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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Last day of Classes, Good Friday, and the first 24 hours in Istanbul!

Image
First thing’s first: I AM DONE WITH GRAD SCHOOL! I have turned in all my papers, finished all my classes, passed comps, and completed all my presentations. It feels great to come home at night and not have schoolwork to think about. About two months ago, my cousin Cara and I were talking about her upcoming trip to Istanbul. She told me about her great set up and it sounded like it would be a great way to celebrate the completion of my Masters degree. So I bought my ticket for the day after my last class. After two months of craziness involving much more than just school and work, I am now on the other side and looking at job searching, apartment searching, and just figuring out the next general steps for life. I am so excited to see what unfolds. Since there is very little certainty in my life, it’s probably best I just stick to writing about what I know, and that is mainly what has already happened. So I will do my best to recount the even...
Read more

Spoke Too Soon

Yesterday after returning from the Prefecture (french DMV, just as badas the US) after an unsuccessful attempt at registering the car, I found that the house had been broken into and that my computer, computer bag, iPod and case and headphones, camera had all been stolen. They tried to take the TV but they either didn't have time or decided it was too heavy. I'm pretty sure that when I got back and pulled into the house they were still there and had to hide and that's why they left the TV. So life in Martinique is set back quite a few steps. Everytime I move forward here, something else comes along. I'm tired of it. I had locked the house up tight and made sure that everything was closed because Marie-Ange had warned me about other robberies in the area. They got me. Add another B to the list: buses, bats, bees, burglars.
Read more

The Grand Tour of Martinique for Beginners

Image
So on Friday, Sarah Caitlin and I went to Sainte-Anne. It’s referred to as t he most beautiful beach in Martinique. It’s on the very southern tip of the island and true to it’s description in the guide books, has soft, powdery white sand and turquoise waters with calm waves lapping at the shore. We left early in the morning and got there in about an hour. I hadn’t gone running tha t morning because I thought I might be able to go at the beach. Boy, was that a good decision. Before we got to the beach I had seen that there was a good system o f foot trails all around the southern tip connecting several beaches over about 20 miles. It wasn’t all continuous but the beach where we were going, there was a good 5k trail from our beach to the next one up that went across what is known in Martinique as “Les Sables de Petrification” or the petrified sand. It was described to me as a lunar landscape. I was kind of excited to see it and even if I couldn’t run it, I decided I would at leas...
Read more