Touch down in Cape Town

We’ve been here for nearly a week now and are happy to report that we love our new city! Cape Town is a beautiful, cosmopolitan city, and I really think that we are going to like living here.

We landed on Thursday morning and used some hotel points from my consultant days to check into a Westin. It’s probably not the best place to get exposure to real Cape Town culture, but it was an extremely comfortable landing pad for jet-lag recovery and getting oriented with the city…which we REALLY needed after 3 days of traveling and the luggage catastrophe at Heathrow (we are still waiting for our bags and discovered that, in the frantic moments of unpacking and repacking our bags at the airport, we managed to leave some really important items in our shipped bags and both ended up with a bizarre hodgepodge of clothes…this has resulted in some very “creative” outfits).

After a solid 24 hours of hibernation/recuperation in the hotel, we emerged into the light of day and began exploring the city. Since then we’ve been doing some of the typical touristy outings, while also checking out potential neighborhoods and getting to know the city. Some of the highlights have included: hiking atop Table Mountain (stunning 360 views of Cape Town, anyone?), late afternoon lunch in the BEAUTIFUL seaside neighborhood of Camps Bay (prettier than Malibu), and our excursion to the Cape of Good Hope (where else can you see views of two oceans, an ostrich, a baby penguin and a baboon in the span of 15 minutes?).

I also should report that we feel MUCH safer in Cape Town than we thought we would. Quite to the contrary of what we’d heard from some people before we left, there are NOT gangs of thugs roaming the streets of downtown Cape Town attacking innocent bystanders at random. What we did see, however, during our first day wandering through the city were families picnicking on the grass at Green Point, couples enjoying lunch at outdoor cafes, and moms riding bikes with their kids on the promenade. I felt a little silly for being so nervous when we left the hotel earlier that day. Sure, South Africa has a high crime rate, and yes we are still being careful and using a healthy dose of caution, but we are both relieved that the safety situation in Cape Town is not nearly as dire as the typical American perception.

-Julia

From Africa 2010

Our beautiful new city!

From Africa 2010

Stunning views from Table Mountain in a crystal clear day!

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Taking a breather from our hike

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The top of table mountain really is quite flat

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Camps Bay

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Self explanatory

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Cape of Good Hope

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Chris and our tiny rental car. We only drove on the wrong side two times that day...

From Africa 2010

Baboons!

From Africa 2010

This baboon decided that our car was the place to hang out..for quite a while actually

Click here to check out the full highlight reel from our first week in Cape Town.

In transit: 3 days, 3 continents and luggage drama at Heathrow

It took us 3 days to get to Cape Town. First we flew from Oregon to London, had a 36 hour layover and then continued on to Cape Town direct from London.

Our trip from Oregon to London was seamless. We flew standby on Continental, and made all of our flights. Chris’ mom works for Continental, and generously offered us the use of her companion/vacation passes. She also flew with us on the second leg of our journey to make sure that we made the flights and to see us off on our big adventure to Africa (Chris and Mary Pat got bumped up to first class, and I joined them in the front of the plane about halfway through the trip…Continental flight attendants are the best!!!).

We were all super tired when we got to London, but it was great to see Chris’ mom, and they extra day of jet lag recovery before our long flight to South Africa was a life-saver. Our hotel was in Windsor, so while we didn’t actually stay in the city of London, we did enjoy a relaxing afternoon in Windsor. The following morning we said goodbye to Mary Pat and headed to the airport.

That’s when things stopped going so smoothly, and all hell broke loose. To add some context to the story, take a close look at the following photo taken at PDX:

From Pre-africa departure (CA and OR)

We have a LOT of luggage. Granted we packed for a year, and needed to bring a combination of work attire, travel gear, etc. But still, it’s a lot of stuff…even for me (which is saying something).

We got to the South African Airways check-in desk and were informed that we were only allowed 20 kg of check luggage and 8 kg of hand luggage per customer. We had significantly more than that (like another 30 kg each).

Uh-oh. So we just need to pay a moderate extra baggage charge, right? Not the end of the world.

In my dreams. It turns out that South African Airways charges £36 per kilo (over $3,000 to for the excess baggage). Uh-oh. That’s a LOT of days of safari. Attempting not to panic, we explained that we were moving from the US, and were completely unaware that their baggage allowances were so restrictive. We actually tried to research this BEFORE we bought the tickets, and were under the impression that we would be allowed 2 bags each, which is typical for an international long-haul flight. This was actually one of our reasons for buying these specific tickets, so you can probably understand our frustration when we were totally stonewalled by the SAA employees. They were merciless.

They did, however, inform us that there was a baggage scale around the corner and a shipping service downstairs. At this point, we only had an hour before the flight was set to close, so we lugged our bags around the corner, and proceeded to unpack and repack EVERYTHING in a panicked mad-dash. Then we raced to the baggage shipping office with our tornado of luggage chaos (effectively scaring the crap out of the poor polish dude working there). The luggage shipping service was less expensive than the additional luggage charge, but it was not cheap. I’m 95% certain that SAA is in cahoots with the shipping company. The check-in agent was just a little too quick to suggest the shipping company as a solution. I’m still angry about this and am launching my own personal boycott of South African Airlines. Ha! Take that!

While the luggage debacle wasn’t the ideal first impression of South Africa, things quickly changed when we arrived safely in Cape Town on day 3. The city is amazing, and all of the people have been incredibly warm and friendly. Stay tuned for the next installment of our stories from South Africa…

-Julia

From Pre-africa departure (CA and OR)

Obligatory England phone booth photo

From Pre-africa departure (CA and OR)

Chris with Mary Pat on our walk in Windsor

From Pre-africa departure (CA and OR)

Windsor Castle!

Oregon: relaxed rainy days and a little firearms training with Uncle Chuck

After 2 weeks of packing up our apartment in SF, preparing to move to South Africa and saying goodbye, Chris and I headed up to Oregon to spend a few days with my family before launching off on our big journey together.

It was great to have some time to relax and decompress before our departure...and Oregon is the perfect place for a little chill-out time.

One of the highlights of our visit to Oregon was learning to "shoot stuff" with my Uncle Chuck. Neither Chris nor I have ever fired a gun before, and when my uncle found that out, he offered a firearms tutorial before our departure...you know, just in case we get charged by a lion (very unlikely), happen to be armed (even more unlikely) and need to defend ourselves. Chris was a natural and hit the targets 50% of the time. Me...not so much. The kickback on the shotgun definitely took me by surprise, and I was only slightly better with a rifle. Hmmm...I'll probably leave the shooting up to more experienced marksmen.

We also had a great time visiting with my Aunt Cheryl, Aunt Rachael and Uncle Norm in Salem. And with Uncle Reid and Tio Miguel in Portland.

Thanks so much to my mom and dad for hosting us in Oregon and for giving us a wonderful farewell! We'll miss you guys so much!

-Julia

From Pre-africa departure (CA and OR)

Beautiful Oregon!

From Pre-africa departure (CA and OR)

Hanging out by the river with uncle Chuck

From Pre-africa departure (CA and OR)

Saying goodbye to mom

The only thing worse than a bee in your bonnet is a bee in your wetsuit

After Tayrona I decided to spend a few more days in Taganga before moving on. It was tough to muster the motivation to leave the hotel's inviting hammock patio, and I'd met a fun group of travelers in there.

When I returned to Taganga, I met Monique, an Aussie traveler who was also PADI certified and interested in checking out the diving in Taganga. We did a couple of fun dives with one of the local dive operators. The dives themselves were nice and he visibility was good (I saw seahorses for the first time!), but the water was 21-22 degrees Celsius (which for those of you who work in Fahrenheit, equates to DAMN cold). By the end of the second dive, I was ready to swear off non-tropical dive excursions for the rest of my life.

I also had a little altercation with a bee who found his way into my wetsuit during our surface interval. Not fun. Luckily, the little addition to my dive gear was a harmless little sweat bee and not a wasp or yellow jacket.

From Colombia 2009

Taganga from inside a taxi

From Colombia 2009

Sunday at the beach

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Chris and Alex, a super-cool Canadian couple I met at Casa de Felipe

From Colombia 2009

My dive partner, Monique

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Working on my tan

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Sunset over Taganga

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The patio

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The greatest idea ever, you get to hang out with your friends and never have to get out of the hammock!

From Colombia 2009

See what I mean about hard to leave?

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More Casa de Felipe

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Monique, enjoying a post-dive beverage

Tayrona National Park

From the moment that I arrived in Taganga, I've been hearing about Tayrona National Park. Originally, I wanted to visit the park as a day trip from Taganga, but after talking with some other folks at the hostel, I learned that the process of getting to the park was (of course) more complicated and time consuming than I had anticipated. Since it was going to be a project to get to Tayrona, I figured it would be worthwhile to stay overnight (I should have know that getting to an obscure Colombian national park would be would not be simple, but hey I've been off the trail for a year now, so I'm a little rusty.)

Two travellers from the hostel, Sean and Christian were going to the park as well, so we headed off together in search of some of Colombia's finest beaches. After an hour in a taxi, 15 minutes by jeep and 2 hours of sloshing through a muddy jungle path, we arrived at the Finca El Cabo San Juan camp-site in the park. The stories proved true, Tayrona's beaches were fantastic.

Close your eyes and imagine long stretches of white sand beaches lined with palm trees. The waves gently lap the shore and a cool breeze ripples through the trees...that's Tayrona national park. The park is one of those perfect places to do absolutely nothing. Options include (but are not limited to) swimming, chilling on the beach with a good book, hiking on trails through the jungle, or napping in the hammock. I did all four. :-)

Other than Sean and Christian I also spent time in the park with Marcello and Katherine, an Italian-American couple I met there. Katherine and Marcello were really cool, and talking with them provided me with the opportunity to practice my Italian (which has basically been in hibernation since I graduated from college). Perhaps it was he handful of days in Taganga speaking Spanish that wrestled the language skills out from the far corners of my mind, but I was able to slip back into basic conversational Italian with relative ease. AND (this is the really important part)...I was also able to switch back to Spanish without lapsing into my "Spantaliano" hybrid for several days (which is what normally happens when I do a lot of switching between English, Spanish and Italian).

After the ordeal of getting to the park, I was keen to find an alternative (i.e. faster) route back to Taganga. Supposedly, when the sea is clam, a small boat makes the trip between Tayrona and Taganga. Katherine and Marcello also wanted to try the boat, so after breakfast on day two, we sat on the beach and waited for the "lancha" (small motorboat)to arrive from Taganga and take passengers back. Eventually a boat with about 12 seasick looking backpackers approached the beach. The waves were large, so when the boat was 20 feet from the shore, people started to bail overboard and swim ashore. Everyone from he boat kissed the sand and then either proceeded to get sick in the bushes, or started crying and hugging their fellow passengers. Hmmmmm, perhaps the sea is a little rougher than I thought. Suddenly the long route through the jungle was sounding pretty nice. Four hours, a jungle hike with a horse, a pickup truck and two mini-bus rides later, I was back in Taganga at La Casa de Felipe...in the hammock watching the sun set over the Caribbean.

From Colombia 2009

Jeep to Tayrona

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The hike through the jungle begins...

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Christian leaping across a mud pit during the hike

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Orange juicer in the middle of the jungle, just in case you have a hankering for some OJ during your hike and came prepared with a bag of oranges

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Arriving at the beach with Sean

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Heron at Arrecifes beach

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Views from the walk to the camp-site

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Home, sweet, home for the night (my first full night in a hammock...they are definitely not made for tall people)

From Colombia 2009

Moonlight on the beach

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Finca El Cabo San Juan

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Hanging out on one of the beautiful beaches

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Afternoon clouds roll in

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The scene at the boat arrival

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Walking back with Marcello and Katherine

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Hiking along the beach

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Palms

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:-)

Julia's Adventures in Big, Bad Colombia

I've decided to take a mini excursion to Colombia. I have the unique opportunity of taking a few weeks off and decided to get my travel fix before returning to the grind (or "back to the salt mine" as my dad would say). I picked Colombia because I heard travelers raving about it non-stop when I was in Central America in 2007.

Naturally, I did my homework on the safety aspect and will be vigilant about avoiding any regions still experiencing socio-political instability (fortunately it sounds like most of the trouble spots are regionally isolated). I promise not go go wandering off into the jungle by myself, and (yes, mom) I promise to be careful.

I arrived in Bogotá late on Monday evening for one night before heading up to the Caribbean coast. Before I left San Francisco, I'd been experiencing side effects from my Yellow Fever vaccination. That combined with the extreme change in altitude (Bogotá sits at 2600 meters) made for probably one of the most miserable nights I've had in a while (I will spare you the details, but it was not pretty). This wasn't the ideal way to start out in Colombia, but you just have to roll with the punches.

After my one night in Bogotá, I headed back to the airport, jumped on a flight to Santa Marta and then continued on to the fishing village of Taganga (on the Caribbean coast, close to Venezuela). The whole deal was fairly seamless and I landed in a great hostel (La Casa de Felipe) in Taganga.

Colombia is nothing like the picture painted by the foreign media during the late 1990s. Contrary to popular belief, Pablo Escobar-types are not lurking around every turn and masked guerrilla fighters do not roam the streets snatching up blond, American tourists. What has struck me, however, is the kindness of almost every Colombian I've met. People have been so warm, welcoming and eager to help visitors (similar to the vibe I experienced this in the Philippines).

For example...on the plane to Santa Marta, I asked the passenger to my left about the approximate price of a taxi from Santa Marta to Taganga (I like to do this when I land in a new place so I have a target in mind before I enter the cab-driver gauntlet). Most of the time, this question results in a short exchange, and then I go about my own business getting a taxi. In this case, however, my neighbor waited for me to retrieve my luggage, then personally helped me talk with the drivers waiting at the airport so I was sure to get an honest taxi and a fair price. I've already had several experiences like this during my few short days in Colombia, which makes me think I will like it here...

From Colombia 2009

Bogotá airport: you can hardly see this in the photo, but the sign says "the only risk is wanting to stay"

From Colombia 2009

Taxi to Taganga

From Colombia 2009

Making dinner with some fellow travelers at Casa de Felipe

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My room at Casa de Felipe

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The chill-out hammock patio (I think there are 2 hammocks for every 1 person staying here)

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Taganga town

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Hiking to the beaches with Jo and Alec

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"Playa Grande" - worth the hike!

From Colombia 2009

Taganga