...into the Wild...

It's been a hectic few days...lots of traveling. From Durban, we headed down the coast to a small town called Port St. John's. The bus only did drop-offs about an hour and a half from our backpackers, so we took public taxi the rest of the way, which is an adventure in itself. The drivers are crazy, there is nearly constant starting and stopping, but the people are friendly and it's faster than walking. :) Port St. John's is...different. It's very crowded and seems to be quite a poor area. Our backpacker was a ways out of town, almost right on the shore of the Indian Ocean. The first day there, we headed down to the beach to explore, walking along the beach and clambering through the rocks until it started to rain. We headed in for a delicious supper and to chat with a guy that we met a few days before at Amphitheatre (back in the Drakensberg). We got invited to go to a St. Patrick's Day party at another backpackers, leaving around "7:30 or 8ish, probably walking." At about 8 30, Brian (the guy) came running in to say that we had a ride if we could be ready in less than a minute. We raced out just in time and piled into the back of an old truck, with the top on the back and a muddy floor, meaning we had to crouch and hold onto whatever we could (there were 7 of us in the back), which was a bit of a feat, what with the bumpy roads and all. The party was amazing, only because of the spectacular live entertainment. A man named Tony Cox, apparently one of South Africa's guitarist elite, played for us for a couple of hours...and trust me, he was so worth the truck ride. He would have been worth a 4-hour truck ride. I've never in my life seen or heard anyone play guitar like he did. He pulled sounds out of that guitar that I didn't even know were possible and with ridiculous speed as well....Anyway, he was good. :) We walked home that night, four of us, past the solitary lights of shanties dotting the hills, past meandering cows wandering down the highways, the warm ocean breeze guiding us toward our destination. Apparently the walk was nearly an hour, but it seemed too short to me...The next couple days were spent laying on the beach and basically relaxing as much as possible. We ran into a bit of a crisis when we ran out of money, at which point we were penniless (literally, we had R1.15), all our clothes were dirty (still are), we had no food left, I hadn't showered in days, our cell phone and iPod's were all dead (and that was a bad thing...?) and no way to get into town. The day before we were meant to leave, someone had to go on a liquor run and Riley was lucky enough to catch a ride, so that was finally sorted and gave us a bit of breathing room. That last morning, we woke up to the sounds of the Irishman in one of the other beds yelling, "No! No! I didn't!" And a girl (they'd known each other for awhile) saying, "Yeah, you did." in a very unimpressed voice. Apparently the man (35+ years old) had had a bit too much to drink the night before (a post-St. Patty's Day party) and wet his bed...and the guy in the bunk below. Do you laugh? Or do you cry? lol, not sure about that one...Anyway, we caught the taxi back to the bus stopped and continued on the next leg of our journey, which was a stop in Port Elizabeth, which we didn't arrive in until nearly 11 at night. The place we stayed was...quaint, an old townhouse, much like my grandma and grandpa's actually, that had been transformed into a backpackers. That night, being the eve of my 18th birthday, I got a phone call from home singing me Happy Birthday. :) We went to sleep shortly after 12 and were up by 6 30 for more traveling. We managed to steal some bananas for breakfast and stayed outside singing and dancing on the street, waiting for the bus to come. (It was late...which would explain the singing and dancing...right?) That day we drove until we reached a town called Knysna (pronounced niiz-nah). We were picked up from the bus stop by the beach version of a mountain man (beard included) in a rickety old VW bug that had seen better days. Amidst rattles, bangs and minor explosions, we eventually made it to the backpackers. The place was beautiful, with steps leading straight onto the beach. We went on a beach stroll that afternoon, even though the weather was rather cold, collecting rocks and shells along the way. Supper was a braai and dessert was a couple of shooters, known as Springbokkies (my favourite) to celebrate my 18th. :) It's wierd to see the alcohol advertisements that say, 'Not for sale to those under the age of 18,' and realize that they no longer apply to me...We went to bed early that night, no partying for me :P and woke up early the next morning. We went for another walk on the beach, this time accompanied by the resident Jack Russels. At the appropriate time, we were whisked back to the bus stop in our VW chariot and headed out once more (this is getting to be a habit...). The mountain man's name was Barracus by the way, in case you were wondering...:P We are now in Wilderness, a beautiful little tourist town...sort of the African version of Canmore, AB. Miles of beach lay on our doorstep, cute little shops and restaurants are just down the road, an abandoned train track through a tunnel makes for a beautiful morning stroll I'm told. This afternoon we sampled the shops and I was treated to a manicure (part of my birthday present...my birthday has sort of been three days in the making...:D I know...spoiled...) and some cake. :) We bought a few more trinkets for our loved ones back home, then headed home to arrange some sky- and shark cage-diving before going down to walk the beach. Along the way, we chatted with a few fishermen, including one who caught a sand shark while we were watching. It was so neat to be there to see him bring it in and let us touch it; it was only about 2 1/2 feet, sort of like a cross between a shark and a sting ray. And, as if that wasn't a lovely enough day, we came home to our own personal pizzas made with 100% home ingredients in a wood-fired oven. Fantastic. And of course, a drink on the house because it was my birthday. ;) Tomorrow morning, I'm waking up to a sunrise walk along the train track and a hot stone massage...I. Am. In. Heaven. P.S. Family, if you're reading this, this is our next vacation spot. ;) Tomorrow it's off to Mossel Bay for some more...adrenaline-pumping activities. ;) Anyway, I've got to run, about to run out of internet time. Much love. :) xo