and learned a great deal, developed wonderful friendships, and gained some good experience. But, I think it’ll be nice to stay put for awhile (I haven’t changed that much…awhile means like 6 months).  Finish my thesis, graduate, and move onto the next thing.  Don’t quote me on this, but I’m even looking forward to the coziness of winter.  (I will be well over that by about January 5 I’m sure)  I’m looking forward to getting back into my gym/exercies/training routine (and also dropping the 10 lbs I’ve gained here!), and going for walks in the snow with Patrick. 

 

As usual, I’m getting rambly, so I’ll wrap it up.  I’ll be home before I know it,  and this chapter will be closed.  Onto the next one.  I wonder how the book will finish.

 

Incidentally, if anybody knows of anyone in the Portage, MI area who needs clerical help, French translating services, childcare, snow shoveling, odd jobs, waitress/bartenders, or most anything that doesn’t require some sort of certification, please pass the word my way.

A few more pics

 

view from the top of the mountain

 

classic ring tail pic...

 

siesta

Anja Reserve

On Saturday Karen, her youngest daughter, and I went to Anja, a pretty well established ecotourism site about an hour and a half South of Fianar.  The small hike goes through a small forest which is home to 400 (that number seems like a lot to me, but that’s what the guide says) ring-tailed lemurs.  The big hike goes through the same forest, and then up to the top of the mountain behind the forest.  We did the big hike.  I was totally in favor of it, not realizing that the way you get to the top is by walking up the granite rock faces.  Physically, I was fine, but I have to say that I was a bit nervous.   The view from the top was worth it, and I managed to prevent myself from having any embarrassing freak-outs despite the nervousness.

 

call me a wuss...but in my Keens, i was a little freaked out - it stayed like this all the way up the mountain

 

looking down - probably a mistake, although i don't know that the photo really does the slope justice

 

they have their babies in september, so there were quite a few carrying little ones piggyback

 

i named this one dopey

 

coolest grasshopper ever

The internet’s not working for crap, so I’ll post the rest of my pics tomorrow.  Silly rainy season.  Although, actually I rather like the warm rainy season.  Everything’s so much greener, and lots of good fruit has come into season.  I’ll especially miss the mangos!

A failing lemonade stand

A hypothetical:

Let’s just say, that when I get home, I open up a neighborhood lemonade stand.  Hmm…northern hemisphere…how about a hot chocolate stand?  I will make my hot chocolate with inexpensive Sam’s club cocoa powder, sweetened condensed milk, and hot water.  I will sell it for $1.50 per cheap styrofoam cup.  For the sake of argument, let’s say that I’m selling it on a street with a lot of foot traffic, and this little business really takes off.  Feeling quite secure, I leave the hot chocolate receipe as is, and begin using the profit to buy expensive shoes, go to concerts, and finally buy a $30,000 car.  (I guess I’ve sold a lot of HC)  Now, once all of these people walking around in the cold get used to the idea of buying hot chocolate, suddenly another hot chocolate stand appears across the street.  Jill the barista makes her hot chocolate with 2% milk, sugar, and fair-trade Madagascar cacao, and serves it in a recycled, biodegradable paper cup, also offering a $.25 reduction for those who bring their own mug.  Her beverage sells for $2.  I’m not worried – the walkers of Portage, MI are already comfortable with my product – they will stick with what they know.  Also, it’s cheaper.  Jill will be out of business in 2 weeks for selling her élitist, expensive drink.  After a couple of weeks, less people are buying my hot chocolate, and I see them lined up on the other side of the street.  ”This cannot be”, I think to myself.  A once regular customer stops by one day to say hello.  I ask him why he has switched to this foreigner across the street, and he tells me, “Well, Callista.  Jill’s product is just better.  It tastes better and is made of higher quality ingredients.  Even her cups can be thrown into a compost bin and used to fertilize my garden in the spring.  It’s a better product with a smaller environmental impact.  Sure, it’s a little more expensive, but it’s worth it.  I’m sorry.”

“Hmph, I think.”  Phooey on these élitist, disloyal hippies.  I will continue to invest in my inferior product, and wait for everyone to come back around.  Problem is, nobody comes back around.  I begin missing car payments, and toss my credit card bills in the shredder.  Finally in a dire situation, rather than sell my car, or try to adapt my business to consumer demand, I go to my parents and ask for $40,000.  They laugh in my face.  Jill has prevailed.

I’m sorry Detroit.  I know I’m from MI, and that many people I know have family members who have at some point been employed by the Big Three.  The Big Three has probably put many of my friends through college in some way.  But.  The automobiles coming out of Detroit have been seen as the inferior products they are for quite some time now.  Given alternatives that are better for the environment and of higher quality, the public has made their choice.  The Big Three hasn’t sufficiently adapted to customer demand.  While they have offered things like the hybrid Escape, they’ve continued pushing the Yukons and Suburbans, and haven’t offered small, high gas mileage options to anywhere near the extent that their Asian competitors have.  It seems to me that bad business decisions have been made, and I’m not quite sure how that’s the American taxpayers fault.  I’m glad this hasn’t made it to vote yet.