Wales, UK

On Friday night (May 4th), after spending a few days in Berlin at a conference, Mom and Stan arrived in London! I was so excited for their visit that I could barely do anything but be excited all week. Mom and I had a tearful reunion at Heathrow, 8 months after our tearful farewell at Lake O’hara in September. On Saturday, we went to Wales to go walking (British hiking). It was the perfect way to spend the weekend and to catch up with Suze and Stan (S&S); lots of time to visit while driving, walking and dining. We had narrowed our destination down to Newport in north Pembrokeshire because of the coastal walks and the walks through the Preseli Hills which are scattered with ancient pagan standing stones. It turned out to be the perfect place because Newport was a quaint town with lots to offer on its own.

This country is small compared to Canada, but we continue to be amazed at how long it takes to drive places, due to small roads and dense traffic. Many of the country roads in Wales are bordered by high stone walls and shrubs making it difficult to see the countryside as you drive.

After a five hour journey we arrived in St. David’s on the Western tip of Wales and the Pembrokeshire Coast. St. David’s, Britain’s smallest city, is home to a famous Cathedral and a Bishop’s Palace. Stan did not want to spend his vacation in Britain visiting churches and castles so Mom promised him that this would be the only one. Usually cathedrals are built in prominent locations, however this one was built in a gully to attempt to hide it from marauders travelling by sea or land. Unfortunately, this strategy didn’t work that well, as it was attacked several times. The cathedral is impressive and so are the ruins of the Bishop’s Palace.

From St. David’s we did a short drive to the beach and walked along classic Wales’ coastline cliffs to St. David’s head. Our B&B was in Newport, northeast of St. David’s and still on the coast. The B&B was an old house that had been beautifully renovated only a year ago. We had views from our rooms overlooking the sea. Our host spent time telling us about all of Newport’s places of interest: Pentre Ifan (5,000 year old standing stones), the castle, St. Mary’s church, the beach, the mystical forest and the nearby Cwm Gwaun valley, where the community that lives there still follows an ancient calendar. Saturday night, we had a hearty dinner of meat pies and burgers at the Golden Lion pub, a good British experience for S&S. We even got a quarter of a pint of pull ale into Mom.

After a lovely breakfast on Sunday morning we headed out on the short version of the Preseli Hills Circuit (12km). It was sunny for a while, then it turned cloudy with a few drops of rain, and it was constantly windy. We were lucky that we didn’t get poured on. The trail took us up into the bare Preseli Hills, past the steep rock outcrop Carn Ingli, through fields of sheep and then down into the eerie Cwm Gwaun valley. The steep walls of the valley were covered with corkscrew oak trees and carpets of blue bells. It was beautiful but the banjo tune from the movie Deliverance kept running through my head which made me wary.

We found a quaint tea house on a farm in the valley where we could warm up and fill our bellies. The quirky hostess served us and told us about the valley (she said that they are all very “close” there), her farm, and her gardens which she has bus loads of people in to view. I was giving John and hug and asking if he was alright; our hostess picked up on that and comment to John, “Oh, so you’re not used to the walking are you? You must be a townie”. Stan didn’t let that one go for the rest of the weekend.

We finished the walk by going through more fields and by an ancient standing stone. All of the walks are on public footpaths through private land. Stan was baffled by this concept and kept trying to think of ingenious fencing ideas to keep walkers out of the fields.

After our walk, we had a quick warm up at the B&B before heading out in the car to see Pentre Ifan, the impressive 5,000 year old standing stones that used to form a burial mound. A 16 tonne flat stone lies on top of three standing stones. The whole structure looks precarious but I don’t think its going anywhere. The stones from Stonehenge came from the same area. This little jaunt was Stan’s first attempt at driving on the left side of the road and the right side of the car. It was a good place for a first drive as there was no traffic and the roads were only wide enough for one car so he didn’t have to remember to stay on the left. He did well and managed not to scrape up the left side of the car on any of the stone walls.

After Pentre Ifan, we went back into Cwm Gwuan Valley in order to check out the Duffrin Arms Pub (aka Bessie’s pub). About five different people had told us we had to go see it because it was “an experience”. The rain had set in so the valley was dark and even more eerie. After passing a crowd of locals heading into Church on Sunday evening, we found Bessie’s pub. The pub was a converted sitting room of a house with seating for about 10, with a tiled floor, and a hole in the wall from where you could order Bessie’s home brew beer. A glimpse was all the “experience” we needed as we weren’t sure how friendly the locals would be if we stayed for a beer (again, the banjo tune from Deliverance was running through my head). I’m sure you needed special Cwm Gwuan Valley stomach enzymes to digest the beer as well.

We had another great dinner in Newport and then we strolled down to the beach to burn it off. Of course Mom and I got carried away with the exploring and we didn’t end up getting back until well after dark.

Monday, bank holiday weekend in the UK (ie: a long weekend), we did a shorter walk, only a few hours around Dinas Head. It was a good contrast to the hill walk the day before, giving us steep coastal cliffs (if somewhat in the clouds). We ended at a little beach and a convenient tea house with great cakes. Mom was very impressed with the tea houses.

Instead of taking the main highways to Cheltenham, we took the scenic route through the Brecon Beacons (a famous National Park in Wales). It gave us a great glimpse of more of Wales but it took a long time. On all of our drives, John and I enjoyed listening to S&S’s agriculture commentary as we passed different fields of crops and livestock. It added a new dimension to travel for us. In Cheltenham, John and I caught the train back to London. We left S&S with the rental car and maps so they could make their way to the beautiful Cowley Mannor, their hotel/spa for the night. After Cowley they went to to Bodysgallen Hall in North Wales and then to visit some friends. I was so worried about them on the British roads I had to call every night to check on them, but they did just fine and had a wonderful time.

Our long weekend walking in Wales turned out wonderfully. We did all of the walks and saw all of the sites I had hoped, but it wouldn’t have mattered if we didn’t because it was just so nice to be with Mom and Stan again. It made me sad knowing it was only for a short time. Luckily, I had another weekend with them and 10 other family members to look forward to. My Aunt Barb and Uncle Bruce along with my cousins, Eleanor, Margot and Hugh were arriving in London from Calgary, Aunt Carla and Uncle Poul were arriving from Denmark, and my sister, her husband and new baby, Cole, arrived from Winnipeg. Another weekend I couldn’t wait for!

Naples, Italy

Our good friends Jane and Ty from Vancouver (but now they live in Calgary) arrived in London on Saturday, April 14th, exactly one month before John and Ty’s 30th birthday. They weren’t here long before heading out on a whirlwind trip through Southern France and Italy, but we did manage to get some Ultimate Frisbee in on Sunday afternoon in Hyde Park. Those two are so hard core they even brought their cleats with them.

We arranged to meet them at the airport in Naples, Italy the following Friday evening for a fun filled weekend touring Sorrento, Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and Capri. I was so excited for this trip; it fulfilled two of my travel dreams and exceeded my expectations. Since I was a kid I have wanted to visit Pompeii as I find the volcano-preserved history fascinating, and for a about a year before we left Vancouver we kept a newspaper article and photo of the Amalfi Coast posted on our fridge as inspiration to get to Europe.

The challenge of the weekend was surviving and navigating traffic in Naples. London traffic and roads are nothing in comparison. We were petrified and in awe. Cars and scooters speed along, honking like they are in a wedding procession, and passing at any opportunity on single lane highways, taking chances that any Canadian driver would consider insane. We rented a car and John did an impressive job of driving all weekend. The frequency of honks at us reduced from two in the first two minutes, to almost nothing by the last day there.

We managed to get out of Naples, past Mt. Vesuvius, and along the other side of the Bay of Naples to Sorrento. The chaos of Naples highways turned into chaos of skinny, windy roads on the edge of breathtaking cliffs as we went through Sorrento and area. Our hotel was high up on a cliff, overlooking Sorrento, the Bay of Naples, Mt. Vesuvius and our pool. It was called La Terrazze, named for its large terraces with amazing views.

We got there around 11:00pm and luckily a nearby restaurant, Don Pedro’s, was still open for dinner. Don Pedro, the owner, picked us up and then waited on us all night. Oh, the food! Don Pedro has a small farm in behind the restaurant where he grows the fruits and vegetables served. I had the best Caprese salad ever, fresh tomatoes and mozzarella like I’ve never tasted before. Of course, the rest of the courses, pasta, meat and wine were just as stellar. Ty became a fan of the Lemoncello (strong lemon alcohol) served after dinner. It was great to chat with Ty & Jane over a long meal.

We awoke Saturday to sun beaming onto our terrace. It was tough to leave that glorious spot but we had places to see. Our first stop was Pompeii, the Roman city buried and preserved by the ash of Mt. Vesuvius’ explosion in 79 AD. We were all surprised by the sheer size of the city. It was so well preserved that it was easy to imagine what it would have been like to live there, unlike the ruins in Rome. Eighty percent has been excavated and the remainder is still in progress; it is hard to fathom the amount of work that would have taken.

Jane received a tip from a colleague to get a guided tour of the city, so at the entrance we started to enquire. The guides prowl the entrance hunting for business. We were scooped up by an aggressive older guide, Giovanni, well dressed and well tanned from his many days under the Italian sun. He offered us EUR40 for the four of us; we said we would opt for the cheaper audio guides instead. In an amusing way, he said that would be the “biggest mistake of our lives!” and then offered EUR30, equivalent to the audio guides, so we accepted. Payment was not required until the end. He certainly provided some added entertainment to the tour.

Our tour group totaled 9 as we entered the gates. We passed some people with audio guides who chose not to go with Giovanni’s tour, and he loudly expressed to them that “that was the biggest mistake of their lives!” After about 15 minutes, Giovanni started to drone on a bit and when we next stopped, 3 members of our group had disappeared. He was livid, because he wouldn’t have started the tour with only 6 people. He went on a hunt for them but to no avail. We kept going but could tell that Giovanni was distracted, his eyes always peeled for the missing tourists. We bumped into them later in the day and he lectured them loudly about honour and integrity, and how the money didn’t matter to him, it was the principle. We got a kick out of that. Soon after that, he asked two good looking young ladies to join the tour for free. Then, at the end of the tour he said that we had to pay EUR40 because those three others left at the beginning and he wouldn’t make any money. Simple solution – get payment up front. What happened to “honouring your word” and “I’m not in it for the money”? We paid him EUR30 and he went off in a huff. We chuckled about it several times over the weekend.

As for giving us a tour of Pompeii, Giovanni did a pretty good job. Highlights included the Roman forum, the Roman Baths, one of over 50 bakeries, one of over 25 brothels, the amphitheater, the “flying penises” to ward off the “evil eye”, and the houses. Each home had a winter and summer reception room and depending on how wealthy you were, you had different dining rooms for different seasons. Frescoes adorned the walls and tile mosaics the floors. The brothel had beds made of stone in the bedrooms and frescoes on the walls of different sexual positions for the patrons to choose from.

While in the baths, Giovanni sat us all down and gave us a talk about seizing the day, carpe diem. Life is short, spend your money now, because who knows when it will end. I guess you would have to have that mentality living in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, with scientists predicting it is well overdue for an eruption…

After Pompeii we drove along the cliffs of the Amalfi Coast to the town of Positano. We’ve done a few edge of the ocean drives, Sea to Sky highway in BC and Chapman’s Peak Drive in South Africa, but this was the scariest; steeper cliffs, skinnier roads and crazier drivers. The views were worth it though. Positano is a colourful village built into the cliffs up from the water. It was a larger version of the quaint towns of the Cinque Terre which we visited on our honeymoon. We parked at a high part of Positano and walked down many stairs and steep roads to the town centre by the water. I was dreading the walk back up but it wasn’t so bad and it helped burn off all of the gelato we ate at the beach. There are several other villages along the coast, including Ravello, which got rave reviews from some of our friends. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it farther down the coast to see them, but that will be a good excuse to go back.

After Positano, we were pooped and decided to head back to our terrace with the gorgeous view to enjoy some drinks before going to dinner. Our venue of choice for dinner was not a traditional restaurant. It was at a farm house, high up on the ridge over the Bay of Salerno, with a rustic dining area. The produce served came from the farm. Like the night before, the owner picked us up and waited on us all night. We had a huge course of sample dishes (lots of new things to try), then pasta, and then dessert (we didn’t have room for a meat course). All the food was so delicious; I can’t say enough good things about it.

We were hoping to enjoy breakfast on our sunny hotel terrace on Sunday morning but we didn’t get up early enough and we wanted to catch the 9:55 boat from Sorrento to the island of Capri (25 minute boat ride). The departure time was actually 9:45 and we just made it in time by sprinting down the docks. We had received recommendations to take a boat ride around the island. When we arrived in the Capri harbour it was swarming with people and we were trying to figure out the best way to circumnavigate the island. There were huge line ups for the larger commercial boats that sped around the island in an hour or ones that just took you to the Blue Grotto (cave with amazingly blue water). We were trying to figure out what to do and Ty started talking to a guy trying to sell us a boat ride. John, Jane and I thought “what is Ty getting conned into?” Turns out Ty made the move of the weekend talking to this guy; he arranged us a private, two hour boat ride around the island, stopping wherever we wanted. Taking the big public boats would have, in the words of our Pompeii tour guide, been the “biggest mistake of our lives!”

Our Italian driver picked us up at the docks. The boat had a big open bow for us to lie out on and a few benches in the back. The trip was the highlight of the weekend. The cliffs rose above the water and seagulls soared gracefully beside them. The water was the most brilliant blue I have ever seen. It was tough to take it all in. My descriptions won’t do it justice so please check out the photos. Our driver took the boat very close to shore and took us into several grottos carved into the cliffs. Jane said her cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Ty was the brave one and dove into the cold water for a quick swim. The water was so inviting but not quite warm enough for me.

After the boat ride, we hiked up to the town centre of Capri for lunch and then took a bus to Anacapri on the other side of the island for gelato. Part of the road to Anacapri had the scariest cliff to date; it could only fit one car at a time. Pooped from all the sunshine and good times, we caught the boat back to Sorrento and began the drive back to Naples airport.

It was a good thing we left ourselves extra time because traffic was thick and slow all the way into Naples. Once in Naples we were all stressed trying to find the signs to the airport and then we got stuck in a traffic jam. Two lines of cars were squeezed into a one lane of an elevated road not moving, scooters were honking and trying to get through and we didn’t even know if we were on the right road! Stressful! Luckily, we made it to the airport in time and John had a well deserved beer after his impressive driving. Jane and Ty took the bus from there to their hostel in downtown Naples and we got on the plane back to London.

What a weekend! I still can’t believe we were just there. April was a very good time to visit because the weather was comfortably warm and the area wasn’t overrun by tourists yet. It was busy enough for us; I can’t imagine what it would be like in July and August.

Thanks Jane and Ty! We had such a great time with the two of you.

Cotswolds, England

It was getting close to the end of March and we realized that we still hadn’t booked a trip for the Easter long weekend. How could we not be taking advantage of four days off in a row? We hunted for cheap flights to Europe, but to no avail, so then we thought, why not explore somewhere in England? At the last minute, we managed to book a cabin for four on a farm in the Cotswolds, about two hours west of London. Jess and Andrew joined us.

We lucked out with weather as the whole weekend was sunny and warm. It was just the kind of trip we were in need of: slow paced, low stress travelling, lots of fresh air and comfy accommodation where we could sleep in, make our own food and chill out. It was very appropriate for Easter too as the leaves were coming out, flowers were in bloom, bunnies were running around and sheep with their lambs scattered the fields.

The farm we stayed on was just north of a city called Cheltenham, it was a sheep farm and they had some race horses. Most importantly, it had a big, open, unused field which we used to set up Frickets (a backyard Frisbee game for two or four people, usually involving beer). Every night before dinner we would spend a good hour playing as the sun was going down.

Post dinner activities involved cards. A&J taught us diminishing whist a while ago and we are slowly getting better at it. They kindly surprised us with a cribbage board as a present thus enabling us to teach them how to play crib (our fave). Andrew had been studying up on line and holds the record for the most strategic beginner crib player we have ever come across. (The crib board’s next trip will be to Spain for a week in May. Sarah and Kev better have their game ready.)

Over the weekend, we managed to cross three of England’s cities off our “places to visit” list.

The first one was Oxford; we stopped there on our drive out to the Cotswolds on Friday. Oxford is a beautiful university town, straight out of the past, with grand old stone buildings. Unfortunately, we don’t have photos that do it justice. We had fun exploring the heart of the city and wishing we could have gone to school there. Oxford, we recommend.

Next up for cities was Bath on Saturday. We didn’t make it there until late afternoon, and the traffic (pedestrian and vehicle) was heavy. We had a nice lunch on a patio and then hit the main sights on foot but didn’t partake in any of the Roman baths (natural hot springs). My personal favourite was the Royal Crescent, a huge, grand, half moon shaped building opening onto a park with beautiful flowers. Later on as we ate ice cream overlooking the river, we saw crowds start to stream out of a rugby match. We decided that was time to make our move. Bath was a neat spot but crowded, so we would recommend going there in the off season (whatever that might be).

Our third city was Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. If you have read past blogs you will know we have a bit of an aversion to cities that cash in on famous people that used to live there. Stratford was one of those places. If you really like Shakespeare then it’s a place for you, if not, just go explore the Cotswolds, which is what we did.

Our city visits were quick and efficient, because what we really wanted to do was see more of the Cotswolds (meaning cottage in the wolds – open country). Cotswolds – we highly recommend. The area is beautiful farm land with lots of tiny villages with buildings only made of stone and all of the fields are surrounded by stone walls. The work that went into building all those walls astounds me! Exploring the Cotswolds is like going back in time.

Back in the 80s, John’s grandparents did a house exchange for a year and lived in a cottage in the Cotswolds. On Friday night, John called his grandma and got the approximate location of Post Cottage where they lived, near Oakridge and Water Lane. So, on Saturday before going to Bath, we went on the hunt for Post Cottage.

The search first took us through a stone village built onto a hill with a very skinny main road that the car barely fit through. We got directions to Oakridge from an adorable old man out for a walk. The single lane route took us through a fairy tale forest and then into more quaint rolling farm land. We decided to park the car and explore on foot because the public footpaths were beckoning. (You can walk on private land here and there are signs every where showing you where the public footpaths are.) We walked into the village of Oakridge and went into the local pub to get directions. It was about noon and there were two sweet couples in having a beer. What a classic scene! As we left we were met with another classic scene; a seniors walking group headed to the local pub after their morning walk.

We managed to find our way to the little village of Water Lane and Post Cottage appeared right before us, just as one of the couples in the pub had described. What a beautiful spot! An adorable cottage with a large garden in bloom with spring flowers. John and I want to do a house exchange there!

We knocked on the door and met the owner, Joy. Despite surprising her (and likely scaring her as John was not clean shaven), Joy was very welcoming and figured out that John must be Pat’s grandson from Vancouver. Pretty impressive. She told us how Pat and Ron did so much work around the cottage and the community during their stay. They were very popular. Ron made the Post Cottage sign that still hangs on the gate. We caught a glimpse of the inside of the cottage and it looked just like Pat’s photos from 20 years ago.

On Sunday after Stratford, we went to the cute little town of Broadway. We did a walk through the sheep fields around the town and then had a great pub lunch. We drove back to our farm on the little side roads so that we could get our fill of the villages and countryside (the village of Snowshill is one to go back to), and we checked out a tiny place called Deerhurst. It had a chapel built in 1056. On our way home on Monday we stopped in Winchcombe for a walk and to check out its castle.

The highlight of the weekend was finding Post Cottage and realising this beautiful country with great walking trails is only a couple of hours away. We’ll have to fit some walking day trips into the schedule. Hopefully we get similar weather.

Thank you to A&J for joining us, cooking up such great food, feeding us with lots of Easter chocolate, and helping make the trip so much fun. I think we are going to have to plan a Canada Day Frickets tournament in London.

Vilnius, Lithuania

Although I've tried to find some way around this, since Leah didn't come on this trip, I can't stick her with writing the blog for it. So, here goes the John (low quality) blog:

Gil and I went to Lithuania for about five days. Gil's parents lived in the capital, Vilnius until about 1970, and have not been back since. It was a great adventure for us to go there and get a glimpse of their former lives. We found the various apartments that his folks used to live in, and had dinner in the swank Hotel Neringa, where his dad used to lead the band. Very cool.

Actually Vilnius in general was pretty cool. The old town is great, we had tons of local food, beer was very cheap, and we had a great time. We stayed in the Centrum UniqueStay Hotel, and it was unique. We took a day trip to Trakai, a small town on a lake with an island castle. We took pictures. Some of them are on Flickr.

Mike somehow managed to simultaneously contract every disease known to man (in the interests of saving disk space I won't list them all), but he hung in quite well. He was healthy enough to complain incessantly about the low quality of Lonely Planet's writers, who say that only a handful of Lithuanians speak Russian. Gil is fluent in Russian, spoke it with practically everybody we met, and cursed the Lonely Planet after each conversation.

Gil - thanks for the great trip!

Don't you miss Leah's blogs?

Amsterdam

On Thursday, March 24th, our friend Mike Giligson (aka Gil) arrived from Vancouver. John was flying out of Heathrow for Amsterdam when Gil’s plane landed so they managed a quick visit. John went to Amsterdam for a work meeting on Thursday night and an ice hockey tournament with his new British team, The Westminster Statesmen, from Friday to Sunday (you have to call it ice hockey here because “hockey” means field hockey). Teams were travelling from parts of Europe and North America for the tournament.

On the trip, we were lucky to have the company of Gil, our friend Dan (aka Dan the Man, DTM, from Van but lives in London) and our travel buddies Jess and Andrew (J&A). John’s tourney was in Zoetermeer, about an hour’s train ride from Amsterdam. John and I stayed in Zoetermeer, while J&A, DTM and Gil stayed near the action in Amsterdam (AMS).

I flew with Dan and Mike on Friday night. Our flight was occupied by two different groups of guys on stags, one of which was sitting in the row behind me. Needless to say, they were loud and obnoxious, and to add to it, the guys behind me had the morphed British accents which are like nails one a chalkboard to me. Pronunciation examples: sumfink instead of something, bruva instead of brother, “init?” which translates to “isn’t it?” but is used in any context even when it makes no sense. (I’m going to drink my body weight in Heineken this weekend, init?) I shouldn’t say anything bad though because I imagine that is what John and all his buddies will be like enroute to Vegas in August for Kristian’s stag.

J&A arrived in Schiphol on a slightly earlier flight and John took the train in to meet us all. We promptly parted ways; the AMS crew took a cab to their hotel and John and I trained to Zoetermeer. We used the time to catch up. John had a game Friday afternoon, which they unfortunately lost. He had heard from other players that in previous years after games local kids (and teenagers) hang around the dressing rooms for autographs. The tradition continued and John even signed some – keep an eye out for a hockey autograph on eBay with a negative reserve price…

The train ride went by quickly but I still had time for a little people watching. The lady beside us had the neatest fold up bike; it collapsed down to about the size of brief case. We saw them many times over the next few days. Across the isle from us was a man with a big pit bull at his feet; they lived up to the dog resembling owner stereotype.

Our hotel was right by the train station which was convenient, but it didn’t even come close to its 4 star rating (I’d say more like 2). Our TV had a message displayed for us, “Welcome Mr. and Mr. Weatherill”. We were definitely in Holland.

John was up early on Saturday to get to the rink for his 8:00 a.m. game. I waited until the second game, which was at the more respectable time of 10:40, to begin my “puck bunny” duties. I was in far better shape than a fellow puck bunny who was partying until 5:30am, but I was not nearly as devoted as one lady, Sarah, who got up for the 8:00 game, with a hangover, was losing her voice from screaming and had her nails painted in team colours. I got a kick out of Sarah’s boyfriend, also John, who lit up a cigarette on the bench in between periods! The arena had a speed skating track around the top of the stands; training grounds for more Dutch Olympians. The Statesmen were victorious in their second game which propelled them into the finals – scheduled for 8:00 am Sunday morning (same morning as European daylight savings “spring forward” came into effect).

John and I trained into AMS mid afternoon and enjoyed the passing views of green fields, canals, daffodils, and windmills. It is quite strange looking across a field and seeing a boat floating in the middle of it. After spending the morning at Anne Frank House and exploring AMS, A&J met us at central station and we walked around for a while. John and I had been in AMS before, on the last two days of our honeymoon, so we weren’t itching to hit all the sites. As we strolled, memories came flooding back and the streets and buildings felt so familiar. We made our way to a pancake house that we ate at on our honeymoon and decided to indulge again; everyone opted for sweet, not savory. We then walked through the flower market, past several public urinals, into Rembrant’s square and then found ourselves at a pub serving beer on the patio.

During this time Gil and DTM were napping at Hotel Euphemia and we figured it was time to get them up. The Euphemia was a cute 1 Star hotel, a step up from a hostel. (I thought it was cute, but I wasn’t staying there.) There were three long, very steep staircases to get up to the room, quite the hazard in my opinion, given the various activities that go on in AMS.

We all had a really fun dinner; put Mike, John, Dan and Andrew together and hilarious conversation ensues. We went to In De Wildeman pub for post-dinner drinks on Andrew’s friend’s recommendation. What a great spot; very old, neat posters on the walls, over 200 different kinds of beers and perfect for more fun conversations. Unfortunately, John and I cut the evening short so we could catch the train back to Zoetermeer. We arrived at our hotel at 12:30 and wished our 5 hour sleep could have been longer.

John was up, raring to go for the big final! I was moving very slowly (I managed to nap in the arena bar before and after the game). The first period was evenly matched, point for point, but then things got scrappy and turned for the worse for the Statesmen. They lost, which put them 2nd place overall in the tourney. Not bad for John’s first hockey tournament ever, eh? John has a new plaque to put beside his previous “man of the match” plaque in the bathroom.

We spent the rest of the day with our travelling companions in the adorably cute town of Delft. Before we left on our honeymoon several years ago, a customer of mine who was from Delft recommended going there. We didn’t make it at the time so I had to do it this trip. What a highlight! I highly recommend. Delft is like a mini Amsterdam but more rural. It has really neat old buildings, including several churches (one with a leaning bell tower) and a huge town hall. Vermeer, the painter of The Girl with the Pearl Earring and The Milkmaid, is from Delft, and so is the famous blue and white pottery.

We had a very yummy lunch of savory and sweet pancakes in the warm sun in the town square. Heaven! Then Jess guided us on a walking tour past all of the town’s architectural highlights. I just loved exploring Delft! It shouldn’t be a big surprise that we stopped for a beer after the walk.

We all took the train back to Schiphol airport and had dinner there before our flights. John, Mike, Dan and I were faced with a huge line up at customs in Heathrow but it was nothing compared to the over two hour delay A&J had leaving AMS.

I know I keep saying this, but it was another great weekend away! I’m so grateful for these experiences and for having people to share them with. Have a look at more photos on Andrew and Jess’s blog from March 26th on http://www.fushmush.net/. Thank you to all our traveling companions – you made it a great time! Thank you John for organising (your Christmas present). I hope you enjoyed it :)

John and Mike headed to Vilnius, Lithuania on Wednesday, the home town of Mike’s parents. Mike brought a DVD with him of film footage shot by his Dad in the late sixties of Vilnius and area. We watched it on Monday night. It was fascinating to see what the city used to look like, but even more fascinating to see the people and how they lived, and hear their stories. I’m sure it will make going to Vilnius even more meaningful and interesting for Mike and John after watching this.

I should also note that Mike made us an awesome dinner on Monday night and even got John to eat spinach! Thanks Mike!!

Sawks & Joy!

We just had our first visitors from home, Kristian and Joy! They made the big trek across the pond to have a couple of weekends in London with us and a jaunt to Venice. After a wonderful few days with them, we were very sad to see them go yesterday. Having them here made us feel like we were back home in Vancouver.

K&J arrived on Saturday, March 10th, our six month anniversary of being in London. It was a bright sunny day in London, and it stayed that way for the week. We picked them up at Heathrow and drove them through Northwest London to our flat in Ealing. They were jet-lagged but we were very impressed with their stamina. After some brief down time we took the tube into Central London. We walked through Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, and daffodil filled St. James Park, and then past Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben and the Thames.

After an early dinner back in Ealing, we took K&J to the classic local pub behind our place, the Kings Arms. A lot of the pubs in London have been renovated and modernized, and in doing so have lost of bit of their charm. The Kings Arms is true to form. We walked in at 7:30 and headed into the back. Just as we sat down, a man sitting on a stool at the bar passed out, fell backwards, hit is head on the table right beside us and then hit the ground with a thud. He lay there in a heap, a trickle of blood running out of his head, and the waitress returned to the room with a resounding “Oh, for f*** sake…” with a perturbed tone, like this was an everyday occurrence. Welcome to London K&J!

On Sunday, John and I had an Ultimate game and K&J did some exploring/shopping along Oxford Street. They met us at the field as the game ended and we had a beer with the team on a pub patio overlooking Clapham Common. We had a casual dinner at home that night and the evening was filled with great conversation. With good friends, it is always easy to pick things up where you left off.

On Monday, K&J headed to Venice for four days. They lucked out with great weather and they picked a good time because it wasn’t too crowded yet. They had a wonderful, relaxing time exploring the city and we are very inspired to go there after looking at their beautiful photos.

K&J left very early for Venice and arrived back late on Thursday night (exactly six months away from their wedding day!). They were so quiet on both departure and arrival that we woke up worrying that they didn’t leave in time or didn’t make it back.

On Friday, K&J visited family friends in Ascot while John and I worked. We met up for dinner at the Grange Pub on Ealing Common and then went to see the movie Hot Fuzz. It’s a British comedy starring the British equivalent of Will Farrell/Vince Vaughan/Wilson Bros. Needless to say, it had us laughing.

Saturday morning, John whipped up crepes for breakfast (he is becoming a pro at making them). After indulging in several different crepe toppings we drove to the local B&Q (the British Home Depot), so K&J could buy some wallpaper. They bought an awesome new house in Vancouver last year and have a few walls left to uplift. Joy, the decorating pro, wanted to take advantage of the UK’s extensive wallpaper selection and the cheaper prices, compared to Canada. It brought back fond home reno memories for John and I and it felt weird going there and not having to buy anything.

In the afternoon, Joy and I went shopping. First we cruised the Marylebone High Street and browsed The Conran Shop, Cath Kidston and a few expensive clothing stores. Then we went to Kensington High Street to some more affordable shops: Accessorize, Monsoon, Zara… We both had success at Zara. Meanwhile, the boys went to Lilywhites at Piccadilly Circus to buy sport wear and then to a pub to watch football and rugby. We all met back up for a beer at the Price of Wales pub on Kensington Church Street which is where John and I had our first dinner in London.

K&J treated us to a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant in Ealing and more great conversation. We headed back to the flat and enjoyed some Venetian prosecco before hitting the sack.

We had so much fun hanging out with K&J and we are so grateful that they made the trip. As described above, we did a lot of eating, drinking and visiting – just what we wanted. It gave us an excuse to try more local restaurants and explore more of London. We look forward to our next visitors so we can go back to the good spots and find new places.

We were all up early on Sunday. K&J were packing up their new clothes and three rolls of stylish wallpaper, for their midday departure. John and I were getting ready for a full day of Ultimate. We left them with a set of keys to deliver to our next visitor, Mike, in Vancouver. He arrives on Thursday, so we won’t be homesick for long.

Thanks Sawks ‘n Joy for coming to visit! We look forward to more good times together. The six month wedding countdown is on…

Note: Sawks & Joy photos have been added to our London set in Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/weatherills/sets/).

South Africa

Long time no blog … well, I’m about to make up for that. Warning: it’s a long one.

Executive Summary

We just got back from an amazing week in South Africa, a trip that exceeded all expectations! I never imagined that I would go to Africa and now we both want to go back for more. John had the opportunity to lead a workshop and speak at a conference in Johannesburg. My first thought was “No way are you going there”, and that grew into me joining him and extending the trip to do a Safari in Kruger National Park before the conference and a tour of Cape Town and area after. Given the timing of our departure, we called the trip our 3.5 year honeymoon.

While our trip was only a week it felt like we were gone a lot longer. We had delicious food every night and the hospitality was top notch. We got into a routine of early to bed and early to rise (with no coffee I might add) so we could fit everything in. We saw a plethora of animals at Kruger Park, including the Big Five and we took in the spectacular beauty of Cape Town’s peninsula. We only saw a small part of South Africa (SA) and every place we went to was so beautiful it made us want to explore the country (and the rest of Africa) more.

Prologue

While the main goal was to have fun, we were a bit nervous about this trip, as we had read and received lots of warnings about the crime situation in South Africa. Some of the highlights: Johannesburg was generally considered the most dangerous city in the world in the late ‘90s, and SA still has 20,000 murders per year. Armed robbery is common, as are carjackings, so accepted practice is to run red lights at night. Carjacking has occurred on approach roads to Kruger Park, and tourists have recently been robbed at gunpoint on Table Mountain in Cape Town (all places we were going).

Not much you can do if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, but we planned ahead to avoid the wrong places as much as possible, and had all of our transportation prearranged. We also left our jewelry and watches in London, and tried to look as uninteresting as possible, to decrease our chances of being targets for theft. Also John took a karate class in October, although he couldn’t walk for three days afterwards.

Without wanting to spoil the plot, we were lucky and had absolutely no problems, and felt safe the whole time we were there. (But if you’re going, be careful.)

Chapter 1 – Arrival & Kruger National Park

Our journey to SA started early on the morning of Friday, February 23rd, with our cab pick up at 4:00am to take us to Heathrow. This was the first of four early mornings in a row. The smooth flight, through Amsterdam on KLM (like on our first honeymoon), got us into Johannesburg (Joburg) at 10:30p.m. and we stayed at the airport hotel.

Our only stupid tourist move of the trip: on arrival we walked out of the airport looking for the shuttle bus to our hotel (the hotel is located 500 meters from the terminal, but we had been advised that it’s not safe to walk there). A “helpful” gentleman asks if we are looking for the Southern Sun shuttle, which we were, and proceeds to lead us around the corner on a dimly lit shortcut to where the shuttles wait. About 20 seconds later he points us to our shuttle and asks for 200 Rand in return (about C$35). John gives him R50, and he says “More”. John gives him another 50, and he says “More”. John says what we’ve given him is fair (hoping we don’t get stabbed as result), and he says, “Ok, enjoy your stay”, and walks off. So we paid him about $17 for 30 seconds of work, but we had to laugh at our own stupidity.

Saturday, February 24th -- Kruger National Park

We were up on Saturday morning for our 7:15 pick up to take us to Kruger National Park. Kruger is in the eastern part of SA and it is huge, about the size of Wales or Israel. In our van, we were accompanied by a Swedish family with three boys and a Swedish couple. It was a hot, sunny day despite being the rainy season, and we couldn’t believe that by 8:30 the sun was higher in the sky than at noon in London. Being below the equator meant the sun was in a different part of the sky and I was constantly confused about what direction we were headed.

The four hour drive to Kruger was beautiful; it started out like Alberta prairie and then got more lush and rolling. The landscape was so inviting. We were all dropped off at Phumulani Lodge, just outside Kruger’s Numbi Gate. We scoped out Phumulani’s compound; there was a very African, open air reception/lounge/bar/dining lodge with a thatched roof that opened onto a patio and pool area, and there were 17 huts for accommodation. The huts were well spread out in the woods and our hut, #3, was off by itself. We had a deck with lounge chairs, a well appointed bedroom including a mosquito net over the bed, a large bathroom with a tub and big slate tile shower. (Further to the mosquito net, we were taking anti-malaria pills as advised, but I don’t think I saw a mosquito the whole time.) We enjoyed lunch at the open air lodge. I was in heaven: It’s not that often that I am so warm that I don’t fear getting a chill that causes me to pull my sweater on. There was no chill-fear that sunny Saturday afternoon.

After lunch, we headed out on our first game drive, both decked out in safari clothes (Christmas presents). Our guide for the weekend, Sindy, picked us up in an open air, covered jeep and we headed into Kruger Park’s higher rocky area. In addition to being a wealth of park and animal information, Sindy had amazing eyes: after growing up in and around the park he could spot animals long before we could see them. We cruised through the park, the hot air blowing through my hair, spectacular scenery, sun shining – I didn’t care if we saw any animals – I was loving it as is.

It’s not common to see animals in the hot afternoon because they are hiding in the shade trying to keep cool. But, we did see a few herds of impalas (graceful, elegant, deer like creatures), kudus (bigger impalas), hippos and a few rhino toilets. We did lots more driving and we soaked in the views of the new territory. Near the end of our three hour drive, we spotted an elephant! Barely though, as he was well hidden behind a tree, but we were thrilled none the less (little did we know what we would see the next day). On our way out of the park, we saw a dead kudu and her baby; they were killed by a lion after the kudu gave birth. Reality check.

On our return to Phumulani, we enjoyed a beer by the pool and then a fabulous dinner. We were in bed and asleep by 8:30! We were exhausted after our two days of travel and we had to be up and ready to leave on our game drive at 5:30 the next morning.

Sunday, February 25th -- Kruger National Park

We boarded our jeep, along with the Swedish family at 5:30, and our excitement was enough to make us forget our coffee cravings. It got light out very fast but it was cool and cloudy so we cozied up under a blanket in the front seat. We headed deep into the park. The terrain changed so quickly and was so diverse; that is why there are so many different animals in the park. I had set my sighting expectations low, so as not to be disappointed, and I sure wasn’t.

Our first sighting was a white rhino and right after that, a large male elephant. He was off in the trees but we got some good shots of him. John pulled out the binoculars (thanks again C&P, they came in handy) and zoomed in on the elephant, but he quickly realized that they weren’t necessary as it the elephant started walking straight for us! He ended up about 20 feet away - big highlight.

Next up was a herd of zebras; I find their stripes captivating, especially on their faces. Sindy, our guide, said we had to press on though because he had heard on the radio about a leopard sighting. We bolted down the road and paused for a moment to see a giraffe and a buffalo. We arrived at a clearing, and lying under a tree was a leopard! She was tough to see, the binocs were clutch. We noted a heard of impalas up wind, perhaps her next meal. We watched her for a while and then went back to see some giraffes who had now been joined by zebras. All of this before 7:30! Four out of five of the Big Five, namely rhino, elephant, buffalo, and leopard, leaving us only the lion left to see. In the next hour, we saw some warthogs and some wildebeests, and then the rain started. The front plastic window of the jeep wasn’t up so we got soaked, but eventually we stopped to put it up.

At 8:30 we were dropped off at one of the camps in Kruger for breakfast. It was in a lush area, overlooking a river and had accommodation, camping, a restaurant, a shop, and picnic areas. The sun emerged and dried our clothes, and we wolfed down the hardy breakfasts that Phumulani had packed us. Then we walked along the river path and I jumped when we saw several foot long, colourful salamanders.

We set back out in the jeep and our next sighting was a small tortoise crossing the road. Sindy got word of some lion, so we sped off in that direction. There were two males, lying down deep in the trees. We watched them through the binocs and then one got up and limped away. He had an injured front leg and was very skinny as a result. That completed our Big Five count – what could possibly be next?

We took a road along a river and saw hippos, crocodiles and storks on the shore. Then we came across five female lions relaxing in a dry river bed! After that we saw another elephant, an eagle and more buffalo. The terrain kept changing and was so scenic. I was itching to get out of the jeep and hike … until we saw four more lionesses, the hunters. Down the road from the lions we saw a herd of mama and baby elephants walking up a river bank – another highlight. We like elephants.

The Swedish mother in our jeep wanted to see more hippos so we drove to large pond and there were about 20 hanging out in the water, which is where they spend most of their time during the day. Note: hippos have killed more humans than any other African animal; apparently they are very territorial and can run like crazy. They were accompanied by some crocodiles and we saw some storks and a kingfisher on the shore.

It was still overcast as we headed to a different lodge for lunch around noon. The lodge was on a swamp about 10km from Mozambique, and we could see more hippos, buffalo and crocs. We watched the rain move towards us; it was torrential when it reached us but stopped long enough for us to get back in the jeep. The rain socked in and it was more rain than I have seen before (and I lived in Vancouver in Jan/06). The muddy ground turned into flash floods, water rushing everywhere. The rain poured in the side of the jeep soaking John, and it poured through the front onto our feet turning our shoes into swimming pools. Oh well, that made it more adventurous. We huddled under the blanket on the three hour ride back to Phumulani. We had a few stops for animals: a monkey, a bunch of baboons (one male sitting on the road was peeing with his unit out in full view as we went by, others were huddled together on a rock trying to keep warm in the rain), another elephant, four rhinos and more baboons (several babies were riding on their moms’ backs, super cute).

After drying off and warming up back at our hut, we played some cribbage in the lodge. We wanted to walk as we normally do so much of that on our travels, but in the interest of safety, we didn’t. Dinner was even better the second night, after which we played more crib (by candle light for a while because the power went out). We had another early bed time as it sure is a long day when you are up at 5:00. I was lying in bed and John was curiously wandering around the bathroom and bedroom. He suggested that we tuck the mosquito net into the mattress and I thought he was being overly cautious until I saw the large spider and mini salamander that he had seen in the bathroom. He did not tell me until the next morning of the larger lizard he saw walking up our bedroom wall…

Monday, February 26th -- Kruger National Park, and Johannesburg

The Numbi gate was closed when we headed out on our early morning game drive Monday morning so we had to drive half an hour to another gate. That allowed us to see some new territory and some local villages. It was overcast but not raining. Once in the park, we drove through a flat dry area and caught a glimpse of a cheetah running after some kudus. Sindy advised that June was the best time to see lots of hunting. Everything is green and leafy in the rainy season and the watering holes are plentiful, both factors making it harder to spot the animals (we were lucky). In the dry winter, there are no leaves and all the animals congregate at the limited water holes. Sindy said you can just park at a watering hole and watch the action.

A herd of buffalo (hundreds of them) had been through the night before. We saw a few of the abandoned males in the brush and one old guy on a river island to make it easier to protect himself.

We had breakfast at the same spot as the day before, but this time it was a buzz with monkey activity. Monkeys everywhere; running, jumping, playing, stealing food. We ate while watching them and then did the same foot long salamander walk as we did on Sunday. We also noticed several bats hanging from the thatched roof of an eating area. The little guy on the porch at West Hawk seems like nothing now.

We were picked up from there by a van with all of our bags, and we were taken on the Panoramic Route back to Joburg. We left the Kruger Park terrain and our elevation climbed. Thick lodge pole forests, round hills, waterfalls, rainforest, ravines… The landscape changed about every half hour and so did the weather. It monsooned again and then we entered a thick fog, which inhibited most of the panoramic views.

Our first stop was at a waterfall but we couldn’t see it. The rain paused for our next stop which was at a waterfall set in rolling hills. I just wanted to hike! Next was God’s Window and while God kindly paused the rain again while we got out to explore, he forgot to de-fog the window. As we couldn’t see the view, we hiked up a trail and within 10 minutes we were in a rainforest! Our legs were grateful for the little jaunt. When we came out the other side of the rainforest, we were at the edge of a cliff and met with a wall of white. Pretty cool even without the views! The sun came out as we lunched on savoury pancakes in an old gold mining town, Pilgrim’s Rest. From there it was a five hour ride back to Joburg. I enjoyed the scenery for a while before falling sound asleep. John said it turned into “Alberta Prairie” again.

Chapter 2 - Johannesburg

As we entered Joburg, we passed a bad accident that had just happened. The police and medics weren’t there yet. First on the scene was the area Armed Response team (comforting). Whilst sitting in traffic, John and I sat in the back of the van, following all of the safety tips we read, but the Swedish kids up front (who had commendable behavior for the entire 7 hour journey that day) did the opposite. They had their bags were in full view, had their cameras out, started making faces at and taking photos of the people neighbouring cars, and then they opened the window to chat to some guy selling bowls at a traffic light! We weren't that impressed, but we did manage to make it safely to our hotel in Sandton (a suburb of Joburg).

We were advised not to walk anywhere except for to the conference centre next to the hotel and the mall across the road. We had dinner at the hotel and I watched the Oscars replay while John prepped for the next day. We couldn’t believe how much we did in one day and one weekend.

Tuesday, February 27th – Johannesburg

John was giving a workshop at the conference all day Tuesday, and I was under strict orders to stay in the hotel so that he wouldn’t worry about me. I didn’t have a problem with that. I was happy to have a relaxing day enjoying the hotel amenities. I hit the treadmill in the gym, had a leisurely breakfast, sat in the sun by the pool and did some blogging by hand (ie journal writing), then went back to the gym. John met me there when he was finished around 3:30. His workshop had been well received by the delegates.

We ventured out across the road, explored the mall, admired Nelson Mandela’s huge statue in the square named after him, and then John showed me the conference centre. There were security guards all over our hotel, in the parking area and patrolling the mall. We enjoyed a crib game by the pool and then went back to Nelson Mandela square for dinner.

Wednesday, February 28th – Johannesburg and Cape Town

John was at his conference in the morning and he gave a presentation at midday (which also got good reviews – so proud of my man). It was Day 2 for me of being a Lady of Leisure. I did a repeat of the day before - gym, breakfast and pool - accompanied by the other wives of delegates.

We had a safe and quick ride to OR Tambo airport early afternoon to catch our flight to Cape Town. At the airport were greeted by a sign saying “Enter at your own risk” and we saw another sign inside that said “Check Weapons and Firearms here”. Disregarding the newspaper articles about incidents of crime we read while we were there, overall Joburg seemed safer than we expected but we were happy to take the necessary precautions. In reality, we were confined to the generally white, upper middle class suburb of Sandton, where businesses have relocated after abandoning Central Joburg, and where every house is surrounded by a six foot wall, lined with barbed wire and topped with electric fencing. Not exactly genuine Joburg. Next time we’d like to see the Apartheid Museum and Soweto (the largest township established under apartheid). I was skeptical about these tours as I didn’t want to gawk at others’ misfortune, but John read that the tours are run by Soweto residents and the money goes to benefit the area.

Chapter 3 – Cape Town

We arrived in Cape Town early evening and were picked up by our hotel driver. We drove past a township, by the university and a famous hospital (where the first heart transplant took place), past Table Mountain and to the Victoria and Alfred (V&A) Waterfront where our hotel was. The hotel was much nicer than I was expecting and the service was outstanding; the online photos did not do it justice.

We were happy to be able to walk through the large V&A Waterfront area (it is a tourist area and well patrolled by security). It reminded us of Victoria Harbour and Granville Island combined. There was an African singing troop playing in the square, which of course I adored as it reminded me of Paul Simon’s Graceland album. We had a beer at Mitchell’s Scottish Ale Brewery in honour of Mom’s family, and then dined on a delicious meal at a Cape Malay restaurant (actually Indonesian, not Malaysian, influenced by the Indonesian slaves brought in 300 years ago). Food everywhere was quite reasonable, granted our sense of reasonable may be warped after being in London and Oslo.

Thursday, March 1 – Cape Town

We started the day with a half day tour of Cape Town’s City Bowl and Table Mountain. The City Bowl is the downtown area and so named because of the surrounding mountains which form a bowl: Table Mountain (TM) which is big and flat on top, Devil’s Peak, Lion’s Head, and Signal Hill. It is very common for clouds to form over TM and cascade over the edge; locals call it the Table Cloth.

It was a sunny day but there were a few clouds over TM. We headed there first and took the rotating cable car up. On the way up and from the top there were spectacular views of the whole peninsula and city. We had a good walk on the paths, admiring the views and the flora which is unique in the world. After that we went to the Cape Town’s fortress, and drove through Bo-Kaap (the Malay Quarter which has distinctive colourful houses) and other City Bowl sites. At the end we walked through the Company Gardens (the Dutch East India Company) and visited the main museum. There was a really interesting display of 150 years of the Cape Argus Newspaper; we spent all our time there. We enjoyed all the parts of the tour but we were disappointed that we did not have more time at each stop and we felt it wasn’t worth the money. We did get some interesting SA history tidbits and tips for traveling to other parts of Africa from our guide.

The tour finished early afternoon and we decided to take advantage of the sunshine. We got a ride down to Camps Bay Beach, a beautiful long stretch of white sand, blue water and big crashing waves, and we rented some lounge chairs and caught some rays. The wind kept us cool under the hot sun which was good because we were too wimpy to attempt a swim in the Atlantic. Damn cold! The Indian Ocean on the other side of the peninsula is supposedly warmer but was a further drive, and it is also home to more Great Whites. Once we were sufficiently fried, we had ice cream, got a scenic ride back to our hotel, enjoyed dinner at the Waterfront and hit the sack.

Friday, March 2nd – Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope

We were up for our 8:30 Cape of Good Hope tour departure (much easier than the 5:30 safaris). The day – pure sunshine, no clouds, hot. TM was totally clear. The tour took us down the Atlantic side of the Cape peninsula to Cape of Good Hope and then back up the Indian side. There were five other travelers in our van, two British couples and an Aussie lady.

We drove along the coast and admired Clifton Beach and then got a good view of Camps Bay Beach where we were the day before. Next we entered Hout Bay and from its harbour we got on a boat for a quick ride out to Seal Island. We could smell the seals as we approached (very distinctive odor and certainly not pleasant). There were hundreds of them sunning themselves on the warm rocks and playing in the water. Fun to watch. Out past the island in the ocean, we could see a spot where waves were breaking. In the winter, waves there can get up to 20 metres high and they host extreme surfing competitions (http://www.redbullbwa.com/gallery/index.php?id=11).

We took Chapman’s Peak Drive along cliffs overlooking the Atlantic. It was like the Sea to Sky highway from Vancouver to Whistler but not as safe. It took our breath away for more reason than one. We passed a gorgeous, very long beach, moved inland and passed an ostrich farm, and then hit the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. Driving through the reserve we saw baboons and wild ostriches, and made our way to the Cape of Good Hope, the most south westerly point of Africa, where the oceans meet. It was a bit of a let down because for some reason we were expecting the waters to meet distinctly, like the Fraser River into the Pacific, which they didn’t. We had to settle for cliffs, a rocky beach and just plain ocean (oh darn).

We drove around the bend to Cape Point and hiked up to a lighthouse with incredible views of the cliffs, beaches, Indian, Atlantic, and mountains – big highlight. The walk worked up our appetites and we had lunch at The Boulders, more delicious food and fun conversations with our fellow travelers. The restaurant was overlooking False Bay which is renowned for its Great White sharks (breeding ground) and also for its surfing (feeding ground). The beaches have shark lookouts. Check out some amazing photos of Great Whites breaching in False Bay at
http://www.apexpredators.com/store/showCategoriesProducts.asp?categoryID=6.

From there we walked down to a nature reserve to see African (formerly known as Jackass) Penguins, which are native to the area. We saw them on the beach, playing in the water and waddling through bushes. There was a mama scolding her baby and moulting ones that didn’t move much because they were fasting. To get cool air into their bodies, the penguins keep their beaks wide open, like dogs panting. All very cute.

Driving up the Indian side of the peninsula we went through Simon’s Town, home of a big navy base. The route took us into Cape Town but on the back side of Table Mountain. The Atlantic side of the peninsula was a desert and this side was very lush and green, a perfect locale for the Botanical Gardens. We strolled through the gardens, set in behind TM, and admired the unique flowers and plants. One of the flowers had petals that looked like bird feathers! John’s Mom and Grandma could have spent days there, no, likely weeks.

As we came into the City Bowl, TM was clear of clouds but Lion’s Head had a tuft of white on it. To the locals, that means rain will fall the next day. We could have used a nap when we got back to our hotel but our efficient concierge had got us a table at Mama Africa for dinner, an African Restaurant back in the City Bowl. It was a lively place with a great atmosphere. I had kudu and springbok stew and John had mango chicken (both very yum). We enjoyed the live African music and had a chuckle when the second song they sang was a cover of a British boy band tune. It was a lovely way to spend our last night in Cape Town.

Saturday, March 3 – Cape Town and the journey home

On our last day in SA, we slept in a bit, checked out and enjoyed breakfast at the V&A Waterfront. We wanted to do a tour to Robben Island, home of the Alcatraz-like political prison where Nelson Mandela was held for many years, but they were all booked up and we were tight on time. Instead we went to the District Six Museum. The sixth district of Cape Town was a vibrant mixed community and in 1966 it was declared a “white area”. By 1982, 60,000 residents had been forcibly removed to a township outside of Cape Town, their houses flattened. This of course happened all over the country during apartheid. We soaked in all the history the museum had to offer, not just about District Six but also about Cape Town.

As predicted by the Lion’s Head cloud the day before, it rained and really cooled off. Our hotel driver picked us up with our bags and took us to the airport. It was 2:00pm and the start of our 24 hour journey home. Cape Town to Joburg, 7 hour layover, overnight to Amsterdam and then a connection to London.

At the Johannesburg airport we caught a glimpse of the big red sun setting over the horizon, and then we sat in a restaurant overlooking the runways, planes and a big, brilliant full moon. We toasted our amazing trip and started discussing our next African adventure. Perhaps a hiking safari in Botswana for our 10 year anniversary?

John, you did a superb job planning the trip. Thank you.