South Africa

Our first two weeks in Cape Town have given us a much needed break from our travels. We have been constantly moving up to this point, so it was nice to have the time to unpack our belongings before moving on. We are staying in a nice little cottage attached to a B&B in the fishing village of Hout Bay. It is a scenic area with the majestic Table Mountain outside our front door, and the beach only minutes away. After a few days of R&R by the pool, we dove in and started making the rounds of tourist attractions. We started off with Kirstenboch Botanical Gardens. Located at the base of Table Mountain it offers spectacular views and hikes directly from the gardens to the mountain summit. Our next trip was to Simon’s Town and the Penguin colony located just south of the town. It is one of two natural penguin colonies located in the Cape, and you can walk down the bridge finding yourself only a few feet from the tiny little African Jackass penguins in their natural habitat. They are so cute! We also took a trip to the Two Oceans Aquarium downtown and looked at the sharks, sting rays, and giant turtles. The sharks would come right up to the glass and stare at you with their cold eyes; wouldn’t want to run into him in the water. The beaches here are lovely, and there are several to choose from, but the Atlantic Ocean is too cold to swim in this far south.
Culturally we have found South Africa to be pretty similar to home. You can find all the same foods that you would at home (even Mexican!) and the grocery stores look just like the ones at home. Of course, right when you convince yourself that you could be in California, you drive past a township or see a sign warning you not to feed the baboons. Things here are much cheaper than at home though. We went to see a movie at the theater for only $3.50! People here are very friendly, and when they hear our accents they will spend 20 minutes asking you about your travels and offering suggestions of sights, restaurants, beaches and shops for you to explore during your stay. There is still a lot to see here, and we are looking to our next two weeks in Africa.

South Africa

...the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

We arrived in Morroco with some trepidation. We weren't really sure what to expect, since the only information that I had about Morocco came from the movie Casablanca. We were pleasantly surprised by our first hotel; and had the good fortune to meet another American couple. They had made arrangements to rent a car, and they kindly invited us to join them on a trip down the coast. Not looking forward to the 11 hour bus ride that were had planned, we scrapped our plans and decided to hit the road with Ken and May Beth. The scenic journey down the coast was more than we hoped for. I had no idea that Morocco had such q dramatic coastline. Wide sandy beaches gave way to sharp cliffs pummled with gigantic waves. The small towns that we stopped in along the way were so quaint. The people were friendly and welcoming, the local food was cheap and delicious. Ken and May Beth travelled the area 30 years ago, and offered great information about the local history and culture, and a perspective for how things have changed. We travelled with them for three days ending at the beach resort of Agadir. There we split ways, as Ken and May Beth headed south and we headed into the desert of Marrakesh.
Marrakesh is a unique experience and probably is the closest thing to the steroetypical Moroccan image. Our hotel was located in the Ancient Medina that is the heart of the old city. Narrow winding alleys zig zag within the medina walls creating a huge maze that you can wander through for hours. Shops selling everything from traditional Moroccan clothing to luggage and spices line the way, and vondors call out to you in French as you walk past trying to lure you into their store. The goods are cheap and many are made from hand. It is a shoppers paradise, and if I had more money and luggage space I could have purchased a new wardrobe. When you reach the main square of the medina the action really starts. Vendors selling fresh sqeezed orange juice fight for space with snake charmers, henna artists, and monkeys. The only thing to do is find q cafe with a rooftop patio and take it all in from a comfortable distance.
Now we are back to the relative calm of Casablanca, a bustling city in it's own right, but an industrial center rather than a tourist hub. We will take a day to relax and try to ship some of our purchases home (we have tried repeatedly but the poste office never seems to be open) before heading off to the warm shores of Cape Town.

Morocco

Dahab and the Sinai Peninsula

So, I am a little behind on blogging, but I couldn't move on to Morocco without talking about Dahab. Speaking for myself, Dahab was my favorite city in Egypt. The hustle and bustle of Cairo was thrilling, and the monuments of Luxor awe-inspiring, but there was something about Dahab that made you feel at ease. The town is small, a backpackers village up the coast from the more popular Sharm-el-Sheik, but the veiw is everybit as lovely as those offered at the five star resorts. Each morning we ate breakfast looking over the Red Sea to the mountainous coastline of Saudi Arabia with the wind in our hair and the restaurant kitty in our lap. We rented snorkel gear and explored the two reefs located just off the shore and were amazed by the underwater world. Neither of us were experience snorkelers, but we got a few hours in following schools of fish through the water to the reef just a few feet below the water's surface. We only had two short days there before our flight, but I hope someday to return there so that we can spend more time diving and get a chance to climb Mt. Sinai. Next trip...

Dahab