The magnificent

I don't know why I've always thought Africa is spectacular. The simplest answer might be that it is. But nearly every place has its magical vistas, charmed pathways, and secret gardens. It still seems more than that to me. Below are some photos to convince you that I might have a point, and a little speculation about why it can be so magnificent. Be sure to click the images to see them in a larger format.

Beach

The foot path to Cape Point runs along beaches that can be accessed via a stairway, seen below. This the south-eastern most point of Africa, maybe the extremes make it special?

A beach where Jackass penguins are common. The exotic animals can't be overlooked as part of the experience.

These are the stairs that lead to the beach off the  Cape Point trail. Maybe the light helps rarefy the experience?

This is Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. As with the animals, the plants are exotic, and exciting. There is something else here; a grand vision, long term dedication to beauty, and labor. Loads of labor, it's something you notice in Africa.

The king protea, a Cape flower.

There is a very good aquarium. Sometimes the injection of the familiar, like going to the aquarium on a rainy day, catches you off guard, and you appreciate it all the more.

Hiking trials are always fun to explore. The ladders make it all the better. This one goes up from Kirstenbosch gardens to the top of Table Mountain.

Occasional the view opens up, and you can see a little ways.

Cheetahs, it's hard to get over things like this, even though it's just a tourist trap.










All in all, it's alright here. You might even call it nourishing.

The mudane

Traveling can elevate the mundane to a new level; not quite magnificent, but maybe interesting. Things function in a manner you are familiar with, but are different in form or execution. Such ordinary things can force you to reflect on how your surroundings change you. So, while I'd never try and tell you about say, hair salons in the United States, I might just do so here. Without apology, here are some of the minutia of our existence in South Africa.

The Main Road, looking toward the city center

Our apartment is in an area that I think is now euphemistically called 'urban'. It is situated on a major road called "Main Road". Noise from the road is significant, even annoying.

There is commerce here; things like hair braiding, inexpensive lunch counters selling delightful "bunny chow", second hand stores, and street vendors selling single cigarettes or pieces of candy. This is Africa as I remember and love, but it's no place to live. We'll be moving at the end of this month, but for now, I am enjoying the culture on Main Road, Mowbray.

My favorite lunch counter

I like the 'Sunrise Chip N' Ranch', one block away. It's inexpensive and colorful. Food is plentiful, honest, and occasional even good; if you have a taste for oil laden chips. From the counter on the street you can look deep into the interior, over a vast, clean kitchen finished in stainless steel. A dark skinned Indian man watches, smoking, over a large African staff.  Maybe like a homegrown White Castle, but with a much saner clientele.

A small business

Micro-commerce. These guys will sell you a single piece of candy for about 2.5 cents.

Minibus taxis

Noise is as you would expect from a busy street. On top of cars, lorries, buses, and  boisterous college students, there is a near constant 'hooting', or honking of horns. This is almost entirely due to the taxis, or minibuses. These are mini-vans, with four rows of seats, a driver, and an attendant. The driver honks in rapid bursts, and the attendant shouts the destination, whistles at people (to entice them), and gets out to hustle business at busy stops. He also holds the cash bag,  counts change, and gets out to press the cross walk buttons at busy stops, forcing competing mini-vans to fall behind in the race to collect customers. Predatory commerce.

Simplicity

The apartment is utilitarian. 3 bedrooms, one bath. Equipped, but minimally. This has its pleasures, see the photo; do your cupboards look like this? Ours never did. Instead it was a jumble of confusing stuff, promotional mugs and hold overs from very young children. It was all piled high,  conspiring to tumble down on the next person to open the cupboard.

Courtyard for soccer

There is a nice courtyard the boys have been using for soccer. There are a lot of other people here,  and some of them are interesting. Like the Nigerian Mathematician, the Chinese Confucian, and the South African Physician. The boys get some attention, being the only kids around.

There's no problem getting what you need. Malls are of shamefully extravagant, more so than  I've ever seen in America, although I confess, that they are not often a place I want to go. They are well stocked with amazing produce, inexpensive clothing, and expensive electronic gizmos. I like that there are supermarkets and pharmacies in the malls, then there is something useful to buy. Oh, they've got a lot of underpants too, apparently one can never have enough of them.

A 2005 1986 Corolla hatchback. Razz-a-ma-Tazz!
It's got a carburetor.

Cars are expensive here, but as with everything, easy to shop for. After a little deliberation, we opted for a best seller with good fuel economy. As it happens, something very similar to the 1986 Toyota Corolla was manufactured in South Africa until 2005 and sold under the "Tazz" name. This is a very stable, basic car. No power steering, brakes, or windows. No cruise control, ABS, or airbags. 38 miles per gallon, very reliable, and very likely to sell for what we paid. I wish I could buy one in America. What a great idea, take a really good car, and just keep right on making it.

I should really show a screen door from South Africa. It's worth thinking about.

Screen doors just aren't a happy thought. Let me close instead with a image from our marine environment. Boats are nearly always photogenic. It would be an exaggeration to say this is in our neighborhood, but it is just around.

The journey

Everything we need, right here in the van.

A cliche of the travel journal, and perennial question from those that care for you: 'How was the flight?'

God awful, but temporary.

Can it really be any other way? 30.5 hours on a plane. 6 more in airports.

I suppose there were a few instants worth relating. Like seeing a years worth of luggage fit in the back of the van (on the right).

The Netherlands: a country from the future?

Or seeing that those amazing Dutch put together a library of culture and arts in the airport, accessible through a sleek new iPad. Abraham, of course, was not amused by this. As any eight year old knows, iPads are for video games. Schipol was also a pivotal point in the journey in terms stress. Fatigue and uncertainty overwhelmed, leading to a fierce battle over sitting down to order lunch, or going through the cafeteria line. Thankfully, there is no photographic record of the incident.

Julius Malema, future of the ANC?

I managed to sit next to a white South African University of Cape Town student on the flight south.  I enjoyed talking to him. As usual with South Africans, given time and alcohol, conversation turns to race and politics. His attitudes were harder than I had hoped for, echoing many of the attitudes I remember from 15 years ago. I don't have the energy to even begin to discuss them now. Maybe it's best to present a couple of things he mentioned. First, we talked about Julius Malema, ANC Youth League President. He likes to sing a song called 'Kill the Boer'. He also is an admirer of Robert Mugabe; aspiring to nationalize the farms, gold, and diamond mines.  Then there was Eugène Terre'Blanche, an Afrikaner nationalist hacked to death on his farm earlier this year. The wikipedia pages are more informative than I could be, but both are highly polarizing figures in South Africa, seeking political fortune by fanning the flames of very old bitterness. Both are total bummers, but similar in many ways. Except one is dead and the other may be the future of the ANC.

Cape Town International.

Enough politics. In the end, we made it. How could we do anything but? We'd been imprisoned on flights. On the left, you see us arrive in Cape Town.

Bed, oh sweet bed!

And on the right, see the boys get a long awaited sleep in our apartment, which was waiting ready for us, exactly as planned. Somehow, everything works here.

Preparing for departure

Getting out of Missoula was enough work that it's worth relating.

I made lists, and checked things off. One of several lists is on the left. The lists for work were as bad as the ones for home.

Stuff to do before we leave town.

I'd get a little sense of accomplishment every time I ticked something off. I also learned to leave intractables like 'figure out taxes' off the list.

Here is a nasty list; the visa requirements:

• Fees payable to the appropriate South African representative office
• Prescribed form BI-84
• Medical Report BI-811
• Radiological Report BI-806
• Police Clearance Certificate from all countries where the applicant resided for 12 months or longer since 18 years.
• A vaccination certificate, if required;
• Proof of financial means in the forms of:· 
  
  
  
  • Bank statements;· 
  • Salary advices;· 
• Undertaking (commitment) by the South African host;
• Bursaries (grant awarded as part of a financial assistance package);· 
• Medical coverage;
• Cash available, including credit cards or travelers' checks to cover expenses related to the visit;
• Deposit
• Marriage and birth certificate
• Applicants traveling by air must be in possession of round trip tickets, or proof of sufficient funds or lodge a cash deposit of equivalent value to such a ticket;
• Statement and/or documentation confirming the purpose and duration of visit.

I added emphasis to the biggest hassles. I loved the medical report, I had to get my doctor to state that I was free of "mental deficiencies". So much of this experience is self-affirming. Getting the FBI to state that I had no record took some time.

All of our possessions.

Another major task was packing up the house and moving all of our possessions into the garage. A picture of all of our junk is on the right. Not bad, huh? It feels so much more manageable in a tidy little pile like that.

Zach in the empty house.

Getting everything out of the house had the effect of making our house seem much more desirable to live in. We've got a pretty nice house, who knew?

Ready to leave. Zach in yellow, Abe blue.

Finally, we took a last family photo and spent a night on our neighbor's air mattress. Thanks neighbor Julie!