Mix Master Mzoli

Pretty soon after moving to Cape Town, Jared and I began to think more about the fact that not everyone in the city lived in a high rise apartment paid for by their company.  Some people didn't even live by the beach. (gasp!) Or have lovely views of the mountains. Or friendly guards to ensure their safety at home.  Now I don't want to present us as totally ignorant, blissful Americans completely unaware of the substandard conditions in which many South Africans lived, but there is still something different about seeing it for yourself.  As you leave the airport, the highway is lined with shacks piled together and stretching back for miles and miles.  The largest of which, Khayelitsha, is home to over two million people by some counts.  I am not going to go into the full history of how these townships were formed or why they still exist, but the fact of the matter is that many people that you will encounter while in SA either currently live in a township or have in the past. 

To me, it was weird living in Cape Town, trying to get to know the city and completely avoiding a huge sector that represented the daily realities for the majority of the population.  In general, people who don't live in the townships don't like to go there (reasons include: terrible crime rates, unlabeled streets, and general uneasiness).  A popular way for tourists and visitors to see first hand what the inside of a township looks like is to join a township tour. Jared had been on one such tour when visiting SA last year and said that while it was informative, it was kind of awkward, viewing these people and their lives as if they were a tourist attraction.  So that was out.  Through the organization that I volunteer with (the Kay Mason Foundation), I had the opportunity to go to Khayelitsha twice to visit a boarding house that we were setting up there, and that was great.  It was cool just to drive in and see how the city was laid out and drive around through the neighborhoods. 

Although this was a good start, we still had an itch to get inside and spend some time with the locals.  Not only that, we had heard about some great restaurants. Drinking beer and eating random food seemed like a good way to start.  

Last Saturday, we finally got around to visiting the most famous restaurant, Mzoli's, located in the township of Gugulethu, with our friends John and Liz.  And... it was awesome! Probably one of my favorite things that we have done in SA thus far.  Jared wanted to go back the very next day and deemed the meat the best he has had in Cape Town, which is quite a prestigious honor.

Mzoli's isn't just a regular restaurant, it is a full day event. Everyone dresses up, there are bands, DJs, a dancing contest, and even a magician!  Add this on to one of the most impressive grilling setups I have ever seen, good beers, friendly folks, and some excellent people watching and it is a pretty killer combination for a Saturday afternoon.

 

Although I don't think that we can now claim that we know what living in a township is "really like," it was just nice to spend some time in a part of the city that is usually overlooked.  Leaving that day after having made some new friends, tried some awesome food, and been fully entertained for hours, we understood that township life is not all about the overcrowded shacks or the stories of rampant crime, but is more about making the best of your situation and living life to the fullest. That and being able to whip up some mean bbq chicken with top-secret seasonings.

A Ratnakara Virgin No More

So amongst the numerous and most triumphant firsts that we racked up during our trip through the Garden Route (golfing with baboons, stingray fishing with Prince Charlie, wild oyster shucking in the Knsyna Lagoon, and avoiding a hyena shake-off after her afternoon urine bath) one feat was unacceptably left unheralded. Well no longer. After an incredibly scenic and rugged 30 minute hike down the Kranshoek coastal cliff, Lindsay plunged into icy waters of the Indian Ocean for the first time. Congratulations Lindsay!

Rotation Location Destination

After months of waiting, lobbying, researching, and hoping, our next rotation location has been determined!  Although partying it up in Bangkok would have been cool, hablando with the Venezolanos would have been chulisimo, and living in China would have been hilariously confusing, we are returning to America.  That's right, land of the free, home of the brave, here we come! Although our exact living location is TBD, Jared's job will be based at the Chevron headquarters in San Ramon, just across the bay from San Francisco (see iconic image, below). 

Although we were initially hoping for another international placement, the benefits of moving back home became immediately obvious: Mexican food! American television! 21st century internet! Another summer! and oh yeah... family and friends! (Just kidding about family and friends coming after tv and the internet on the list.  As for moving Mexican food from first place, I am not sure about that one... living by myself in Mexico proved that while I can exist with little to no familiar human interaction, spicy Mexican food is a definite requirement).

The other good news is that you can now plan your next vacation to come visit us and that this plane ticket is going to be considerably less expensive than any of the other possible destinations and carries far less risk of food bourne illnesses. So put down a deposit on your desired vacation days now (will be used to finance second bedroom in notoriously expensive and small bay area apartment) and practice acting more intellectually enlightened and environmentally conscious than the rest of the country.

Cowboys in Cape Town

Despite the elimintation of the Cowboys from the playoffs and the end of football season, we continue to cheer on our home team in style.  Included in a late-arriving Christmas package from my mom, the Cowboys decal probably was meant for the fridge, but we have found it a handy way to distinguish our white VW Polo from the scores of other white Polos in they city.  Although main reason for keeping the decal is practical, it has also served as evidence to other city residents of our foriegn strangeness...

Life, as advertized

When booking our champagne sunset cruise in Knysna during the Drakeley's visit, I have to admit that I got a bit nervous when remembering how the previous sunset cruise had turned out.  Luckily, this nautical journey was less "A Perfect Storm" and more like this Grey Goose commercial which demonstrates clearly how awesome is to have a lot of money and drink straight vodka.  Just kidding.  What the commercial actually shows is how awesome it is to be out on the sea on a lovely day with good company.  It doesn't hurt to throw in a little bit of bubbly and some live oysters either.  Luckily, our cruise around the Knysna lagoon supplied both. 

Although for a short moment, it did look as though things were going to get a bit rocky as the captain steered us toward the crashing waves of the open sea, we remained in the lagoon for the duration of the journey, with not a drop of water splashed.  Easily the highlight of the trip was learning about the oysters from the captain: how and where they are grown, and how to tell if they are good to eat.  I was happy to know that there was actually a way to tell if an oyster is bad or not.  Up until that time, it had previously seemed a bit like russian roulette for me when choosing that particular menu item.  Jim, on the other hand, did not seem reassured that your gastrointestinal fate was in the hands of a kitchen staffer.  Whatever your stance on the indulgence of bivalve mollusks, I have a feeling that just about anyone would have enjoyed this cruise. 

South Africa, Drakeley Style

 

As soon as the Drakeley family booked their trip to Cape Town, Jared and I began researching.  We knew the only the finest would do for this group and we were eager to show off all that the Western Cape had to offer.  Not suprisingly, it did not dissappoint.  As we played the "name your favorite moment" game on the Drakeley's last day, we had to circle the table three times to include all of the highlights from the past week and a half.  From the excellent dinners to the fantastic wine to the impressive wildlife, the Drakeleys were able to see first hand just how tragic it is that we have had to spend the last 5 months in such a dreadful place....

Luckily, the group persevered through the hardships and we were able to get in some wine tasting (ok, lots of wine tasting), a visit to the botanical gardens, a weekend trip to the garden route, golf, fishing, a safari game drive, and much, much more... Having visitors during our stay has given us the excuse to get out and enjoy all that this awesome country has to offer and sharing it with our friends and family makes it all the more meaningful.   And there really isn't any beating a visit to a winery with the namesake of the Jimmy Cup and watching him in his element....

Where billionaires are starving

In the early stages of planning the trip to Victoria Falls, we discovered that to visit the falls you can either stay on the Zambia side or the Zimbabwe side.  Traditionally, the Zimbabwe side has been more popular as it offers better views of the falls.  As the Zimbabwe state has crumbled over the last few years, tourism has dropped dramatically on their side and most everyone now heads for Zambia.  After doing a good deal of research and talking to past visitors, we determined that the Zim side did not hold any major safety concerns and would be the better place to visit.

Since the Zim side used to be the top choice for tourists, the hotels are all very nice, if a bit run down.  Our hotel was within walking distance to the falls and had 4 restaurants and a casino within the complex.  Unfortunately, we were 3 of about 15 guests staying there. It was weird and sad how deserted everything was.  Over and again, we had read and heard about how poor the people in Zimbabwe were and how the residents around the Vic Falls area were actually much better off than most due to the tourist dollars still coming in.  Zimbabwe has gone from being called the "bread basket of Africa" to boasting the highest inflation in the world, peaking at 500 billion percent in December 2008, which is almost impossible to comprehend.  The state has completely thrown out their currency and is now operating on US dollars.  For this reason, the old Zimbabwe dollars are no longer worth anything to the locals and are being sold to tourists.  Jared got a full set for $10 US, which are sure to become collectors' items as they include gems such as this one hundred trillion dollar bill:      

Looking online for the image of the bill, I came across some pretty crazy pictures of people carrying their Zim dollars around in huge bags just to pay for basic things like bread.  Wild.

Such a terrible state of the economy has led to more than a little bit of desperation and this was evident in the relentlessness of the sales pitches by the local craftsmen.  Luckily, we were happy to do a bit of shopping and walked away with some cool souvenirs.  After a bit of time in the market, we soon realized that the best deals to be had were through barterning.  Unfortunately, we didn't come properly prepared for this possibility.  In our dealings, we exchanged sunglasses, hats, extra layers, pens, and anything else we could think of.  We drew the line on shirts and shoes (no service?).  I also couldn't in good concience take anything in exchange for my mismatched, dirty socks that I was wearing so I just gave those away. 

Jared got a pretty nice deal for his sunglasses (bought on the streets of Cape Town for about $5) in exchange for a mask and Kirsten walked away with some cool carved warthog tusks. Overall, the shopping expereince lent more insight into the state of affairs in Zim than we could have expected. 

The Smoke that Thunders

"The Smoke that Thunders" was the traditional name for Victoria Falls before Sir John Livingstone "discovered" the falls in 1855.  I have to say that I think that the first name was better suited as the falls create a mist that can be seen and a roar that can be heard from miles away and do not bear any resemblance to Queen Victoria.  Jared, Kirsten and I visited the falls last weekend and were thoroughly impressed and felt that their inclusion as one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World was well warranted.  Waterfalls also happen to be my personal favorite natural phenomena, so I was pumped to check out the famed falls first hand.  Not only did we get to walk so close to the falls that we were completely drenched from the mist, but we also got to check them out from a helicopter and from a sunset cruise that was way more relaxed than our previous experience in Cape Town the week before.

Our Cape Town friends, Liz and John, are helping a 3rd grader out with his "Flat Stanley" project and asked us to take Stan on our trip to the falls. My account of Stanley's adventures in Zim and a few more pictures appear on Liz's blog in this posting.  Despite a few setbacks due to evil malaria medications, we had an awesome trip overall.

Ringing in 2010

For me, New Year's Eve was truly a celebration as I was given a break from my planning duties and the only thing I had to organize was transportation for our party of 10 to and from John and Liz's house in Camp's Bay.  Our ever-gracious hosts had organized a lovely soiree to bring in the New Year and were happy to include my entourage of 9 in the festivities.  Not wanting to be ungrateful guests, we arrived with no fewer than 9 regular-sized and 3 magnum-sized bottles of champagne.  Tack on a bit of white wine, some vodka, a bottle of bourbon and 10 good-timin' Americans and I think that pretty much any party would have been happy to have us. 

The evening started out pretty normally but later devolved into a strange hybrid of costumes (see Modern George Washington and Kim Jong Il, left) and blooper-filled dance routines.  But then again, I guess that is actually kind of normal for our group....

Happy New Years to all that were not able to join us and if these pictures are not enough to convice you of the fun times that await when visiting us, I am not sure what will.

Champagne Sunset "Cruise"

Champagne? Check.

Sunset? Check.

Enormous waves soaking all passengers in freezing sea water? Check.
Prayers to return to shore ASAP? Check.
Experience that is funnier once it is over and the anger and trauma have died down? Check.

To me, the champagne sunset cruise was a no brainer.  Our group would get to go on a boat, drinks would be taken care of, and everyone would get to see the city from a unique angle while watching the sunset before we rushed off to our dinner reservations. All for about $25 per person.  Perfect Christmas present that would result in memories, rather than material items. 

And, boy, did it result in memories.  This was easily one of the funniest events of the trip, with everything going terribly wrong and calling into question my (thusfar) flawless planning skills.  First we were late. Then they made me trek all over the stupid waterfront harbor in my carefully selected (champagne casual but boat practical) wedge heels. Once we got on the boat, we were, of course, last aboard and there weren't enough seats.  Certainly not together.  Nevertheless, we were all on board and I began to relax and look forward to the champagne and lovely views.

Unfortunately, things did not work out that way.  As soon as we got out of the harbor, the wind and waves picked up dramatically.  The little sailboat began to lean perilously to one side ("totally normal" says the captain) and the first waves began to crash onboard.  Luckily, Joseph secured some of the few available blankets for our group.  Tara, Kelly, and I huddled together and tried to "turtle" inward to create a warm, dry shelter.  Jared and Mom got to bond a bit under a shared blanket as Michelle, Joseph, and Michael clung to the more perilous, but drier top level.  Somehow, between Kelly trying to calm herself by repeating, "this is fun, it is just like Six Flags" and moving the blanket just enough to stick our glasses out for more champagne, we spy Dad examining the bubbles in his champagne glass from the warm, dry boat cabin.  How he became the only passenger to secure this position is unknown to us, but lets just say that it didn't create any warm feelings in our turtle shell. 

Exiting the boat, everyone was soaked to the bone and shivering.  Nevertheless, this was easily overshadowed by the hilarity of a Champagne cruise gone terribly wrong.

The Family Cometh

“Yes, hello, I have a booking. Name? Galvin, party of 10.”

After months of waiting, hoping, and making bookings until I thought that my head might explode, the day had finally arrived: Mom, Dad, Kelly, Michael, Tara, Kirsten, Michelle, and Joseph were in South Africa and the whirlwind tour had begun!   The two weeks or so that everyone was here passed very quickly, but we were still able to pack in quite a bit of fun, so I think that I am going to try to break this up into a few different postings.

First, lets just start with some favorite pictures that seem to sum things up...

Christmas in Cape Town

For Christmas, our fellow ex-pats invited us to join them for a lovely Christmas lunch at Backsberg wine estate in Paarl. Although it wasn't exactly what I would normally think of as a Christmas lunch (traditionally for me this means mimosas and bourbon balls at Aunt Linda's), it couldn't have been a better way to spend our first Christmas away from home.