Today I woke to a bright, beautiful African sun! The temp was around 77 degrees and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. And the view from the street in front of our house of Devil's Peak?.... amazing.
Everyone got a good night's sleep last night and are starting to feel caught up. Our potential plans to go up Table Mtn fell through due to the high winds. Sounds like we'll just have to make another go later in the trip. So the alternative was a little excursion to the market and then the beach. Nate has been encouraging us to just go out and experience things on our own. We all had a bit of intrepidation to walk down to the grocery store and bank, but with Nate's encouragement, we went for it. As a large group of Americans, mostly women, we get stared at a lot. And as a white woman, I'm very much in the minority. In fact, it's hard to tell exactly where everyone fits in. Rest assured, I don't feel intimidated or in harm's way. Instead we all just keep on walking, aware of our surroundings, but with the acknowledgement that we are in a foreign place.
Nate took us all by train to Muizenburg (a community south of where we are staying that is on the Indian Ocean). I would compare this train to the Mpls LRT's dirty cousin. An interesting choice of transit, but honestly, a preferred one. During our trip south, a 5-piece jazz band hopped on played for change. They were incredible. Nate told us that their music was just like "township jazz." A little banjo, a little sax and an up-tempo. fabulous.
In Muizenburg, we dipped our toes in the water, window shopped and had some lunch. Most everyone arrived back to the houses with that good ol' Minnesotan sun glow. I put on SPF 30, but come on, you all know me...
Now we look forward to our remaining 4 group members arriving any minute. I sincerely hope their flight went off without a hitch and that they can mesh right into the group. We have lots more to experience and we need them to partake in it.
Tomorrow, NYE.. should be interesting. And with that, I wish you all a good night (or a good afternoon in most people's case) and I cheers you with my glass of Western Cape Pinotage ;)
