Much has happened since my last blog post. School is in full swing, and I am now writing papers and studying for tests, it is no longer vacation. But right after school started we got a little break, and on our three day weekend my roommates and I and a few other friends went on the Garden Route - a coastal stretch of road with many popular destinations along the way.
We drove to Oudtshorn on Friday night and stayed at a really nice hostel. We meet up with Pierre, a 50-something gay democrat that befriended my friends David and Andy on their early travels during the World Cup. We just hung out with him at the hostel for the night, sat by a fire, and drank a few beers.
The next morning we woke up quite early to go to the Cango Caves. We went the on the "adventure tour", and the adventure aspect is that you need to squeeze through alleyways of the caves that are very small and intimidating. I, of course, was not as nervous about this as everyone else, but we all got through them just fine. And I now love caves, it was so crazy being completely inside the earth looking at beautiful rock formations. That night we went to Pierre's house for a good ole South African braii and it was so so so delicious. You don't even understand. We had the most delicious lamb and ostrich you could ever ask for. We also had potato salad, some veggies, and lots and lots of whiskey and wine. It was a great night with great company. Pierre is quite the host.
The next day we had another early morning, with waking up and driving to the Blourkans Bridge, the highest bungy bridge in the world. It was Natalie's birthday, and what a birthday it was. Most of the group did the jump. It was absolutely insane. Words cannot describe it. I wasn't nervous until looking over the edge right before jumping, but it was such an adrenaline rush you can't even think about being scared. It was definitely an experience that I will never forget.
We then headed straight to Jeffery's Bay, commonly known as J-Bay. It is one of the most popular surfing spots in the world, with many many dreadlocked surfers wandering around. It was fantastic. And being Nat's 21st, we partied at our hostel all night, with making a quick stop at a hostel where some friends were staying. The night consisted of a lot of foosball, whisky, fish bowls, and flame throwing. Overall Natalie had a great birthday.
The next morning we woke up and headed home. My car made a pit stop and Monkey land, where you can take tours through a cage in the forest with monkeys all around you. But the weather was horrible so we decided to save it for another trip.
Apart from the Garden Route, I have had a few other adventures recently. I finally got to Old Biscuit Mill, just a 20 minutes walk from my house. It happens every Saturday morning, and it is similar in concept to farmers market, but it is all food. Delicious, amazing food. Anything you could ever want they have, from bagels to gyros to falafel and even belgian waffles. This place is amazing, with also little shops outside that sell clothing and furniture and even one that is all photography related. It is the perfect start to a Saturday.
This Friday I was able to attend a soccer game at Green Point Stadium, which is where the Cape Town World Cup games were held!! It was a good game, Cape Town won! There were tons of people and tons of vuvuzelas, it was blast. After the game we walked further downtown to Long Street, which is a very popular area to go out. It kind of reminds me of Bourbon Street, with tons of crazy people everywhere going in and out of the bars, and also the street itself is jam packed with taxis until about 5 am. We went to a few bars and they were all a blast, plenty of dancing happened that night.
I also recently played beer pong for the first time since I have been here! It was so great, my roommate Roger and I did Madison proud with going undefeated at 6-0. I have really missed beer pong, they do not have plastic cups available here so it's hard to play.
I have also been extremely busy with school, I had a paper due last Friday, another due this Friday, and an exam right when I get back from spring break (which is this next week). So I have finally been studying like I should and it is kind of depressing. But I will have a nice little 10-day break, with spring break coming up. Some friends and I are road tripping to Namibia, the country on the West coast directly above South Africa. We start our trip with Alien Safari, a psy trance party which will definitely be interesting. From there we are heading to Namibia and have many activities planned.
I will do my best to get pictures and a post up relatively soon after break:)
Hope everyone has a good first week in school!
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