Weekend Wrap Up: OMG only 2 weeks left

hike awesomeness

ACK!   This is my last full weekend in Joburg.   I'm alternating between being so sad that I'm crying in the back of my Uber and being almost  kind of ready to start the next exciting chapter of my life.   I've been living it up, trying to get in as much friend-time as possible and trying to do all my favorite things one last time until next time.

Dark team lunch pic.

My mentor and I.  Sniff.

This week we had a little combo work going away party/ groom's party at the restaurant in our office park which was fun and incredibly thoughtful.   My mentor gave me a sparkly journal with a back-story about my professional development that made me a little teary eyed.   She also gave me a cat bag... she knows me too well.  My co-workers also picked out a super cool red African influenced purse that perfectly matches my red power pumps.  Score.

Cat bag!!!!

 Then began a string of "lasts".

Pre-crowds at the night market

My last night market at the Full Moon Market with my friend and her man.  The full moon market is a smaller version of the Art on Main Market that is held on Sundays in Maboneng.   Maboneng is my absolute favorite area of the city.   It's an up and coming area that so many art galleries and public graffiti/murals and craft breweries and cafes, all while still keeping it's grit and urban-ness.  The garden and hall is open on night market days and is packed with unique food vendors.  I knew I was coming back on Sunday, so we just relaxed on the roof top patio with cocktails, people watching and listening to the latin music of the salsa night.

Jozie skyline from top of the hike

There's animals down there!

Saturday brought my last hike with my hiking group at Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve.    The beginning of the 9k (a little less that 6 miles) hike was a real challenge.   It was rocky and at a sharp incline.   We were also going at a pace that made me start to believe that I might be asthmatic.  Our hike leader this round was an incredibly fit, no-bull shit drill sergeant who had us going at a near jog and kept shouting "you are all lazy.  push harder.  this is not a picture taking hike".    It got easier once we got to the top and she seemed to back off a bit after our lunch break.   She even let us stop to watch the zebras and the wildebeest.   (Last random hike zebra.  sniff).  Our group was fantastic this hike (it's never not) and we had great conversations.   Even more sadness that there isn't more time to hang with my new friends.    

My last time having Hipster cocktails in jars Bryanston.

I did sneak in one new friend drink night, with a brand new expat from Belgium, who is also doing a 6 month stint.   The ladies I met suggested drinks at The Social on Main in Bryanston, which is a very hipster craft cocktail  bar near Sandton.   There's cocktails in jars.  The girls ended up bailing, but it was fun sharing all my stories and advice and in return learning a whole lot about Brussels and EU politics.   It's a rare occasion that I actually feel smarter when I leave a bar.

Market on Main

Today I was supposed to go eat waffles with co-workers at a market next to my favorite hiking spot, but its over an hour drive each way, so I wasn't particularly feeling it because my priority was to make it to my favorite spot one last time for one last Arts on Main. (until I come back, of course).  


 It was the right decision.  I had a fantastic afternoon... the weather was perfect- warm and sunny, the market was packed and vibrant.  I ate lunch (my last Durban bunny chow)  with an older women and her two grown children and they told me all about township wedding traditions  (they were hunting down some needed items for an upcoming wedding).

Bunny Chow

Street Art Vendors

I wandered around all the galleries and vendors sipping on craft brews from Smack Republic Brewery , this little microbrewery that's tucked in between the galleries.  After a very long texting session with Phil, we decided on 2 prints from Iwasshot in Joburg :).  Iwasshot is an organization that gives street kids disposable cameras to photograph street art in order to generate an income and get them off the street.  They also have a gallery, a work shop and a skills development lab.   Pretty rad.

New canvas art for the "Africa" shelf

A main part of the market is roof top salsa.   I met the gentleman, Sam, who founded Rooftop salsa 4 years ago.   He is a retired journalist from the US.  He came to South Africa 14 years ago on assignment and never left.    I feel you, Sam.  Having to leave Jozie is breaking my heart.  Jozie you have official beat Tokyo as my favorite city that is not Chicago.

Gallery Beer 

And because you were all wondering... Bob is doing wonderful.  We had a little scare this week, where he stopped eating and got very pale, but he's back to snacking on his flowers  and his color has come back.    He currently likes hanging upside down, pooping a lot, inching between flowers.  He dislikes flowers that are not Gerber Daisies and being interrupted from naps.     Speaking of Gerber Daisies I need to find more ASAP.   He's destroying the two I have left and the flower market didn't have any in stock this weekend.   The red flowers that sort of kind of look like daisies aren't cutting it.

Bob

Travel- Day 2 on the Garden Route

Hi Readers!    For today's travel blog it's back to the Garden Route for Day 2!  (Day one is here)  I left off last in Plettenberg Bay and that is where I will begin here.   

We headed out from our B&B,  Beacon on the Bliss (reviewed here),  early to Robberg Nature Reserve, which was just a few kilometers up the road for a morning hike.  The day before when Phil and I were playing on the beach a couple of life guards had told us we could hike the whole island in 1.5 hours so we where fairly ambitious when we woke up. That ambition was quickly shot down when our hostess at the guest house told us it takes her 4-5 hours.   

We estimated our fitness level somewhere in between the two, so we expected a a 3-ish hour hike, which was about right- although we did a sort of a convoluted path- hiking first one side of the island and back and then the other side and back, instead of making a full loop.     The hike itself was on the moderate to advanced side with some parts of the trail marked with a skull and cross bones.  There were definitely parts that were more like bouldering than hiking.  The risk of tumbling off the mountain was well worth it!  The views were breath taking.   We  encountered a little rain when we rounded the mountain to the island, but luckily it was more of a warm rain, and we were semi-prepared with jackets and hats.   I was really jealous of Phil's water resistant safari gear that I had relentlessly teased him about.   There were a lot of serious hikers on the trail with a lot of serious hiking gear, including pack-covers.   That would have been helpful.

It's cool, waves, let your freak flags fly high. 

This technically was the trail.  

 There were also a bunch of trail runners!  I have no idea how running on this trail was possible.  The trail itself is made of several different substrates- wooden planks in some places, dirt and gravel in others, but also straight up rocks- where any resemblance of a trail was minimal.  The main hike is a loop, with the right hand side's reward being a beautiful beach and an island that can be explored- if you are cautious of the waves that have the potential to crash over the island.    The other side of the loop treats you to views of seals.

At least this part had a rail.

Horns for not breaking my ankle!

Interesting, due to my public health back ground, there were boxes and boxes of free condoms in the the ladies room at the park, in packs of 20, with visual instructions. These were sponsored by the South African Health Ministry.   Phil claims they were not in the men's room. South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV and AIDs in the world.

Bathroom Condoms

Stop 2 for the day was Knysna.    Here is one of the major stops on the Garden Route, the Heads.

All bundled up

Here is a webcam view if you'd like to see the heads in real time.  The heads are 2 hills that form the passage from the harbor into the ocean.   If you are running a ship and wish to come into the harbor additional insurance is needed....   the waves near the heads are that powerful.   Phil and I took a cruise around the lagoon.   It was chilly at first, but warmed up.   Luckily, there were heavy wool blankets to cuddle up with.

Knysna Heads

Stressed out mountain driving

After the cruise we head up to the mountains to Oudtshoorn.   Oudtshoorn is about an hour up into the mountains.  The drive was a little bit terrifying.   I almost crawled into the back seat.  It was a two lane highway with very little shoulder separating us from the vertical drop.  The little I saw from between my fingers was pretty stunning.  To make it worse, it was misty and raining a bit and the sun was starting to set.  When there was opposing traffic, Phil would pull to the left, where there was no shoulder, just a death drop.  I was glued to the side mirror, singing/screaming "TAR! TAR! TAR! TAR! TAR!" every time the touched the side of road.

Garden at Tierra Bianca

We finally made it to our third B&B, Tierra Bianca  without either of us crapping our pants, but it was a close call. When we first pulled up, we couldn't figure out where to go to check in.  There really wasn't any doors or signs, other than the main sign on the building.   We finally found a door and knocked and a man in a skirt answered and there was some confusion on his part as to why we were there and whom we were looking for.  He finally said, "Oh, you  must be looking for Morkel...  I will call him."  And shut the door.  Phil started humming the theme song for American Horror Story.   Morkel did show up relatively quickly after and he was fabulous.   He took us down to our room in the garden and had laid out menus in three categories on the bed for us:  his favorites, fancy places and places with a free pick up.   Free pick up???  Hell, yes.   That pretty much made up our mind.   Morkel called up Blackswan, made a reservation for us and arranged a pick up.

30 minutes later we were being shuttled away for wine and dinner.  The restaurant pretty empty when we arrived and we were seated at one of several empty 2 tops in the main dining room.    I picked out a bottle of wine, happy that Phil would be able to share since we would be shuttled back home after. Wine choice: One Tree Hill, Pinotage by a local winery Karusa Vineyard.  It was delicious.  I  regret not stopping at the vineyard to pick up  a few bottles.  I hope I can find it locally.  As we were looking at our choices for mains, the waitress came over, flustered and embarrassed and said that we'd need to move because an "old lady" had requested that table.   We moved one table over.  When the "old lady" came in later, it was really a rich old dude with his young trophy girlfriend.   Seriously, there was nothing special about that table... I think it was just an exercise in fake power and the need to feel important.   .The rest of our dinner was pleasant.  The food was good-  Ostrich filet for Phil (we were in the ostrich capital of the world) and a vegetarian pasta for me.  We shared a yummy traditional bread pudding custard for desert.   Then it was into the shuttle to be shuttled back to the B&B.

Stay tuned for Days 3 & 4 in Mossel Bay.