Two Russians and an American walk into a Bar (Part 2)

Now back to my weekend in Cape Town . . . Where we last left off, I was having adult beverages with D2 deciding where our Sunday adventures would take us.

After our cocktails, we decided to walk back to the hotel.  I am not sure if I mentioned this but white people don't walk in Johannesburg.  From my balcony, I would see the occasional caucasian runner, but other than that no white people are on the road.  We decided to walk back to the hotel with the help of D#1's GPS.  My cell phone was no help at all because I learned that if I power off my phone my SIM card locks and I have to have the passcode to unlock it.  The passcode was in my desk drawer at the office.  As the only 3 white folks strolling down the sidewalk (or road when there weren't sidewalks) we were fair game for people to hit us up for money.  D2 legitimately had no cash - I did but I sure as hell was not going to pull out my wallet and start handing out cash.  We had one rather long uncomfortable encounter where a gentleman escorted us for several blocks saying he was just trying to eat but he didn't want to be forced to steal to do so.  The jaded New Yorker in me viewed this as a veiled threat so I just walked faster and didn't say anything.  He finally backed off and left us alone, much to my relief.  I thought D2 was going to have to bust out some karate moves to protect us!
I was pretty much done after this encounter.  My hotel had a nice looking bar & restaurant, I was pretty exhausted after my precarious climb down from the Cape of Good Hope peak so I sent the Russians on their way.  I can imagine they were probable ready to switch to speaking their native tongue for the evening anyway.

Sunday started with breakfast at Clarke's.  Clarke's is a hipster eatery that D2 had discovered the previous morning.  I had some delicious avocado toast to fuel up for the morning (not as good as mine but I enjoyed the creme fraiche).  After Clarke's we headed back to the Hop-on-Hop-off bus depot to begin our journey to Table Mountain.  Table Mountain is a flat topped mountain and part of Table Mountain National Park.


The flat top of the mountain is often covered by orographic clouds, formed when a south-easterly wind is directed up the mountain's slopes into colder air, where the moisture condenses to form the so-called "table cloth" of cloud. Legend attributes this phenomenon to a smoking contest between the Devil and a local pirate called Van Hunks.^[5] When the table cloth is seen, it symbolizes the contest. (Wikipedia)

Table Mountain covered by the "table cloth"

The question that I was asked the most on Monday when I got back to the office is "How was the weather?"  I can honestly say that we experienced all 4 season while we traversed Cape Town on top of the double decker bus.  I was very thankful I had my Ann VanDyke Cheetah Rescue center fleece to take off and on multiple times throughout the day on Sunday.

We arrived at Table Mountain to a beautiful blue sky.  The tablecloth has spoiled many a tourist's visit to Table Mountain.  Some crazy folks hike up to the top of Table Mountain (Crazy C that I work with did!).  The HOHO narration warned us that the table cloth can descend over the mountain with no warning and shut down the cable cars.

While we were downloading the Table Mountain app to buy our tickets D#2 asked if we should just buy a 1-way ticket.  I laughed and said "Round trip. Why?"  D#2 innocently responded "What if they close the cable car and we have to walk back down".  After I dusted off my jeans from collapsing on the ground with hilarious roaring laughter, I told D#2 that we would wait for the cable cars to start running again, even if it was on Monday morning. D#1 and I were in strong agreement on this point.

I've got Table Mountain and Halong Bay.  After February I will have Galapogos.  4 more to go!

After a quick ride up, we were left to explore the top of Table Mountain and enjoy the spectacular views.

Not steep or anything . . .

Blogs don't do the panorama photo justice

Obligatory selfie

7 Wonders of the World plaque

After our fill of fresh mountain air, we took the cable car back down the mountain to forage for food in Cape Town.  D#2 left us to go freshen up in the toilet.  We had seen the HOHO bus pull away while we were descending so D#1 and I went to the stop to wait.  Within a couple of minutes the next bus pulled up.  We waited and waited while people piled on the bus - D#2 was nowhere in sight.  D#1 pulled out his phone and started frantically messaging D#2.  Luckily a couple of new comers were purchasing tickets so that slowed down the boarding process.  I thought D#2 had been kidnapped or accidentally gotten himself locked in the stall.  Surely something tragic was keeping him delayed!  A couple of minutes later D#2 came loping up with his now perfectly coifed hair.  You can imagine the shit D#2 would have taken if we had missed that bus while he combed his hair.

Just for fun we jumped off the bus to stick our fingers in the cold Atlantic ocean.

D#1 jumped on his phone and looked for restaurants near the HOHO depot because we needed to switch to another line to hit the winerys in the afternoon.  Besides Clarke's, the area was kind of a restaurant wasteland.  The restaurant he found was located inside the Park.  In my mind I was picturing a snack bar but it was hardly that.  This restaurant gets the shout out for the best meal I have had in South Africa.  The server came over to take our order and D2 ordered the fish.  I had my eye on something else but the server had other ideas.  "You're having the fish too."  I am so glad that bossy server told me what I was having.  It was absolutely amazing.  King Fish I believe it was called.

Yes, I should have ordered white wine but remember, I didn't know I was having fish!

After lunch and 4 more weather changes, we were on our way to the winery.  Logistically the HOHO doesn't make much sense as D#1 - the logistics guy - pointed out to me.  But this is about the journey and I am a nerd and love listening to the audio on the HOHO bus.

The tasting room at Constania Vinyard was pretty awesome.  We had primo seats outside until the weather changed for the 87th time and we had to head inside to grab a spot at the bar.

View of the vineyards

After a bottle of wine, a girl needs to hit the loo

I got to enjoy this view from the throne.  D2 didn't notice the incredible view

The growing of the grapes

I love to take pictures of hilarious signs

The last bus back to the HOHO depot left at 5:10.  We ended up leaving about the same time as a couple and another gentleman and found out they were also headed back to the bus.  He was from Chicago but living in Dubai working for another CPG (consumer packaged goods) company so we talked shop a bit.  He had met the couple from Australia on the bus and had been siping wine with them for the afternoon.  As with most buses that you pile onto after an afternoon of drinking, you make friends quickly.  I was chatting with the Australian woman discussing the merits of the Upper East Side vs the Upper West Side.  They had lived on the UES during the early 1990s.  D#1 was snapping photos of a couple of girls who apparently hadn't taken enough selfies that day and we found out that one of them was from near Morristown, TN where CP has a plant and D#2 was talking to the girl that he had shared a seat on the bus with on our tour of the Cape of Good Hope.

I remember a friend of mine that used to commute from Connecticut to NYC saying that on Friday night you NEVER wanted to be on the 1:30am train to CT.  She always tried to be on the 12:30.  I totally got what she was saying after this bus ride.  The last bus leaving the vineyard had its fair share of folks that had over imbibed.  D2 had to scrape one girl off the floor and pour her into a seat.  The gentleman I was chatting with had a girl plop down next to him and start to chat him up.  She proceeded to get jealous when he started chatting with another girl that he found out lived in his hood in Chi-town.  It was hilarious and a bit uncomfortable to watch him try to reason with her.  We all know a drunk knows no reason.

It was an incredible and exhausting weekend.  I am so glad that I took up D#1's generous offer to join D2 on their trip to Cape Town.  I hope to make it back before I leave but if I don't, I know that I made the most of this weekend.

I really appreciate all of the nice comments I hear from you about my blog.  I hope that you find it interesting as I navigate my way around the southern hemisphere.

Until my next dispatch from Jo'burg.  Totsiens and mooi loop!

Two Russians and an American walk into a Bar (Part 1)

"Two Russians and an American walk into a bar" - no, its not the opening to a hilarious joke I am about to tell you. Instead, I will tell you about my weekend in Cape Town.  I jumped on a plane a couple of weeks ago with two co-workers, Dmitry & Dmitry to explore Cape Town.  Going forward, we will refer to them as D2 (or Dmitry Squared).
Saturday we took a full day tour of the Cape, heading down to Cape Good Hope.
Our first stop of the day was Boulder Beach.  Boulder Beach is famous for being the home to one of 22 African penguin colonies.  Around 1910 it was estimated that there were 1.5 million Cape Penguins but by 2010 the numbers had dropped to 55,000.  If the decline is not halted, it is estimated that the African penguin will be extinct in 15 years.  They believe this is a result of the lack of food as industrialized fishing has become more prevalent off the coast of Africa

Hey, this penguin photobombed me!

Penguins mate for life - either they have been together a long time, or Mama Penguin is a cougar!

After a few minutes snapping photos of the penguins, we headed on our way to the Cape of Good Hope.  The Cape of Good Hope is where the warm Indian Ocean meets the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean.  Actually the Cape of Good Hope is not the southernmost point in Africa.  That honor goes to Cape Agulhas, about 150km southeast of the Cape of Good Hope.

While driving down the highway, the tour guide called our attention to an official looking gentleman on the side of the road.  He is a minder for one of the many troops of baboon inhabiting the Cape.  As my good friend, AW told me "Baboons are assholes".  We received a 10 minute warning on baboons, food and the fact they will attack and potentially kill us if we walk around with a piece of pizza in our hand.  The outdoor seating area at the Cape restaurant was fenced in and there were monitors keeping and eye out for the roaming bandits.

This was as close as I got to the baboons

The first stop was the Cape of Good Hope visitor center where we rode a precarious funicular up the mountain so we could hike up to the light house.  They quit using the lighthouse as a warning to ships after a few crashes.  I can imagine it was quite hard to see way up on that hill!  The view was so amazing, I actually don't have a picture of the lighthouse.  I don't think it occurred to me to take one!

Just in case I don't get backdown to Cape Town to do whale watching, I can say I saw one breach and blow!

Photo of the actual Cape of Good Hope (which I will now hike across and down)

After a quick stop for a baboon free lunch, D2 and I joined back up with our tour group for a 40 minute hike from the visitor center to the Cape of Good Hope.  I was a little worried because Dmitry1 didn't finish his pizza and Dmitry2 only ate half is sandwich and BOTH of those went into Dmitry1's backpack.  Luckily we encountered no baboons on our hike only an Ostrich family.  We received a long speech about fitness levels and fear of heights related to the hike.  I do not like heights at all but he said "you don't have to walk next to the edge", so I figured I would be OK.  Everyone knows I am not a "walk next to the edge" kind of girl.

Me and D2 - they are obviously "walk next to the edge" kind of guys

Crazy selfie takers

The Cape in Panorama

I figured out where the "fear of heights" thing comes in and that is when you have to climb down from the high point of the Cape.  My climb down was steep and terrifying and I was praying I would make it down before the bus pulled away!  I did make it down successfully with enough time to take a couple of pictures at THE SIGN and watch some photographers get an amazing opportunity to shoot the waves crashing against the rocks.

We conquered The Cape!

Boy did I wanna be out on that rock!

After a drowsy bus ride back to the city, the bus dropped us off at the V&A Waterfront where D2 and I enjoyed an adult beverage and pondered our options for the next day's adventure . . . .

(This photo is what we call "foreshadowing")

I'm Moving . . .

Monday morning I will be checking out of Capital 20 West Hotel and moving to a new hotel.  Dorothy, the admin that has made everything happen for me here in South Africa, asked me if I was happy at this location.  This hotel has everything I need.  I could have daily housekeeping service, but the tree hugger in me decided that two days a week is sufficient.  Housekeeping washes my clothes, cleans the kitchen, changes my bed and replaces the towels.  I have a gym that has a couple of treadmills and an elliptical machine.  I have a balcony that overlooks the local water reservoir.  I am really lucky here - the other side of the building overlooks a Shell gas station and a very busy intersection.

I have a restaurant and a bar though I have never been to the bar and the restaurant is so slow I resorted to going to the gym then just popping in to order room service to be sent to my room.  After dining in twice and sitting in the restaurant for over an hour, I decided room service was a better option.  An hour is a long time to sit alone in a not very busy restaurant.

I thought, how much better can it get?  A lot better apparently.  I checked out the website of the DaVinci Hotel and Suites.  There is a gym, a pool and a spa!  A bar with a view of the city!  I will lose my balcony but I will be gaining the proximity to Mandela Square (an elevator ride away!) and lots of restaurants and shopping.  I am very excited about being able to take the elevator down to access all the shops and restaurants at Mandela Square.  I drive there every weekend to do my grocery shopping.  The hotel is adjacent to the train to the airport.  There is so much more activity in that area.  Dorothy seemed to think that is the downside to this location.  I am thrilled.  If I am honest with you, I have been a little lonely and isolated at the Capital 20 West.  The prospect of being able to access the shopping after work and walk around among other humans is very exciting to me.

As my move approaches, I realize how much of a creature of habit I am and how much I do not like change.  I think about the cafe in a gas station I pop in every morning to get coffee.  Will I still go there to get coffee?  Will they wonder what happened to the blonde American that used to order a double Americano every morning at 6:15am?  I am a 2 minute drive from my yoga studio.  Will adding another 8 minutes to my drive make me less likely to go?  Will the traffic be worse? (Probably).  How much further to access the highway?  Will there be more intersections?  Intersections are a concern because that is where you could get hijacked (carjacked).

The move is absolutely the right thing for me to do.  I just marvel that having lived in Capital 20 West for a little over a month, I am contemplating so much if I should make this move!

(Yes it is messy, I am in the process of packing!)

It is nice to have such a lovely view from the bedroom

I'll post photos of my new apartment next week.  Now I am busy trying to eat all my refrigerated food so I don't have to move it.  Hummus and carrots for breakfast anyone?

Until my next dispatch from Jo'burg, totsiens & mooi loop!

A Typical Day and a Few Random Musings

I am behind on updating you with my weekend adventures to the Elephant Sanctuary and Cape Town. Lest you think this is a 4 month vacation for me, I thought I would give you an example of what a typical day for me is in South Africa.
I get up around 5:15 though if I am honest it is closer to 5:33 after I let myself hit snooze twice.
I usually walk out the door between 6:00-6:10.  Yes, AM.
Dave, the guy driving me to work the first week, told me that this Shell Gas Station near my apartment has really lovely coffee so I typically stop there in the morning and get an Americano coffee.  I am not a "I MUST HAVE CAFFEINE!" person, but I like the ritual of drinking a cup each morning.  After 15 visits to the cafe within a gas station the guy I see every morning FINALLY asked me "Double Americano?"  I teased him and said "I wondered how many blonde Americans you have that come in and order a double americano every day".
I am usually at my desk around 6:30 logging into my computer and enjoying my coffee and my Wooly's gluten free blueberry muffin.  I am currently devastated because I have been to two Wooly's this week and they are both out of all of the gluten free baked goods.  I have really cleaned up my eating since I arrived and have basically eliminated food out of a package.  My one treat is my GF muffin each day.
I have peace and quiet from 6:30 to about 9am.  I spend this time working on the emails I have received from the US since I shut down my computer from the night before and working on different projects.
9am is when the meetings start in South Africa.
Meeting
Meeting
Meeting
Oh my gosh, the meeting ended 15 minutes early, let me check my email before the next meeting
Meeting
Meeting
Oh, crap, I missed lunch.  Good thing I have this bag of almonds with me
Meeting
Meeting
Did I go to the bathroom yet today?  I should drink more water!
Meeting
Meeting
I leave the office anywhere between 4:30 and 6pm.
3 days a week I try to go to yoga - Saturday, Thursday and one other day.  As much as I joked about having to walk past the gym in my apartment to get to the elevator, I find it very hard to drag myself down to the elliptical machine after spending almost 12 hours at the office.  I am giving myself the rest of the week, then I am really going to commit to going even if its just to do 20 minutes.  I want to get into the habit of working out before I head back to the US where the gym isn't just steps away.
I usually watch a couple of hours of TV just to decompress.  On a good day I have the options of BBC Earth, Discovery Earth, National Geographic and CNN.  On Monday, BBC, Discovery and Nat Geo had disappeared and instead I had the Disney Channel.  This is a bad day.  I did learn that Descendants 2 is coming out.  Kadie will be very excited.  The highlight of my week is Tuesday when Expedition Galapagos comes on BBC Earth
Then I go to bed to start the whole thing over the next day.
I didn't realize how much socializing I did after work in NY until I moved here and had absolutely nothing to do.  I found the yoga studio because the I was bored to death of the elliptical and bored to death of my own company (as an introvert, I don't say that too often!).  I needed to get out of the apartment for something other than work.
Saturdays I go to the grocery store and stock up for the week.  In Park Avenue, we have a cafeteria so I was spoiled by having easy access to food.  South Africa has a small restaurant in the office park but my experience my first couple of days here is it takes forever to order and get your food.  Since I usually have meetings through lunch, I typically pack a lunch from home.  I am also cooking in the apartment or snacking for dinner.  I have been to the grocery store more times in South Africa in 1 month than I think I have in all of 2017 in New York!  I did find a local Italian restaurant that delivers and and has gluten free options.  I've had their pasta and will try their pizza next time.  There is no Delivery.com or Seamless here.  How did I find the restaurant you may wonder?  I see a delivery moped almost every day on the way home from work so I repeated the name to myself over and over (Andaccio24) until I could get my phone out and google it.  (#resourceful)  The best thing is they have a location in the same building as the yoga studio so I may be having that pizza tomorrow night!
So yes, I am working a whole lot but I have been learning quite a bit and I hope that I am helping bring more process to the team and a different perspective on how to look at the business.
One of the amusing things about driving in South Africa is the random things you see laying in the middle of the road.  I mentioned the mini-buses in one of my previous blog posts but in South Africa if you have a Brat truck/car hybrid (yes, the same one from the 70s), you can also operate a taxi service.

I imagine when you are crammed into the back of a pick up truck, things may fly out onto the highway.  I see random shoes, hats, lunchboxes, etc.

Yesterday it was rather cool post our monsoon storms on Sunday and Monday.  Sunday there was baseball sized hail.  Everyone at the office was talking about the beating their cars took.  I saw some CRAZY photos.  Said storm led to a delay in my flight back from Cape Town and thus the delay in blog posting.  Anyway, yesterday on my drive to work I saw an exhaust pipe laying in the middle of my lane.  It was still smoking - whether from remnant exhaust or due to cold weather, I am not sure, but there is definitely a mini-bus driving about sans exhaust pipe right now!

Until my next dispatch from Jo'burg, totsiens & mooi loop!