Monday 19 July 2010

A EUREKA moment! And more wine (continuation of Saturday 3rd July)...

Saturday 3rd July (continued): when I got back from the shark trip I called in at the shark shop to see Karyn and to pay all my bills and arranged to go out with her later that night. Tried to go to the internet cafe to update my blog, but their connection wasn't working (which explains why I'm trying to remember 2 weeks later what I was doing on 3rd July...). Made my way back to the apartment via Rectory Lane, but took a different set of steps from there, which turned out to be the Capstan steps - finally, HURRAAAHHHHHH! I bumped into some people coming down them (nobody EVER seemed to be walking up, only me) and asked them where they came out at the top. They gave me a bit of a vague look and pointed to another set of steps (the ones I'd taken yesterday) and said "but they're better". I don't know what constitutes "better" steps, but I'd already walked up them yesterday and I don't think the people appreciated the mission I was on... so mission accomplished, I found the mystery steps. They do exist. And now I can sleep at night. Anyway, Karyn picked me up, as planned, at 5pm and we drove back to her house in Fishhoek, just along the coast. I met Karyn's gorgeous 15 year old twin daughters and her lovely little boy, Connor, and we dropped the girls off at a party and took Connor with us to the Southern Right, a pub/restaurant along the coast. We met some of the locals in there and had a good laugh with them - they were mainly taking the micky out of the english and their sporting prowess, but it was funny (I just went off in private and cried afterwards). They were asking me about the sights I'd seen since being in South Africa and I mentioned that I hadn't 'done' the wineries yet, but was heading home on Monday. Karyn suggested hiring a driver tomorrow (Sunday) and driving over that way for some wine-tasting, which sounded like a great idea. With that, Mick jumped in, said "don't worry about a driver, I'll take you there, just pay the petrol and buy me lunch". It's a date. So that's what we did. That's just so typical of the South African people I've met on my trip, they'll go out of their way every time. But I haven't got to Sunday yet... I'll finish off Saturday night first. So Poenas, Chanty and Matt (the crew from the shark trip) came to join us at the Southern Right and we all sat down for dinner while we watched the football (Spain v Paraguay I think - did they play each other?!). Then Poenas ran us all home in his car which was falling apart, dropping off Chanty and Matt first and picking up some of his mum's home-made samosas for me! Bless. I was really sad to say goodbye to all of them - they'd all made the shark trip a fantastic experience for me and I loved every minute of it.

Sunday 4th July: Karyn, Connor and Mike picked me up at 10am, as planned, and we all headed off to Stellenbosch in the wine region. Bliss! Our first stop was Fairview in Paarl (I think), which was Mike's favourite winery. Mike suggested Karyn & I went for the full blown wine- and cheese-tasting session while he amused Connor by showing him around the grounds. Had a lovely time with Karyn and must've tasted about 12 different wines and 10 different cheeses while we were sat there. The sommelier sat us at a table and just brought us the different wines, told us a bit about them (which went in one ear and out the other after the first 2!) and left us to it. The next thing we knew, Mike and Connor were hovvering outside the door and we'd been in there for 2 hours, hahahaaaaaaaaa! I know Mike drove us to a couple of other wineries afterwards, but I have no recollection of their names, what I drank or where they were - think I tried some sparkling wines somewhere along the line, but can't remember what they were like! We drove back to Simon's Town in the sunshine, listening to 60s tracks on the radio, and stopped off at a cheetah sanctuary for Connor. Had a lovely day - a perfect way to spend my last day in SA. Unfortunately Mike didn't get his lunch that we'd promised him (it was his fault for suggesting the 2-hour wine-tasting!), but he said that he'd enjoyed the day as much as we had, so that's good. When I got back I think I had a bit of a siesta, then cooked some of Poenas's mum's samosas, which were fab! I made a start on packing :o( and had an early night...

Friday 9 July 2010

More sharks, more steps and lots of wine!

Well I'm back home now :o( and thought I'd better finish off my blog before I forgot what I'd done with myself! So here we go...


Friday 2nd July: Last night after I left the internet cafe I headed for the Rectory Lane steps - very pretty, bloody dangerous and still went the wrong way!! Nice views from the top, reminded me of Clovelli in Devon (now you'll understand the kind of hill I had to walk up - and down, and then up again as I took the wrong turning!). I think this was the same direction the mumbling tramp pointed me to on my first night here, so I'm glad I didn't follow his grubby little index finger in the pitch dark... Had to shed about twenty layers of clothing as I climbed up the hill so might've burned off all the extra calories I've taken on since eating all the red meat! Somehow I managed to find my way to the apartment again though so I'm getting my bearings at least. Richard had fixed the TV when I got back (apparently I'd overloaded one of the sockets upstairs in my bedroom by plugging in a radiator - just to ease the pain of getting up at 6am for 5 days on the trot), so he gave me a tour of the fuse box and everything was fine. I stayed in and cooked some tinned stuff on toast and watched TV - because I could.

Anyway, back to Friday. A double-whammy today as I went out on the boat this morning and then did a trip in the afternoon. Monique, Chris's wife, came out on the trip today. Saw some huge great whites breaching in the morning and a pretty gruesome kill - it was a bit early in the day to watch the gulls swooping down to the slick and picking off the entrails... and the smell wasn't the best! Decided to go in the cage again today and went in last again (as I couldn't make my mind up) with a couple of the boys, both of whom had bloody great underwater cameras so it was a tad crowded in there. Saw some fantastic sharks though and they were swimming around for ages. The boys must've got some great shots of them (and of my backside, thanks!). But the funniest part of the day (and I'm chuckling as I'm typing this!) had to be when I was standing on the top deck with Sandra, a Swedish girl who reminded me of KT Tunstall (so much so that she could've actually been KT Tunstall and using a false name) and who'd also been on a couple of trips this week. We were leaning over the edge, shark spotting and watching the group in the cage, when I heard a sharp intake of breath and "That's disgusting!" from Sandra. Then I noticed a poo (had to be human, not shark!) floating by and heading straight for the cage... the look on Monique's face was so funny as she was throwing out the decoy seal and trying to avoid it - or swoosh it away from the boat! The trouble is, I'd been to the loo on the boat about 20 mins before that and I know everyone heard me asking one of the crew how to operate the pump, so I was hoping they didn't think it was mine, hahahahaaaaaaa (it wasn't by he way)! Anyway, Sandra & I couldn't stop giggling and became transfixed by it floating towards the boys in the cage. And at this point Chris looked up and shouted out to me "You going in the cage Sally?" and when I hesitated I think he thought I was scared of the sharks... but I went in and didn't get a close-up, thank god (of the poo) and the sharks took my mind off it! I'm just wondering whether the boys in the cage got a shot of it on their cameras!

There wasn't room for me to dive in the afternoon as it was an extra trip for me, but I was quite happy spotting from the top deck and we had a couple of sharks breaching on the decoy again - a bit of a rarity in the afternoon. Then when we sailed back to the harbour we got caught up with the Cape cormorants flying back in their thousands to the island, an amazing sight and sound. I almost fell asleep on the way back, so decided to pop into Bertha's to catch the rest of the Brazil v Netherlands game over a glass (or two) of waaaaahhhhhht waaaaaaahhhhhhhne. Arranged to meet Poenas, the skipper, in there after he'd sorted (technical nautical term) the boat then went to The Captain's Table (above the bar where I'd got stranded the other night) with Chanty, another crew member. Had a lovely steak - again, but drank a fair bit and I'd already had a head start on the others so felt a bit dodge on the way home. Don't actually remember going to bed... and was booked on another shark trip at 7am!


Saturday 3rd July: Funnily enough I struggled to get up this morning (and without the aid of my radiator too, thanks Richard!), but somehow made it out on the boat. Think Chanty was a bit delicate too, but she covered it well. Felt quite sad that it was my last trip and the minute we reached Seal Island a thick blanket of fog fell over us and I completely lost my bearings (I've just proof-read this and I'd missed the 'b' off bearings, hahahahaaaaaa! My earrings are still intact!). We still managed to see 4 sharks breaching on the seal decoys off the back of the boat though, and it was amazing - the last one really made me jump. I'd been trying to get a picture and was poised with my camera each time, but they made me jump every single time and I ended up with a frame full of foggy sky! I'll just use Chris's! I was too cold to go in the cage today - the thought of stripping off (to my cossie) and putting on a damp wetsuit scared me off, and it seemed to be a bit quiet for sharks around the boat today. Still managed to eat an apple or two on the top deck anyway and got a cracking view from up there again - once the fog had cleared.

Thursday 1 July 2010

SHARK!

I'm back in the Italian restaurant/internet cafe-type place with the Gypsy Kings on in the background and a South African man sitting behind me trying to sing along to Volare (and not making a very good job of it - and I'm dying to turn round and see what he looks like...). So let me fill you in on the last couple of days...


Wednesday 30th June: Well, I had an interesting evening in Simon's Town last night... After I left the internet 'cafe' (restaurant) I realised it was dark outside and I didn't have a clue (or a map) how to get home to my apartment. I tried calling Georgie who'd dropped me into town, but she wasn't answering so I assumed she didn't work after dark. The local Information desk was closed, so I asked at a local restaurant - the waitress was so helpful and tried to order me a taxi with 2 different companies, both of which weren't working on a Tuesday... When I'd checked into the apartment, Richard the owner showed me some steps which start from the top of the apartment road and would take me straight down the hill into town. The trouble is, I couldn't work out where they started - and it was dark! Plus the fact that there are about 4 or 5 sets of steps going up the hill, but none of them known by the same name as the ones coming down the hill. And all of them in pitch darkness. A tad awkward and even though everyone said it would be safe to walk, I think it was myself I didn't trust in the circumstances (being a bit on the clumsy side). So I spent about half an hour wandering past the bottom of the different steps deciding which one to pick, until I stumbled (almost literally) across a tramp sitting at the bottom of Rectory Lane. I thought I'd ask if he knew the way and with that he pointed up the hill and muttered something incomprehensible, at which point I decided to walk in the opposite direction. Further up the road I stumbled (again - see, clumsy) across a pub so I wandered in and asked the barman if he knew of any taxis - but he gave me the same numbers as the waitress, so apparently there are only two taxis (and Georgie) in Simon's Town and neither of them work on a Wednesday. Obviously not a hotbed of action around here. Anyway, whilst in the pub telling the barman, Alan, of my dilemma, I got chatting to a couple of old american sailors ("oh hello" I hear you thinking, but they were OLD, had lots of facial hair and were smoking the biggest fattest cigars I've ever seen! Now I know all the nice girls love a sailor, but you wouldn't go there, believe me). Anyway, they told me they had copious amounts of Rand that they had to spend before leaving town tomorrow so they offered to buy me a drink. I was just waiting to hear if Alan the barman had found a taxi for me and the minute he said "20 minutes" a large glass of white wine arrived in front of me - what a service. My mum just happened to call me whilst in the middle of my dilemma (with getting home, not with the sailors) so I had a quick chat and checked in, making sure she knew I was safe (except I wasn't really sure if I was at that point!). Watched a bit of the Spain v Portugal game, had another glass of wine as the driver hadn't shown up and had a good chat with Gary and Peter, the sailors - Peter reminded me a bit of Richard Dreyfuss's character in Jaws, which I thought was quite fitting in the circumstances. Anyway, the taxi never showed up, so Alan asked Adam, the local elecrician (apparently there's only one of those here as well) to drive me home. So he did! He didn't want any money, so I said I'd buy him a drink when I see him next... bless him. So eventually I made it home - about 2 hours after I'd intended to get there - and I never did find those bloody steps!


Anyway, back to Wednesday... I'd set my alarm on my phone for 6.10am to make sure I had enough time to get everything sorted for my shark trip, but strangely enough I was woken up by a knock on my bedroom door around the same time. Unbelievable the service you get from Vodafone these days isn't it! I was a bit baffled, then realised Richard from next door had let himself in to give me a wake up call, hahahahaaaaa! He was giving me a lift to the harbour for the shark trip so he wanted to make sure I was up. I did wonder where I was for a minute though... so I met all the crew at the harbour and we set off at 7am for Seal Island in False Bay, where the great whites hunt the seals. I sat at the top of the boat, almost froze to death, but it meant I had the best view and, lo and behold, I spotted the first shark - HURRAAHAHHHHHH! I just caught its tail going into the water, but it then flew clean out again and breached right in front of us - and everyone saw it as I'd shouted "SHARK AT 11 O'CLOCK!" (like a true pro), which is what we were told to do. Unbelievable. Then we towed a decoy seal about 8m behind the boat and were told to keep our eyes on it. And we saw a great white jump clean out of the water with the decoy in its mouth - it only lasted about a second, but seemed like slow-motion. It was fantastic, exactly what I'd come here to see. I was debating whether or not to go into the cage, only because it was so bloody cold! - but I went in last with Vince, the only other English person on board and a Crewe Alexandra fan (the first one I've ever met). Once I'd got my wetsuit on - about 20 mins and lots of pulling later - we jumped in and shared the cage. The crew on the boat would shout out when to duck under the water (holding our breath rather than using a snorkel) and which direction the shark was coming from and we ended up seeing about 2 or 3 different sharks and some amazing sights. The most memorable was a huge female shark, about 3.5m long, who cruised past the cage a number of times, looking straight at us. She approached us head-on a few times as well and I had to keep stepping back in the cage as it looked like she wouldn't stop! A great first trip - can't wait for the next 4... After we'd got back to the harbour I popped into the shark shop for a hot chocolate with Renee. I decided to stay put in Simon's Town 'til the end of my trip, rather than go back up to Cape Town. Mainly because I can't be bothered to pack and unpack again and it will save me some money. The apartment is so nice I'd be silly not to stay on, and I'm on a mission to find the missing steps before I leave town. I went for a bite to eat at the Meeting Place cafe and wrote a few postcards for the old folk at home who don't have computers! Then I decided to head back home whilst it was still daylight. I decided on the Alfred Street steps, which ended up being about 200-strong and at an incline similar to the Droveway in Hove. They weren't the right steps, but I somehow made it home to the apartment. I'll try a different set tomorrow... Managed to blow a fuse in the apartment last night and typical that it was the one connected to the TV so I had an entertainment-less evening and ended up falling asleep on the sofa at 9.30am whilst reading my FourFourTwo. A long day, but a fab one!

Thursday 1st July: Where did June go? Got up at 6.10am again (although it was my phone waking me up rather than Richard's knocking this morning). Felt a bit sicky on the boat today, so decided against going in the cage and stayed up on the top of the boat spotting instead. And what a day of spotting - saw 9 different sharks today, including Cruella, who's notorious in these parts as she's got attitude. Took some great pics - well I think I did, but it was too bright to see them on the boat. Once I've worked out how to upload them to my blog I'll stick them on for all to see. Had a chat with a few of the crew who all know their stuff so it was really interesting listening to all their stories. So a different day to yesterday, but another fantastic one - even though I missed the shark breaching by the boat this morning! And now I'm back in the internet cafe/restaurant, swaying and wondering if people can see that I'm swaying. Right, I've got another set of steps to find... I'll keep you posted.