Cape Town, South Africa (John & Lynn's Place) - Day 4

August 14, 2012

            Today is Monday, so back to work for Flo and Bruce. I really enjoyed them escorting me around this great place of Cape Town. They both got up early and told me they were leaving me the key just in case I wanted to go for a walk or something. I decided that I would sleep in today, then later, go through and organize some of the photos that Flo and I had taken the last few days. We had been nonstop exploring Cape Town ever since I arrived, so this was a good time to sort things out before leaving South Africa and continuing my journey to New York. They informed me that we would be having dinner with their friends, Lynn and John, this evening. So I had all day to myself. I didn’t do too much sorting but more snoring! But that’s fine, I am on vacation.

            Early evening, we were on our way to dinner, near downtown Cape Town. We arrived to the mesmerizing smell of curry lamb simmering. Mmmmmm, I was ready to eat!  We were greeting by John first, then Lynn. I felt the warmth of the fireplace going which was suitable for the chilly evening we just left outside. Beside the fireplace and company, their home radiated warmth by all of the handmade house good displayed throughout the house. Most of the items were made by Lynn’s very her talented daughter who showed us the most beautiful quilt I have ever laid eyes on!

            From the fun company and amazingly delicious curry dish to the homemade nougat, the evening was great!

       Thank you Lynn and John for welcoming me into your home and extending your friendship to me on my visit to South Africa! I appreciate and will always remember your warm hospitality!

All the best,

GMarie

Cape Town, South Africa (Cape of Good Hope, Boulder Beach & Lucky Fish Restaurant) - Vacation, Day 3

August 12, 2012

      I wanted to sleep in but today we are going to a few more places in Cape Town. Before we went on any outing, Florence suggested that we all work on our “messages” that we would put in a bottle and toss out to sea. The message could be a five or ten year goals, a letter to me or just a note to God. The note would also contain our email addresses so the recipients of our bottle could contact us to let us know the bottle’s destination. We wrapped the notes in saran wrap, insert the note in the bottle and melted candle wax on the lid. Oh,…we also included a dollar bill in the bottle….a stipend for the recipient’s trouble of emailing us!   So after a breakfast consisting of a vegetable omelet and coffee, Bruce, Florence and I were off to our first stop, the Cape of Good Hope.

      The drive to the Cape was scenic at best. The morning started off overcast, but became more beautiful by the hour. Along the route, we came across a cow standing by the side of the road just minding its own business and we also passed multiple ostrich farms.

       After about a 30 minute drive we pulled into the parking lot of The Cape of Good Hope. Often it is misunderstood that the Cape of Good Hope, although at the southern tip of Africa, is believed to be the meeting point of the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans. Actually, the southernmost tip is 150 kilometers away and is called Cape Agulhas and Cape Point. First we climbed the huge boulders where the water rushes and crashed on them. Then we followed the foot path that takes you on a high cape which offered a panoramic view of the ocean, wildlife and plants. The cape was a little too high for my liking, so I went half way and returned to the bottom to wait for Bruce and Flo. After, we took a few photos. Our next stop was Boulder Beach.

      Boulder Beach, not far from Simon’s Town is home to the African Penguins. The penguins can be viewed in their natural environment up front and personal. The penguins allow you to get close to them but don’t try to pet them because they will quickly wobble away! After partaking with nature and engaging with the wildlife, we are hungry so now we are on our way to the Lucky Fish Restaurant.

            The Lucky Fish Restaurant, located on the Kalk Bay, is considered “gourmet fast food”, and has a no frozen fish policy so everything that is order is fresh from the sea! My hunger allowed my eyes to be bigger than my stomach; I ordered the seafood platter which contained hake fish, calamari, shrimps and fries. At the owner’s insistence, I tried the fresh baked ciabatta loaf and was glad I did! The seafood was not only delicious but the portion was very generous and quite a value for the money!

           After dinner we walked along the pier outside of the restaurant. Multiple fishing boats were docked and appeared prepared for the early morning sail to bring in the day’s “catch”. We watched the playfulness of some of the seals as they swam in the bay, while other chose to just lay and catch the rays of the last bit of sun before it set.

            The last stop before heading back to Bruce and Flo’s place was to throw our “Message in a Bottle” out to sea.  We picked a beach area, not far from the house. We each took turns tossing our bottles as far out into the water as we could to avoid hitting the large boulders in the water. When it was my turn, I said a little prayer, took my stance and cast my bottle into the roaring waves.

      We drove back to the house, tired but hopeful that all of our dreams and desires that we wrote about would all come true.

All the best,

GMarie

GMarie’s Page Stats

Aug 3, 2012

            Initially, when I started this blog, it was to keep in touch with family and friends and to minimize sending multiple emails and pictures to everyone especially from a place where I consider the Internet service to be a bit slow. So a month before I arrived in Saudi (August 2011), I got the idea to blog my experiences from subscribing to blog sites such as Susie’s Big Adventure (www.susiesbigadventure.blogspot.com) and American Bedu (www.americanbedu.com). Blogging would be the perfect venue to get my information and pictures out to everyone.

           

I never would imagine that my readership would not only be my family and friends but other readers from all over the world!  My blog has invited inquiries such as folks asking about establishments I have visited in the “Kingdom” or a nurse or prospective Middle East employee asking about hair care products or info on where to get their nails done when they make their transition to work in the “Kingdom”. I was even contacted by Rahel, an Air Force sergeant, through my blog who was on her way to Riyadh to work. Her unit is co-located on the same compound as mine. She made several attempts to touch base with her sponsor but received no response. I made some calls to her military leadership, informed them that she trying to contact them and they took it from there to get their service member to the “”Kingdom” safely.

           

Through my readership, one of the women that live on my compound (thanks Charmie!) connected me with her friend, famous blogger Carol Fleming (aka American Bedu). It was an honor and pleasure to be recognized and interviewed by such a well-known icon. I humbly display my stats (August 2011 to August 2012) for GMarie’s Page: 

Pageviews by Countries

Entry	Pageviews
United States	3180
Saudi Arabia	791
Russia	158
United Kingdom	108
Trinidad and Tobago	50
Germany	43
South Africa	37
United Arab Emirates	29
Philippines	28
Spain	24

Pageviews by Operating Systems

Entry Pageviews Windows 3139 (65%) iPhone 381 (8%) Macintosh 361 (7%) Android 338 (7%) BlackBerry 173 (3%) iPad 165 (3%) iPod 112 (2%) Linux 81 (1%) Windows NT 6.1 5 (<1%) MOT 3 (<1%)

Thanks for reading!

All the best,

GMarie

Cape Town, South Africa (Scarborough Beach, Chapman's Peak, Table Mountain, V A Waterfront & Mama Africa) - Vacation, Day 2

July 7, 2012

            I woke up this morning to the aroma of brewing coffee, fried eggs and an ocean view that was breathtaking! In the far distance was a rainbow…..I believe this is going to be a good day!  In my room, I can see off in the distance the baboons are coming down from the mountain. I quickly got dressed so I can go with Flo to walk the dogs down by Scarborough beach (about a 10 minute walk) while also getting a close but cautious look at the baboon family making their trek around the area in search of their food for the day. We came across the Baboon patrol whose primary function is to try to control the nuisances that the baboon cause by either searching the trash for food and even gaining entrance to unsuspecting resident’s homes in search for food!

            Later that morning, Bruce and Flo took me on a scenic drive along Chapman Peak Drive. The road takes you along the Hout Bay and the Atlantic seaboard. We stopped, took some photos and just embraced the moment while taking in this spectacular view. After about 30 minutes, we continued along until we pulled up below one of the 7^th wonders of the world, Table Mountain.

            Table Mountain is popular for its profile; a flat –top overlooking the City of Cape Town, Table Bay and the Atlantic seaboard. There is a cable car that takes you from the lower cable station to the top of the mountain. There are also guided walks that also get you up the mountain but it takes between 1-3 hours. We opted to use the cable car instead. Once we were at the top of the mountain, we immediately entered one of the hiking paths to begin our exploration of Table Mountain. The viewpoints were breathtaking!  After about two hours, we decided that were hungry. Our next stop would be V A Waterfront.

            First, we grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant called Mug & Bean which is known for their coffee, and then we walked around. The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, commonly known as V A Waterfront is a port mall that is located at the foot of Table Mountain. We poked our nose into several of the shops and even stopped to watch a street show where the local talent sang and danced for tips.

            Later on we head to a place called Mama Africa located on Long Street in downtown Cape Town for dinner and some local entertainment. There was a local African  band playing called Marimba Vibrations. They were very talented musicians because they each would swap and play each other’s instrument and well as swap off singing lead. For dinner, I played it safe and ordered the spicy chicken wings, but Flo ordered the Game Grill which consists of crocodile, ostrich, springbok, kudu and venison sausage. I tried each entree and found it to be quite tasty.

                     

      After a long, fun-filled day, we headed to Bruce and Flo’s place. I was totally exhausted but anticipated what excitement Day 3 would offer in the Mother Land.

All the best,

GMarie