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.
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