T.I.N.A.

So you recognize the "T.I.A." I've been saying over and over (it's best known from the movie Blood Diamond). Well, today, after driving a part of the Garden Route on the Southeastern coast of South Africa, I have to say I feel more like I'm in California or Greece. I keep thinking to myself, This Is Not Africa. We had a great day on the way from Cape Town to Plettenberg Bay (Plett) today. We started out very early from Cape Town, and drove to Hermanus. We were hoping for a few whale spottings. We got there just as the town was waking up, and we saw not just one, but 5 southern right whales. They come right into the bay in Hermanus and it's mating season. We were fortunate enough to stumble on a Hermanus native who worked for one of the companies and she explained the scene unfolding before us. The first thing we saw was a lone female who was swimming on her back and slapping the water in the hopes of attracting males. It's a very effective strategy because within a half hour we saw at least three other males around her. Then we saw another lone blow closer in to the shore. Soon we saw several more around that single one. It was amazing. I could have stayed to watch them for hours. Plett is supposed to be an excellent place to watch whales as well, but we didn't see any this evening as we were driving in. Thank goodness for the Hermanus stop.

The next leg of the trip took us to George. Again, I was on a quest for a unique lunch, unwilling to sully the memories of yesterday's masterpiece. Again the guide came up huge with a selection of a restaurant on a farm about 10km outside of George. It was called Leila's arms and we had a wonderful time there. You arrive and it's a small cottage with rustic furnishings and a friendly proprietor who greets you. They have a very small menu but most of their ingredients are made from scratch and come from their garden. We had a great cottage pie and baked sweet potato with tons of toppings and a gloriously fresh and deliciously spiced chicken salad. YUM. Since we were the only people there, we also got a tour of the main cottage house which we found out was made of mud and straw bales and had a bed that rolled out into the open so you could sleep under the stars. It was incredible.

We bade goodbye to our lovely lunch spot and pressed on to Plett. We got to our accommodations and headed out to go for a run on the beach and pick up stuff to make dinner. W ran this beautiful road full of palatial beach houses and stunning views. It was worth it just to see the rich real estate and feel the sea spray. We will be watching the Spain/Germany game tonight and looking forward to some hikes along the coast in the morning.

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