More from CPT

leaving italy
see all photos »

I’m still in Cape Town and all is well. Not much is new but since I am not paying to use this computer (I’m at a friend’s house) I will write

Before all else I want to thank everyone for the kind words of encouragement. The things you have said have been carrying me through, they really have. I haven’t been emailing back because I type soooooo slowly and it all costs a lot of money, but those emails have kept me going. I need all of the support I can get and I feel really lucky to have such good friends. Thank you.

down by the bay
see all photos »

.I went for a great hike up Table Mountain on Sunday with a couple of friends. An amazing trail we took, so steep in places there were ladders and chains to climb up. Great views from the top. Yesterday my friend drove me around Cape Point. We saw penguins, the Africa Penguin. On that same drive we saw baboons on the side of the road. The baboons here are crazy and all of the locals hate them ‘cause they are vicious but I thought they were pretty cute from the safety of the car. They are just like people, with their mannerisms- really funny.

a room in the Robben Island prison kinda looks like my dorm room, minus the nice painting
see all photos »

I have been talking to people at the hostel and I am planning to head north to Namibia soon. A couple of Dutch people are waiting for their 4x4 that was shipped from Holland, so if it gets through customs soon we will hitch a ride with them up north. If not, I will go with Daniel, a Canadian guy who has been traveling in Africa for the last year or something, on the bus. Either way I should be leaving no later than Thursday. I have a bit of a toothache, though, started in Italy, actually, and hasn’t gone away yet as I was hoping it would. Before I head into the land of nothing I’m going to get it looked at, let’s hope for the best.

on the mountain
see all photos »

I have gotten quite comfortable here in Cape Town and I’m nervous about heading out on my first adventure but I will be with good people who know what they are doing. Everyone is really nice- the travelers who come through are full of information and I’m not afraid to ask. I am so new to this, a lot of people I am meeting have been on the road for a loooong time. I haven’t even left a city! But they are happy to share info, everything from which medicine to take for which stomach malady, to how to manage to sleep through a night in a noisy hostel, and where to go and what to avoid. Most people are on ‘round the world trips, just like I am. They are all happy and nice and it helps me to feel less lonely. They also understand the feelings I have, just starting out.

penguins!
see all photos »

Oh, yeah, and the $30/day budget? Out the door. All of the travelers are saying that Africa is just expensive and right now the dollar is shit. On a good day I spend $30 but it’s more like $40 or $50. I just hope for better times in China, India, and SE Asia, if not, looks like I’ll be home early!

New vocabulary:

Robot: Stoplight

Bri (sp?): Barbecue

baboons
see all photos »

Fetch: pick up with a car

Pop-in: stop by

Thank you (Afrikaans): Dankie

Cool (Afrikaans): Lekker

thats me
see all photos »

Cool poem someone gave me:

Look to this day,

For it is life,

The very life of life,

In its brief course lie all

The realities and verities of existence,

The bliss of growth, the splendor of action,

The glory of power-

For yesterday is but a dream,

And tomorrow is only a vision,

But today, well lived,

Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness

And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day.

-Sanskrit proverb by Kalidasa, Indian poet & playwright, fifth century AD

Lots of love.

H