Monday August 3 to Sunday August 9, 2015 - South Africa Week 3

This is week three but only my second full week in South Africa. Unfortunately my trip is only 3.5 weeks due to travel times and it is going by so fast I kind of hate it. On Monday we currently don’t have a group in the morning spot so we did a little surfing and went to work on cleaning up the garden out back before the Lotus River kids arrive in the afternoon. On Tuesday our morning group canceled last minute so we did some more garden work and cleared out a lot of the overgrowth that was in the back. The goal is to turn the area into an outdoor space that can be used for a variety of activities.

In case you don't know how to get on and off a train, the Cape Town Metro posts signs explaining how it should be done.

The Capricorn Township (I have been saying Orion Township in error) come Tuesday afternoon but the water is really flat and the air cold so we mostly play on the beach with them. They don’t want to go in the water, at least until they got down there and started to strip down to their underwear. Bet they were wishing they put on the wet suits. The kids are cool and run around picking up muscles from the beach so they can take them home to eat. They gather them up and Chrisjan gets a bunch of bags for them to carry them in, or more for Chrisjan and I to carry them in since some of the bags weigh almost as much as they do. But they are super excited to take them home, probably not half as much as their parents were.

Wednesday morning we get the girls from the detention center again and they are very excited to be there and in the afternoon the Lotus River kids are back, this time there are enough boards so I go out surfing with them and actually stand up on the board three times! I largely just sink once I stand up but I’m actually standing on the board instead of immediately falling off.

The surf at Muizenberg Beach
 Thursday we get the guys from the adult rehab institute again in the morning and while surfing with them I don’t actually stand but suddenly I do seem to be able to get more momentum and speed on the waves. I am on the edge of standing up and so close but not quite there yet. Unfortunately the Capricorn Township kids cannot come over in the afternoon due to another building project, or something, so in the afternoon I go over to a local bar with Chrisjan and a partner in the space, George, and talk about the project and the space over a few beers. Should I not find a job when I get back they actually offered me a couch and the opportunity to come back and work with them if I want. I have to say that the idea is very tempting as I have grown to really like Muizenberg.

Friday is generally an off day for us right now so I go out and surf hard for an hour and a half. The waves are good and I finally managed to both stand and ride a wave a couple of times! Not all that far but far enough that I can honestly say I was surfing. It is totally awesome and at the same totally sucks as I only have a few days left before moving on to Peru. I feel like I am just hitting my stride here and once again, I am moving on. If I had not already times out things beyond Cape Town I would totally extend my time here in a heartbeat. But I still have a few more days here and I am going to make the most of it while I can. Monday is a holiday and everything is shut down which just leaves Tuesday and possibly Wednesday morning to surf a few more times.

Over the weekend I have planned on going to Robben Island and Saturday take the train into Cape Town for an 11:00 tour. Then I felt really stupid as I get to the gate and they tell me my ticket is for Sunday! Smooth. But that is OK, I have time now to explore a little bit of the city and go to the stalls at Green Market Square and the District Six Museum.

Main floor of the District Six Museum which must be in an old church. The floor is a map of the neighborhood with the old streets and landmarks.

Green Market Square is another bazar space where they sell all sorts of stuff and I am totally not prepared for it. They see me coming before I even get out of the cab and I end up blowing most of my money before I have seen 5 stalls. I try and walk around a little bit more but I am very bad at this and decide I need to get out of there before I start spending money I don’t have in my wallet. So I head on over the District Six Museum which chronicles the areas of the city where the minorities lived before being forcibly removed in the late 1960’s. A big section of the city was “colored” at one time but as real estate became more valuable, the government of South Africa passed laws saying they could not own property and labeled the area for whites only and forced everybody out of that part of the city over a few years.

Sunday I returned to Robben Island and actually got my tour in. The tour was cool but not quite what I had been expecting but I’ll cover that more in a different posting.