Duck and Dive

It's a little dive of a place back off the main road. The building with its many additions sits surrounded by sugar cane fields. You turn onto a road named after one of my friends from the UK (really!) and come to the Duck and Dive at the end.

This place is great! The décor is a mish-mash of odd bits of nautical and technological gear. There are shrimp floats, boat flags, diving respirator pumps and hurricane lanterns hanging from the ceiling. A portable carrier wave generator from a radio transmitter sits on a counter by the main bar; next to this is an old 16mm movie projector. (That takes me back to my days in the A/V club in High School!)

We've rented a huge van with ten seats and it looks a lot like the busses that you see crammed with up to 20 black people. I continue to be amazed at the difference between the way white people and black people live here. There is nothing like a mass-transit system here; I've seen no streetcar, light rail or bus system to speak of. Even in Johannesburg, (a much larger city) there was no obvious mass transit. Instead, they have these little white vans that they cram with as many people as possible. I've never seen a white face on any of these vans. But, I digress…

After meeting and chatting with some of the locals (nice people), we all piled into the bus and headed to a restaurant for dinner. We went to a neat little place where we all had more wine, beer and conversation. Well, except for me, I was the designated driver for the evening. I volunteered. After dinner, we returned to the flats and continued drinking and chatting well into the night. Tomorrow we leave for the game park.

Wherever you are today, I hope you're enjoying the company of friends!

Don Bergquist – 06 November 2007 – Ballito, South Africa

Editor's Note:

The name, as your humble reporter discovered, has a more literal meaning. Beware: Some of the archways in this place are low enough to hit your head on!

Election Day

(Remember to get out there and vote!)

Arrival

The flight was good. We arrived before schedule. The bags came up without too much of a wait. Terry drove, Angie navigated and the drive to the flat was over soon. Upon our arrival, Phil and Lucy had a dinner all laid-out for us. It was wonderful.

We shared wine and conversation and turned-in late. I slept well. This morning, I tried to sleep in. I was awake at five thirty. After tossing and turning a bit I got a drink of water and tried to sleep again. Then I got my iPod, listened to some music, and read until about seven.

With the first stirrings of my friends at about 07:30, I was able to locate the keys and let myself out of the locked gate and head out to explore the complex of flats we have let for the next two weeks. It is a lovely area. We're on a bay just east of Chaka's Rock between Ballito and Salt Rock.

The beach here is a rocky, boulder beach overlooking the Indian Ocean. After finding my way to a nice perch on a boulder, I watched the tide come in. After a dip in the pool, I walked down to Chaka's Rock to step my feet in the water of the Indian Ocean. What a pleasant way to spend a morning!

This afternoon, we have a couple shopping excursions in the works and then off to the pub in one of the local towns. More on that tomorrow...

Wherever you are today, I hope you’re doing something new and interesting.

Don Bergquist – 05 November 2007 – Ballito, South Africa

Travel Day

It's about eight and I have just returned from the dining room. I've had breakfast and need to finish packing so that I can check out. Today is our final day in Cape Town and then we are off to Durban.

After we check-out (checkout time is at ten) we'll spend the morning having a last look around the waterfront, have a bit of lunch, and then return to the hotel to collect our bags and head to the airport. Tonight we will be in Durban.

I guess I had best get the computer shutdown and packed so that I can go and checkout.

Wherever you are today, I hope your day is a good one!

Don Bergquist – 04 November 2007 – Cape Town, South Africa

The Cape of Good Hope

Today we made the circuit of the peninsula that Cape Town sits on. We rented a car and headed out just after breakfast. Our first stop on the tour was Boulders Beach to see the penguin colony there.

It was amazing how close the penguins would come to the visitors. Even the dassies came up to you to explore what these bizarre creatures were that were invading their space. The dassies seemed especially interested in Angie's shoes. (She was wearing neon pink crocks with big rhinestone trim.) The beach was lovely! Of course, being that I was in the area of the Atlantic, I had to wet my feet in the water.

Moving on toward the south, our next stop was at Cape Point. From here, with one hand keeping on my hat and glasses, I looked south to see the warm Agulhas currents from the Indian Ocean meeting-up with the colder currents from the Atlantic. Granted, the actual join between the two oceans is some 150 miles to the east at Cape Agulhas, but this is more accessible and, so I am informed, more spectacular.

After a late, light lunch at the seafront on the Cape of Good Hope, we started back for Cape Town. Terry had been driving all day. I took my turn at the wheel somewhere south of town about 1/2 an hour from the hotel.

Overall, it was another wonderful day! I am really digging this vacation!

Wherever you are today, I hope that you're having a great day!

Don Bergquist – 03 November 2007 – Cape Town, South Africa

Robben Island

You would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by a trip out to Robben Island. Sitting about seventeen miles off the coast from Cape Town, the island is the home of the prison that the South African government used to house political prisoners during the days of Apartheid.

I knew that when I came here, there is so much more to the history of this place, though! It was used as a leper colony, and a hospital for the insane. Basically, if you wanted to rid yourself of someone, you sent them to Robben Island. If the rough sees and the strong currents in the open water didn't get them, then the sharks would if they tried to escape.

Despite the history, I cannot help but be struck by the beauty of the place. With a colony of penguins and warrens of feral rabbits, this place is just lovely. The tour of the actual prison is conducted by former prisoners and the feeling of claustrophobia is strong even though I knew I would be leaving in a couple hours.

Wherever you are today, I hope that you are free and happy in your surroundings!

Don Bergquist – 02 November 2007 – Cape Town, South Africa.

Panama Jack's

Last night was a blast! The restaurant is what my family refers to as "a Dad place." There is no way you can find this unless you're in the wrong part of town or are specifically looking for it. After a somewhat shaky start, the meal was excellent.

Okay, it was an assumption that I shouldn't have made, but I made it anyway. The menu clearly said that there was squid in the salad that I ordered; but of the four ingredients listed, it was the last. I was expecting (as it would have been in the states) a small amount of the squid, probably thrown in as a garnish. The truth of the matter was that the salad was a huge lump of squid with a few lettuce leaves, a tomato or two, a couple shrimp and a lump of the tuna and a handful of mussels.

I sent it back. I was apologetic and explained that it was entirely my fault. They were great, though. They made it again without the squid and it was excellent. Much more what I had expected. Everyone's main courses looked excellent. I had a lovely swordfish kebob and chips. There was beer, wine, conversation and a good time all-around.

After dinner, we went to the pub on the waterfront for a pint and then returned to the hotel for a nightcap. This morning, everyone is (I assume) sleeping in. I was up around seven for a walk around the wharfs. We're meeting this afternoon for lunch and then we're going to Robben Island for a tour this afternoon.

So far, our choice of itinerary seems to have been exceedingly well timed. We were out of Cape Town while it was hot and smoggy yesterday. Today, you cannot even see the top of Table Mountain as it is shrouded in cloud. I have no idea how I am going to spend the rest of the morning. Perhaps I'll go get a massage.

Wherever you are today, I hope nothing rubs you the wrong way!

Don Bergquist – 02 November 2007 – Cape Town, South Africa

Happy Birthday to my cousin, Michael

Happy Birthday to my uncle, Dick

Cheetahs and Chablis

This morning's adventure was to hire one of the hotel's vans and drivers to take us up to the wine country. Our first stop was the Spier estate. An interesting winery unlike any I have been to before, Spier has a Cheetah Sanctuary and a bird rescue on the grounds. Upon our arrival, our driver offered to go and make a booking for us for lunch and we headed for the Cheetah Sanctuary.

What a cool place! For the price of a few dollars, you can learn about the animals and discover why they are dying off. You can also talk to the people at the center who are trying an innovative approach to saving the cheetahs.

We even paid a few extra dollars to go into the enclosures with some of the cheetahs. While petting them and interacting with them, the staff at the reserve talked about their program to provide farmers with dogs to scare off the cheetahs rather than have the farmers shoot the cheetahs for taking their livestock. The program has really cut-down on the livestock that cheetahs take and as a result, help preserve the wild cheetah population.

Next to the cheetahs is a bird rescue where they rehabilitate wild birds that have been injured and found. I've been to bird rescue programs before; there are a couple of them in Florida, but there is nothing the likes of this one that I have ever seen.

First off, the place is huge! There are enclosures by the dozens the birds are all kept comfortable and provided with a cooling mist in the heat of the day. We missed the flight show – they bring out some of their birds that have been with them a while and talk about how they hunt, how they live in the wild, etc. still, we did get to talk to the guy who worked there and watched as he fed the fledgling owls.

We took turns holding and stroking the plumage of one of the eagles. It was all too cool!

Then, the birds fed, it was time for us to head into lunch. The place was a collection of outdoor pavilions, tents, tree houses, and shady nooks where you can have lunch. We were offered a table along one of the walkways and had a lunch from the buffet of game meats and African foods. It was lovely. There were wandering entertainers wending their way around the place.

After Spier, we'd asked the driver to take us to another winery of his choosing. While understated by the sheer expanse of Spier, the Warwick estate was a lovely location. We sat out on the deck by the shop as the staff brought a selection of six of their wines out for us to try. The scenery of the vine-covered hills rolling off toward the distant mountains, the cool breezes, the wine and the friends; it was a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

Back at the hotel, we have a couple hours before dinner… we're headed into town to go to a restaurant that is by the docks that Terry and Angie know of. I suppose I should wrap this up for now.

Wherever you are today, I hope you're having a lovely day!

Don Bergquist – 01 November 2007 – Cape Town, South Africa

Table Mountain

We hired the hotel shuttle to take us to the cableway station yesterdat after breakfast. It was a chance to load my good camera with fresh batteries and to get some shots. I loved it! The road climbs to the plateau about a third the way up the mountain and queued for the car to the top.

The cars are interesting. You enter the circular car from one side and gather around by the window of your choice. Then the ascent begins. A few seconds in, the operator informs you that you should step back from the window, not hold onto the bars, and prepare for the floor to spin. The floor then begins, slowly, to revolve. It is an interesting sensation. The views are spectacular! The day was a bit murky, but the views on the ascent and at the top were still great. We soared over the climbers and hikers below and reach the summit in a few minutes.

At the summit Angie, our eagle-eyed guide, spotted whales cavorting in the Atlantic north of the mountain. My god! Those things must be huge! We're miles away and still you can see then as they break the surface and sink again.

We walked the path around the top of the mountain for a while; there were birds and plants to take pictures of. The smog (? – fog?) that was covering the city was preventing seeing the distant ranges clearly, but the views were still spectacular. On a clearer day, you could see the distant False Bay from here you'd be able to see the southern-most point of Africa and the Indian Ocean beyond. Today, we could just barely make out the Cape of Good Hope pointing away to the south, diminishing in the smog.

I had hoped to see some more wildlife. I had read about the dassies that make Table Mountain their home, but they were a no-show. All in all, the count was four lizards, a snake, and lots of birds. Oh! And the distant whales! It was a good day!

Well, my friends should be down at breakfast by now, planning the day's activities. I guess I should wrap this up and head down to see what's next! This vacation rocks!

Wherever you are today, I hope you're having a great day!

Don Bergquist – 01 November 2007 – Cape Town, South Africa

Happy Birthday to my friend, Terry

All Saints Day

Watches

It is with just a trace of irony that I (who have never really liked wearing a watch) have just purchased one for myself! I'm on vacation. I don't wear one at home, at work! Why now!?

The answer is simple. We're all going off in separate directions for various reasons and agreeing to meet-up after we've run our separate chores. Shopping, taking pictures, walking around, going to the pub; we all have different things we want to do apart from the combined things we wanted to do together.

The choices are simple, either I can tag along with one or more of the others as they do the things that they want to do or I can strike off on my own and meet-up at the appointed place and time. That will be much easier to do if I actually know what time it is.

Well, now I can. I have a new watch and I can give the others the private time they want and not have to worry that I am infringing on their private time. (I am still worried that I am not giving the others enough "alone time" but then, I am just prone to worrying and obsessing about things I needn't worry about. I seem to spend a lot of time doing it, in fact.

Wherever you are today, I hope you are having the time of your life.

Don Bergquist – 31 October 2007 – Cape Town, South Africa.