The Garden Route begins

Left Cape Town late afternoon due to a slight hangover from the dinner party the night before. Drove to George, arrived at our Bed & Breakfast, walked to an itailian dinner for some dinner and passed out. The drive was, of course, stunning. Lots of vineyards, green hills, brown farms, I saw Ostriches! Again, photos have been taken, but I don't think they will do it justice. Drove as the sun was setting. African sunsets are just amazing!
Monday morning woke up, had a great breakfast included with the room, hence the name bed and breakfast. Lauren had arranged for a township tour ( where all of the poor, black people live, also known as shanty towns) with the owner of the B &B. Very weird morning. Bascially we paid a lot of money to be driven around parts of the city. This was by far the most disappointing experience of the trip so far. Not because of what we saw, but because of what we didn't see. However, we were taken to some schools which was really amazing. The children and teachers were all so beautiful and sohappy to meet us. I defintely teared up during this.
Afterwards, we continued driving along the coast to arrive at Plettenberg Bay, right on the beach! We are staying at a really great B&B hosted by some extremely nice people... Very romantic here, yeesh! Showered, drove to town and had some coctails while watching the sunset. Plett Bay is situated right on the Indian ocean, situated between mountains and it is just unbelievably beautiful... All of the restaraunts, bars, etc. overlook the bay and have open windows, etc.
Woke up this morning (Wednesday?) had breakfast. The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky. We headed straight for the beach! Laid out until the kayak guy decided to show up , uh, around noon. Quickly signed up for sea kayaking and the three of us took off into the cold Indian Ocean. Within minutes we were surrounded by Bottlenose dolphin and seals!!!! I was nearly in tears the sight was just incredible. Every few minutes we would hear splashing, and heavy breathing from all around you, tons and tons of dolphins leaping in the air and swimming past. I was THRILLED!!! It was just amazing to be so close to those beautiful creatures. The animals that live on this continent are just amazing. In a month more or so, the killer, right and humpback whales would have been seen as well. Damn! Next time.
After two hours in the kayak, we needed a coctail! Laid out a bit more and then I went to sign up for scuba diving. Refresher coarse tomorrow, then boat dive, with ragged tooth sharks on Friday... Stay tuned!

Cape Town

Woke up Sunday morning to a very misty, humid Cape Town. Went to brunch with Lauren and then drove to some Africa markets, full of the same crafts at every stall. Drove over the mountains to Hout Bay on the other side where the mist had risen and the clouds had part to show me probably, literally THE most beautiful city I have ever seen. Lauren and I sat and laid at the beach for the afternoon. Beautiful blue water, surrounded by greenery and mountains. Similar to the coast of California, but seriously, MUCh prettier... After the beach we went to the grocery store to prepare for a Brie (SOuth African Bar B Q) that we were hosting that night so that I could meet her friends. We cooked tons and drank. And drank. It was really lovely. About to hit the road again to go to George, a town on the coast where tomorrow we will a tour of a township and then go caving in one of the oldest caves in the world. I am trying to upload images of the safari, but I am having a hard time... Stay tuned!

AFRICA-the beginning

Today is Saturday, it is 10:30 and I have arrived in Cape Town. I arrived in Johannesburg last Friday morning. Met my friend at the airport where we got our lovely "soccer mom" car and had breakfast with one of Lauren's friend. Drove to a town called Hazy View. Somehow managed to make a "wrong turn", which really turned out to be the amazing scenic route through who knows what village. Beautiful, lush. Children running around everywhere, some even without shoes but with ipods! Women selling fruit and avocadoes on the side of the road (delicious!) and carrying large packages on top of their heads. I had arrived in Africa! Made it to our hostel, the Gecko Lodge. Lauren brought a bottle of wine from a winery down south. Took that to our lovely and very cheap dinner before passing out to the sound of pouring rain on our tin roof.

Saturday we met our guide, HANZ who took over driving duties towards Kruger National Park, one of the largest parks in Africa. I can not even believe what I have seen over the next two days! The photos will not even do this place justice! I will make the long story short, but basically this guide knows EVERYTHING there is about the park, from the ants on the ground to the birds in the sky... He drives us through this stunning diverse vegetation that seems to change every few minutes and goes on forever... Your driving, you're driving and BAM! Giant elephant in the middle of the road! BAM! Giraffes and zebras camoflauged in the bush!!! SILENCE! There is no one else around, you roll down your windows and all you hear is these AMAZING animals chomping on the grass and the wind blowing. I literally teared up. Over the next two and half days this continued- I saw Lions (2 HUNTING!) Zebra, Giraffes, Elephants, etc, etc. Just amazing.

Thursday night we dropped Hanz off and headed to ThornyBush, a private, more luxurious reserve. Here we slepped under a mosquito netted bed, had a private back yard, etc. etc...These safaris were a bit different in that we drove around with 6 other people in open 4x4 vehicles... I saw some incredible sights on these game drives!! I was literally inches away from a lioness. I saw a male lion inches away sleeping next to the zebra carcass that he had just devoured. I saw three lionesses try to sneak up on a group of White Rhinos (so many of them!!)- the lions ran away! I saw a leopard, probably the most beautiful animal I saw the whole time. Today, before we left, we saw a female cheetah and her cubs. As I am writing this, I still can't believe the things I saw. I will hopefully upload some photos soon, although they will not do any justice to the beauty I have witnessed.

Around ten am today (saturday) we left the reserve and drove through some mountains and farmland to catch a plane in Johannesburg. This drive was stunning. Both Lauren and I turned to each other at the same time and said, "I feel lucky to be alive" It was that beautiful out there. I truly hope that everyone reading this is lucky enough to make it out here sometime...

So, now I am in Lauren's AMAZING duplex in Capetown. Apparently, there's a view of teh ocean off the balcony, but it was night when I arrived, so hopefully tomorrow I will see it-yay! Then, Monday we are on the road again, along the coast to do many things... Stay posted, I hope to upload pics before we're on the road again.
Miss you all! Keep in touch!

The Beginning

Arrived in London yesterday morning. My day was botched as I was unable to sleep on the plane. Managed to stay awake until 11 pm though so I could enjoy the day. It started with a lovely lunch at Simon's place with his friend Dawn. Unfortunately, lunch was not in his lovely garden due to the rain. Afterwards we went strolling in the biggest mall in Europe, a brand new giant mall, and then his roommate gave us a private tour of the BBC, because he works there Went to some pubs for drinks,afterwards as you do in London. Today it has been an absolutely beautiful, warm spring day. Started the day off driving around this beautiful city on Simon's vespa. Stopped into Topshop for a quick look around-that place is HUGE! Simon and I were lost in there looking for each other for hours! Had a nice lunch afterwards and am now relaxing in his garden (the hammock isn't up yet ;( ) before going on a pub crawl and doing some dancing later tonight. Africa flight is tomorrow night, so planning on hitting the Sunday markets before hopping on a plane (again). I forgot how much I like London. Next post will probably be from the lovely South Africa-I am soo excited to get there!

Testing... 1, 2, 3

This is the first blog of my life. This is the first test of the first blog of my life. Next week, 8 days to be exact, I will embark on the adventure of a lifetime. First, visiting my dear friend Simon in London, and then on to "the Motherland," South Africa. I look forward to blogging and hope that you journey with me as I explore and reach for new inspiration and new perspectives on life, love and the pursuit of happiness...