Hermanus

Due to a culmination of a variety of things, I had my first real feelings of homesickness last week - nothing severe, just a collection of personal second thoughts and frustrations within the program.  Towards the middle of last week the idea was proposed to head to Hermanus for a southern coast weekend getaway.  I eagerly jumped on board to try and regain some of the excitement and mystique that littered my image of South Africa when I first arrived. 

I woke up early Friday morning after minimal sleep and an all-too-scandalous volunteer house party to head straight to the beach in hopes of lessening the lingering headache and wine infused circulatory system.  It only took a few waves to the dome to wake me up, bring me back to reality, and have me up and surfing one last session before the weekend.  Heading to Salty's I was back to thinking how much I needed a weekend off and hoping Hermanus would deliever.  G, the Dutchies, Steve, Jen* and I piled into Jen's car and took a one and a halfish hour drive through the mountains to get to the sleepy coastal town.  We arrived around 2pm, took a drive around town, and finally checked into the cozy Traveler's Lodge, complete with a hammock in the courtyard, that we had all to ourselves.  

While the others unpacked, G and I went for a quick longboard/explore session around town.  What used to be a little known city on the coast has since become something of a tourist destination and whale watching headquarters, so all of the roads and hills were recently paved - perfect for an afternoon skate.  When we got back to the hostel, everyone was itching to head to the beach and we naturally obliged.  The shoreline here, like Cape Town, was mostly rocky, but all it took was one turn in the road to lead us onto a small pocket of sand tucked underneath a mountainous backdrop.  The beach itself was lined with rock crags that were excellent for bouldering and, once again, seemed to have never been climbed before.  G and I discovered route after route, while showing some of the others the ins and outs of climbing.  Additionally, the beach itself was long enough to allow for a great day of frisbee under the sun, something I have been itching for since stepping off the plane over a month ago.  As if this scenario was already perfect, the water in our little cove felt like bathwater in comparison to the western coast where I have been spending most of my time.  With the sun slowly setting in the distance, we reluctantly headed 'home' to change and head back into town for dinner.      

The following day, we woke up relatively early and made our way back into town to explore the market.  It is beginning to seem that many of the goods for sale in these little town markets are the same across the country, but it is always at least a little entertaining to wander, barter, and meet the locals.  We spent a few hours in town before driving up to a reservoir in the mountains to swim and cliff jump.  We were welcomed to our short hike upward with a sign warning to not feed the wild baboons (unfortunately we didn't spot any) and about thirty minutes later we reached the vast  reservoir surrounded by cliffs.  The red rocks making up the walls around the bottom of the pools gave the water a heavy, dark red color and it became almost eerie when diving down to check the depth below the rock faces.  After a few safety dives from in the water everything checked out, and we began our climb up to the cliff tops for a little dose of adrenaline.  The jumps ranged from small, fun little hops to ledges maybe a little bit higher than the highest jump at Pewitt's Nest near Devil's Lake in Baraboo.  We spent most of the day swimming, jumping, and hanging out in the secluded ravine before heading back to our favorite beach.  A few more hours of relaxing and we were hungry for dinner, drinks, and Super Rugby*.  

The evening's restaurant of choice was perfect in every aspect imaginable.  Our table was in a corner surrounded by two BIG, open, picture windows that looked out over the ocean, mountains, and sunset.  The food was excellent, the company was great, and cocktails were half price from 5 - 7pm.  Steve taught me the in's and out's of rugby, and by the time we left at halftime I was strongly pulling for a Stormers win over the rival Sharks from Dubran.  Steve, The Dutchies, and I headed to a small dive bar for the second half, a game of pool, and a thrilling 15 - 12 Stormers' victory.   On Sunday morning (today), we made the drive back to Table View all at least a little bit refreshed before starting another week of work on Monday.  

On the weekend retreat to Hermanus I was able to have some mental conversations and personally iron out a lot of what has been bothering me.  It's amazing what the right people and right atmosphere can do to your energy, and I can now confidently say that my view of South Africa's mystique has been fully restored.  Bring on the kids, waves, and braai's...I'm thrilled to be here for the next few months.  

*Character Reminder...

G = Grainne.  Irish Outdoor Education friend and surf adventure volunteer leader.  

The Dutchies = The three girl surf adventure volunteers.  Dutch, obviously. 

Steve = Travel writer from England and one of the potential AfrikaBurn crew

Jen = Volunteer coordinator at Salty's. 

**Super Rugby = Southern hemisphere rugby league made up of teams from SA, NZ, and OZ.  

Assorted Adventures

Whereas the volunteer work here has remained rather consistent (math in the morning, surfing/swimming lessons in the afternoon) there has been a definite surge of extra curricular adventures.  Surfing (duh), soccer, hiking, climbing, and other assorted debauchery are all responsible for my lack of posts, but I'll do my best to cover what I can now.

Let's start with surfing.   In short, I get it.  A couple of Sundays ago I had a day that made it's way into my handwritten 'Perfect Day Log.'  I got a wake-up call at 7:30 with a more than excited G on the other end with the day's surf report.  We worked our way to Shipwreck to find no wind and an ideal swell.  After a few hours in the water things started to click for me but not before the chilly Atlantic left me begging for breakfast.  Later in the afternoon G and I kept our active streak alive and went on a good hour and a half longboard session leading to some great hills that only got us a little bit lost in Table View.  We returned to SaltyCrax, jumped back in our wetsuits, and hit the surf again (too good to waste) and things finally clicked.  My comfort level in the water and on the board was out of this world.  That feeling.  The feeling I mentioned in earlier posts was being captured wave after wave.  One more surf session and a big end of the day braai later and one of the best days I've had in Africa was coming to an end.
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When I went to Guatemala a few years back and played soccer with some kids on a small cement pitch, I was impressed with how well I could hold my own.  I came to Africa with a very false sense of confidence, and our volunteer kids quickly reminded me of my white-American soccer 'skills.'  These short soccer games on the beach did however do a good job of getting me amped for a visit to Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town to watch the Ajax home opener.  The stadium is completely modern and pretty remarkable.  It was way cleaner than any American stadium I've been in, and beer was cheaper than at the bars.  The game itself was pretty mediocre until the last 5 minutes.  The Europeans I was with were getting a good chuckle out of the level of play, and by the 87th minute the Ajax were down 2-0.  Local fans started getting frustrated and loud (vuvuzelas, chants, drum beats...I'm surprised the building didn't fall to the ground after the World Cup) and the players must have felt the energy.  By the 90th minute the Ajax were down 2-1, and within the first two minutes of extra time the game was knotted.  The refs missed an offside call as time expired and the Ajax scored with no time remaining.  The energy in the stadium skyrocketed, and I mentally started planning my trip to Rio in 2 years for the World Cup.  Africa has taught me that, at least for now, I am much better at watching the sport than playing it and that maybe the field fairy name calling of high school has come to an end.  Maybe.
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Last Saturday a group of us journeyed back to the Table Mountain area to finally hike up Devil's Peak, the highest of the three summits.  We got to the mountain at around 9 and spent a good few hours climbing to the valley between Devil's Peak and Table Mountain, both on hiking trails and awesome mountain biking routes.  The trails were loaded with South African wild flowers and plants, but the biggest surprise was a boulder garden in the valley.  We took a 'break' to explore the area and came across some of the best  natural bouldering routes I have seen.  The hand and foot holds were perfectly sculpted and the rocks seemed to have never been climbed before.  A few blisters and bloody feet later (rock isn't too forgiving without climbing shoes) we continued up to the summit for lunch and an incredible view of Cape Town and the surrounding area.  As we slowly and regrettably worked our way back to sea level 1001m down, we took a turn around a cliff face and could hear live bluesy music echoing up to us from about 700m below.  We stumbled into a park to find that the live music was coming from the back of a flatbed truck, and the gathering of people just happened to be a preparty for AfrikaBurn - Africa's answer to Burning Man.  Plans are slowly being put into place to head to the middle of the desert on one of South Africa's most desolate roads in the end of April to attend the festival.  It should be one for the record books.
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If you're reading, apologies for the lack of flow, but I'm being rushed south to Hermanas for the weekend for some more surf, cliff jumping, hiking, and climbing.  South Africa is an outdoorsman's paradise, and I barely feel like I've scratched the surface.