To the Cape and Back

So I am back from the Cape. Cape Town is great, I really can’t wait to go back in 2010 when Tony and I plan to go for the World Cup. It really has the feel of San Francisco, just without the steep hills. It’s on the coast and that’s really the beauty of it. The city itself isn’t actually much to look at, but the neighborhoods are interesting. Right in the midst of the city is a mountain called Table Mountain and it’s the main attraction of the place. We headed up Table Mountain one of the days we were there and I threw myself off the mountain. Sort of. I went abseiling off the mountain, it was over a 300 foot drop. I had abseiled once before so I sort of knew what I was doing. I felt nervous before I did it, but once I was strapped in and standing on the edge, I was fine. Fortunately, I’m really good with heights. But unfortunately, I didn’t get any sort of adrenaline rush when I went down. Oh well, the scenery was beautiful.
We also headed down to Cape Point and so I got to stand on one of the tips of Africa. Very nice, and very beautiful. There were baboons in the parking lot there and they were jumping on cars and would steal food from people. One baboon even got in our car (no one was in there) when a door had been left open; it stole an apple and a pack of mints.
It’s so weird, if you drive around South Africa, you’ll occasionally spot monkeys on the side of the road.
We headed to a town called Simon’s Town, which is right by the Cape. There you can see penguins on a beach. There’s an area where you can actually swim really close to them, but we were unable to make it over there due to some time constraints. We only spent a few days in Cape Town before heading east on what is called “The Garden Route.” It’s supposed to be really scenic and there are nice towns along the way, but it really wasn’t the most impressive thing.

For the rest of the trip…we went to a couple of game parks. I got to see antelope-like animals, only bigger. I can’t remember the names…Kudo was one. I also saw wildebeests, warthogs, elephants, zebras, and a few other things I don’t know the names of.

I wasn’t able to upload my pictures while in South Africa. Sorry! It might not be until I get home that I’ll be able to upload them.

Things have gotten a bit scary here in Maseru. Remember my whole spiel about the elections? Well, ABC didn’t win. They’re the party that had tons of supporters and it was assumed that if they didn’t win, people would be upset for they’d be thinking that LCD (the opposing party) had rigged the elections to win. So things have been peaceful so far. Last Sunday, there was a big ABC rally, but it was peaceful. Though, there was talk of a work stoppage this week. So far, nothing has happened.
But last night, I was lying in bed and it was after midnight, I was having trouble falling asleep. Suddenly I heard what sounded like fireworks going off, though I knew it wasn’t fireworks. So I realized that it must be gunshots that I was hearing. We live right next to the barracks where people are trained for security, so I thought that it might be going on there. But being that it was so late, I felt a bit concerned. It only lasted for about 5 seconds and then was done and nothing else happened.
Here’s what really happened. There’s a couple we know who are working for Partners in Health (PIH) and they’re staying in a home that is owned by someone that used to work for the government. (He was just recently replaced with the election.) Their place is the one that was shot at last night with machine guns and even a grenade. No one was hurt; it happened after one person went to bed and turned off the lights and the guard made a round around the house. So it seems that whoever did it didn’t intend to hurt anyone and was just sending a message. Back in November, a person who worked for the Clinton Foundation was shot and that person was staying in a place also owned by someone working for the government. So it sounds like these two cases may be related because of who owns the houses and someone’s problems with the government. Whatever it is, it is a bit strange. I’m not exactly used to hearing gunshots…

I’ll be going back to Mokhotlong next week and it looks as though I’ll be staying there for an additional week. Greg is going out there next week for work, but only staying for the week. So the additional week I’d be staying on the farm again and living very simply. AKA, Amish-style.
After that, I’ll only have a week left before I come home, and honestly, I’m really looking forward to come home. Really, this is the first time I’ve been abroad that I’ve felt that way. When I’ve been to Europe, I never wanted to return. I just don’t feel that Maseru, or Lesotho is the right place for me. If I was in Cape Town, that’d be another story. I just don’t feel that this place has enough for me. I need a place with a lot going on to keep me entertained. Here, there isn’t much to do and though the scenery is beautiful, I need more stimulation. Besides, I’m getting tired of being stared at wherever I go. I don’t like to be in a place where I just feel so different. At first it was interesting, but now I just want don’t want to be on display. Yeah, I’m ready to come home…and then travel elsewhere. : ) Europe anyone??