Do I Really Have to Leave?

What I find funny looking back through my blog is that I’ve posted fewer entries in South Africa than I did in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, etc.  Which, given the fact that I have had way more access to reliable and sometimes free wifi here in SA, is totally unacceptable!  My only explanation for this is that I’ve been having the time of my life and can’t peel myself away long enough to sit in front of my computer for hours to write updates about it.

That said, I can’t even begin to explain the feeling I get when I look back on my blog entries, photos and videos.  When people ask me how long I’ve been traveling and the words “six months” comes out of my mouth, I can hardly believe my own ears.  Not to mention I have another six months ahead of me.  It’s a daunting thought. 

My time in South Africa is nearing an end and I am really going to miss this place.  Travel here is super easy and I have had most of the comforts from home afforded to me, which has been a welcome respite from the 3rd world ruggedness sandwiched on either end….of course, that is aside from the fact that I’ve been camping sans mattress, when I do book a room I share with 5-9 other people, and I am 100% reliant on the Baz Bus and Coast to Coast guides.

I couldn’t have planned it better, really, since roughing it in developing nations is nothing short of “an experience.”  You certainly learn a hell of a lot about local culture, customs and yourself.  You don’t travel to the 3rd world for a vacation.  You go to test your limits and to venture into the unknown.  You experience things most people never will and you will be mentally, emotionally and physically moved beyond anything you could have anticipated. This is not to slight my experiences in South Africa, but I can’t say the same about traveling amongst throngs of other 20-something backpackers, all of whom are on the same track as me.  It’s the same concept as taking an overland tour.  You have a great time, but ultimately you are just stuck in a bubble with a bunch of other Western tourists.  I won’t get into that now, though.

Anyway, I am so looking forward to hurling myself back into the hectic, disorderly, dirty, disheveled 3rd world, but not without appreciating the time I’ve spent in SA.  I have had so many memorable experiences here and have met the most amazing people.  Locals and other travelers alike.

That said, South Africa at the core is a 3rd world country with many 1st world enclaves throughout.  The majority of SA is as poor and rugged as many other African nations once you get off the beaten track.  Admittedly, I have stuck to all of the tourist destinations which has given the impression of being in a 1st world country, but there is no getting around the obvious signs of blatant inequality and socio-economic gaps.  One of the most bizarre examples were all the nice homes and apartments barricaded behind barbed wire, electric fencing and guard dogs…it’s as if all the white people live in compounds to keep the black people at bay.  Additionally most of the black and “colored” populous live in townships, which were set up during apartheid as places for non-whites to live on the outskirts of major towns and cities.  So although apartheid is no longer in effect, it is still informally taking place in that at the end of the workday, all of the non-white workers catch their minibus back home to the township…it’s just that now there is no formal punishment for black people to be “caught” in city centers outside of working hours.

I wasn’t alive during the Civil Rights movement in the US, but I can imagine the aftermath is much like current-day South Africa.  People are still adjusting to the new way of life and it is going to take decades for things to start righting themselves.  Not that the US has been righted, but we’ve got an extra 30ish years of mending on SA.

So initially I was going to write this entry about how awesome South Africa is, but clearly I veered off track somewhere along the line.  Let me get back to my SA lovefest for a minute and reflect on my favorite times so far:

• Cape Town – one of the most beautiful, active and entertaining cities in the world.  I could so live here.
• Stellenbosch – unbelievably beautiful wine country.  Behold the scenery.
• Hermanus – cute little town, liked it enough.  Can imagine it’s awesome during whale season.
• Mossel Bay – decent town, but not the prettiest. Has one of my favorite hiking trails ever along rocky, tumultuous coastline.   And of course the sharks.  Some of my best times were spent here!
• Oudtshoorn – cute town amongst throngs of ostrich farms in which you can sample eggs and ride these feathered beasts.  Awesome cave system to go adventuring in as well.
• Plettenberg Bay – very small, but very cute.  Great scenery, overlooks & beaches.  Robberg Peninsula is beautiful.
• Jeffrey’s Bay – more Billabong shops per square mile than Starbucks in Seattle.  Loved Ubuntu Backpackers and the people there.  Beautiful beaches and great surfing as well.
• Cintsa – not much of a town outside of the Barfoot Café, but some great times were had here.  Buccaneers Backpackers is my favorite in SA.  Amazing view of the ocean, decent surfing, cute dogs, swimming pool, bar pool, ping pong, daily volleyball sessions, free evening goon wine…the list could go on forever.  I couldn’t stop raving about this place after I left.  I wish I stayed longer!
• Hogsback – Gorgeous mountain scenery, great hiking and pretty waterfalls.  Overrun with hippies, though, so that might have an impact on how much time one can spend here.
• Coffee Bay – contrary to everything I heard about CB and the Coffee Shack Backpackers, I thought this place was a dump.  The setup wasn’t conducive to mingling and I’ve seen way better facilities.  What makes up for it, though, are all the daily activities they have on offer – hikes, cliff jumps, beach days, etc. 

I have another 2 weeks left before I must leave South Africa, so the list will go on from here.  I'm on the fringes of Durban now, and plan to do some diving on the Aliwal Shoal before I make my way to the Drakensberg mountains and on to Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique and Madagascar before I leave Africa.  Unless I go to Ethiopia, but I'm not sure about that yet....