Farewell to Durban, Hello to Cape Town and Namibia!

With much reluctance, we finally left Durban and our new pals at Tekweni. However, they have offered us a job working at the hostel, so it is distinctly possible that we will return at some point, though not likely until the end of our sojourn. This afternoon I come to you from the Die Muschel bookstore and café in beautiful Swakopmund, Namibia, where we arrived this morning following a four hour bus ride from Windhoek, Namibia. As the café’s name might suggest, Swakopmund has a significant German influence, owing to that country’s period of colonization of a country that was once called German South West Africa. Prior to our cappuccinos here, we had lunch at the Swakopmund Brauhaus, an establishment that could have been plucked off the streets of München, Erdinger beers and all. Of course, Lauren’s fluency in German makes Swakopmund a particular treat for her and it pleases me to see her using her German. She claims that her German skills are lacking but every German we have met thus far on our trip has praised her skills, so I think that she is just being modest.

Let us pick up where the last post left off. Our remaining time in Durban was well-spent: recovering, relaxing on the beach, writing, and having some great Indian food. Durban has a massive Indian population and is well-renowned for its Indian cuisine. Prior to our time in South Africa, I did not realize that Gandhi had gotten his start as an attorney and activist in Johannesburg and around Durban before returning to India. That was an interesting tidbit of knowledge. Anyway, Durban is particularly famous for bunny chow, which is a hollowed-out loaf of tasty bread filled with curry. It is delicious. Lauren had the chicken bunny chow and I had the lamb and we devoured them, sweating a bit due to the spiciness of the curry. For our last night in Durban, we and our friends planned on having a nice farewell dinner. But, after a few evening beers and the impending Currie Cup rugby playoff match between the Durban Sharks and Valke, the dinner got downgraded to pizza and beers around the bar TV. Frankly, from a monetary and fun perspective, the new development was most welcome, especially since the Sharks emerged victorious.

We arose early the next morning, Saturday July 12, and headed to the airport to return Freddie and board our 1 Time Airlines flight to Cape Town. We had really put Freddie through the paces, taking him through the often rough roads of Pilanesburg N.P. and bottoming him out on a dirt trail in Clarens, so we were happy to return the car in a functional state and not incur any damage charges. The flight was smooth and easy, contrary to our expectations from such an unfortunately named airline. We were fetched at the airport by a transport, which brought us to our accommodations in Cape Town, the Long Street Backpackers. Long Street was a cool spot, filled with various hostels and the restaurants, bars, cafés, and shops catering to such a crowd. It was a bit touristy for our tastes, but our fortunate receipt of a 2-bed dorm for a cheap price meant that we were staying put on Long Street. As with many parts of South African cities, shady characters abounded on the streets, so we were constantly on our guard, but we were already used to such an alert state, so there was nothing new. The first afternoon we took a nap, owing to our 5am wakeup, and then headed to the KwikSpar (mini-grocery) to get some steaks for the braai that evening. South Africans love to braai, and the folks at LSB had a great braai, mastering the art of efficient heating. Cooking our meat on the braai, we met some Brits, a smattering of Dutch, a couple of Germans, and a couple of American girls. One of the latter was from Dallas, a fact that she rather obnoxiously repeated ad nauseum, further evidence that we should just give Texas back to Mexico in exchange for officially adopting their cuisine.

The next day I awoke to make some breakfast and write while Lauren lazed about, writing in her journal and reading a bit. We spoke with our friend Justin, a native of the Cape Town area whom we had met in Durban, who told us that he would come by after lunch and take us to explore Cape Town and its environs. Upon his arrival, we piled three deep in the front of his small Nissan bakkie (Afrikaans term for pick-up truck), which he has nicknamed Thrasher. Justin is a skater and his lingo is reminiscent of early ‘80s California slang, with terms like “rad” and “wicked” in constant use. Naturally, I think that is awesome and found myself using words that were a large part of my vocabulary in elementary and middle school. We spent the afternoon on a prototypical Sunday drive, cruising south out of Cape Town for Camp’s Bay, Hout’s Bay, Llandando, Kalk Bay, Muizenberg, Fish Hoek, and other amazing picturesque towns. The coastline was stunning, with mountains on one side and the rocky shores of the Atlantic on the other. We stopped for lunch at a wrap shop in Hout’s Bay and continued to drive, the three of us squeezed tight into the cab and enjoying each other’s company. At Kalk Bay, we made another stop, ducking in for coffee at the Brass Bell. Our timing was impeccable, as we scored the best seat in the house. We had the corner table overlooking the water, with a view of seals and surfers and bodyboarders catching some afternoon waves. Had the swell been bigger, our proximity to the ocean would have resulted in a dousing. Fortunately, we left bone dry and continued on our journey back to Cape Town, catching the sunset over Camp’s Bay on our way. We had beers at a bar called Rafiki’s and then a dim sum dinner at Tong Lok. It was Justin’s first real exposure to Chinese cuisine and he loved it, ravenously scarfing steamed buns and a bottle of wine. Justin works in the printing industry, primarily doing drafting and production work for wine labels and potentially moving into similar work in the boardsports industry. Watch out for his stuff on skateboards and surfboards sometime soon!! Even though we didn’t actually “do” much that Sunday, it could not have been a more enjoyable day.

Monday morning we made breakfast and then took care of some errands, including making arrangements to receive packages from the States. We then headed down to the V&A waterfront to scope the scene and catch a (very) late lunch. The sun was on its way toward the horizon as we were seated at our table at a café on the wharf, with a perfect view of the sunset. Our hunger pangs were soothed by some delicious fresh calamari and kingklip (a somewhat common whitefish). We watched the sun tuck behind the sea from the breakwater and then hailed a taxi back to LSB. At Rafiki’s the night before we had noted a sign for Movie Night, so we gave them a call to see what was playing. With Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas on the bill, we booked a table and set out for the 20 minute walk to the bar. We had a table with a prime view of the screen and had our dinner of beer and three pitchers of free popcorn while watching the amazing movie. Another fully satisfying day in South Africa!

On Tuesday we intended to go for a hike on one of the mountains around town, but the surging storm clouds foreclosed that option. No worries, it was a great excuse to catch up on writing and to spend time on the internet catching up. We got caught in a torrential downpour on our way back to LSB, with our clothes receiving a soaking that did not dry for several days. Justin popped into LSB that night, with one of our packages in tow, this one containing replacement credit and bank cards: he was our savior!

Wednesday we elected to take a self-guided walking tour of the city, just exploring wherever our feet would take us. I picked up a scarf to shield me from the cold weather, which is my first scarf ever, but is blue and helped me fit in with the local fashion, so I like it. Lauren bought a pastel purple flowery purse, which is very pretty and a better bag for city life than the backpack top she had been carrying. We walked through the botanical gardens and then had chicken pancakes and cappuccinos at a café on Kloof Street. After lunch, we stocked up on supplies at the KwikSpar and returned to LSB for a relaxing evening and cooked a beef stir-fry for dinner. Feeling the jones for some later night action, we had coffees at Che Bar and then went upstairs to the cigar lounge and bar at Caffe Makambo. With its red décor, comfortable couches, and abundant Cuban cigars, it was a nice touch of Communism in South Africa. Lauren had a citrusy Cosmo and a mojito, while I sampled a Bucanero Fuerte, which is a Cuban beer that for obvious reasons we do not have at home. I closed out the night with a caprinha, which was good, but not quite as strong or tasty as the ones at Fogo de Chao in Atlanta. Walking out of Caffe Makambo, we spotted a street vendor peddling his culinary wares on the corner across the street. We inhaled a boerewors (Afrikaner farmer’s sausage) with onions and a chicken schwarma, both doing their job of satisfying the palate and soaking up the night’s alcohol.

Thursday, the day dawned bright and warm, making it the perfect day for our ascent of Lion’s Head, a mountain that overlooks the Atlantic and Cape Town. We had a quick breakfast and then set out down Long and Kloof Streets for our destination. Many of the other people we saw on the trail took cars or taxis to the trailhead, but we eschewed the cheater’s way and hoofed it all the way from our hostel. The trail was very fun, with the lower part looking down to the Atlantic and the upper part actually quite aggressive. In one section, you have to hoist yourself up an almost vertical series of rock walls using only a dangling chain to help you upwards. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but with Lauren easily scrambling up the wall, I knew I had to save face and make it as well, aided by her encouragement. Lauren is certainly the nimble one in the family; I’m more of the lumbering type. After scrambling up some more rockpiles, we reached the summit and were absolutely floored by the view. Even had we had our camera, I do not think that pictures could do justice to the 360 degree view. We could faintly hear waves crashing on the shore and the hum of the city below. We realized that we had brought no food or water on the hike and our stomachs and throats were feeling neglected, so we headed back down the mountain, stopping at a small grocer for cool water and a noodle shop for lunch. Upon our return to LSB, we were informed that our second package had arrived. Finally, we were able to take off for Namibia. We spent the evening securing transport to and lodging in Windhoek and then returned home to pack and cook dinner.

We caught the 10am Intercape Sleepliner bus from Cape Town to Windhoek on Friday morning and spent the next 20 hours in surprising comfort aboard the half-full bus, trucking north through the Northern Cape of South Africa and the southern part of Namibia. It took us about two hours to get through the Namibian border, with me being thoroughly searched by a set of rather intimidating South Africans on our way out of the country. We had a slightly hard time, as our South African entry visas had been pilfered along with our passports, so we had some explaining to do. Fortunately, all was eventually well and we slept peacefully through the night in our seats that reclined 150 degrees, before arriving at 6am in Windhoek.

A taxi took us to our lodging in Windhoek, the Cardboard Box Backpackers. Unfortunately, our early arrival meant that our beds were not yet ready, so we hung out for a few hours in the lobby, befriending an Aussie who offered us a spare room when we arrived in Melbourne. As the sun came up, our room was ready, so Lauren took a nap while I caught the third leg of the Vodacom Tri-Nations rugby, watching South Africa fall to Australia. We then showered and set out to explore the city. Simply put, Windhoek pretty much sucks. It is ugly, there is not much to do, and it is also not very safe. Fellow guests of the Cardboard Box had the windows of their safari SUV smashed in broad daylight right out front of the hostel, the thieves making off with all of their camping gear. It is tough to never feel safe, but we are really getting used to it. Our well-founded cynicism and initial suspicion of everybody we meet is extremely disheartening, but as they say over here: that’s Africa!! With our spirits partially sullied by such a beat city, we made plans to leave a day early for Swakopmund. Fortunately, that evening at the bar we met some great people, who restored our faith in the traveling life. We spent a chilly evening talking over some Windhoek Lagers and Draughts and also met a trio of Englishmen who were very friendly and wise in the art of backpacking.

The cold nights have been one of the most incongruous things about our time so far in Africa. Although most days and nights have been warm, particularly in Durban, it is still winter here and nights can be downright chilly. Personally, I prefer this type of temperature gradient to the sweltering heat of an African summer, but my wife has a different view. My time for sweating will come though, so I am enjoying the climate while I can.

The next day (yesterday), we pretty much did nothing…and loved it. We ate our complimentary pancake and tea breakfast and sat out by the (empty) pool, taking in the warm desert sun. In the afternoon, we walked into town to get some meat for the night’s braai and then spent the afternoon writing. We played several admirable though losing games of billiards against the Englishmen over some beers and then put our boerewors and pork bellies on the braai, grilling and chatting with the Englishmen. As it turns out, they will be heading to Swakopmund as well, staying at the same hostel, and will likely be there when we get back from town.

We are happy to report that Swakopmund is, in contradistinction to Windhoek, everything we imagined and more. It is right on the Atlantic coast, with a great promenade running along the shore and wonderful African seaside/German architecture. As of now, we intend to spend at least five days here, going sandboarding on the dunes surrounding town and engaging in some other adventures. We will check back in with pictures (we now have a camera) and a full report sometime soon.