Lost in Translation

So...do you want the good news or the bad news?  The good news is that we are all alive and well on the eastern coast of South Africa.  I'm going to stay with the good news here for a little bit...save the bad news for later as to be dramatic.  Yesterday was our last day in the Cape and it couldn't have been lovelier.  The weather was nice and warm...not hot like it has been.  We took a trip back over the garden route to Simons Town for a fun little tour of a rock factory.  Jake is obsessed with gems, minerals and rocks so this place was a dream come true for him.  We toured the area where they had loads of huge rock tumblers...very intense and very hot!  Afterwards, kids could go pick from gobs of polished rocks that were spread all over the ground.  Jake was a maniac!  He wanted all of them but we had him stop at two bags...yay for us (we get to carry those around the rest of the trip)!!!  

It was time to head over to the north side of the peninsula...cuz it needed to be explored.  We made it over to Muizenberg where there is a super cool beach lined with colorful huts from back in the day.  Since we were so fried from the day before I didn't think to pack suits cuz I didn't think the kids would want to swim.  I can be dense sometimes.  Once they felt the warm Indian ocean there was no stopping them from getting in.  We had to get creative with their swimwear....but I assured them that at least half of the people there were swimming in their undies (or what look an awful lot like undies)...so they went for it!  Good times were had by all!

We left early this morning and hopped on a plane to Durban (about a 2 hour plane ride).  Durban is beautiful...not as impressive as Cape Town but beautiful just the same.  It's SUPER green with rolling hills...a lot greener than I thought Africa would be.  Though as it should be, for we are still on the coast where things are nice and moist!  It was a three hour drive to the Safari and what a drive it was!!!  We laughed... cried..and screamed in fear for our lives!!!  It tears at my heart strings to see the townships and the poverty...very humbling to have so much when so many others have so little.  The kids couldn't believe it...it just wouldn't compute for them for the longest time.  We had to stop in one of the cities for some food...it didn't look too sketchy from the exit but once we were in the shopping area we noticed that it was crawling with security and men carrying large weapons.  It was the first time I felt unsafe since we arrived.  Once we got out of the cities it was more of the Africa that Dave remembered...very similar to the villages that he served in.  The villages dot the hills...small homes and huts clumped together.  Some homes are painted in the most festive colors...turquoise, pink, orange...super fun!  I wish I had pics but it never felt safe to pull over...but I will find some soon and post them.

South African driving rules are that there are no rules!  If it looks like a two lane road, don't worry because it isn't.  There's a thing called shoulders that we are forbidden to use in the States (unless we beak down) BUT here in Africa it's a freebie lane!  BEST THING EVER!!!  The only problem is that a shoulder on the highway is also a sidewalk.  KIDS...little kids...walk home from school (in their adorable uniforms) on the highway. I wanted to yell...Does your mother know you're walking on the highway?  But half the time their mother was with them...crazy!  I really want to know why so many people walk on the highway...I'm going to get the answer before I leave.  People are not the only danger on the roads...there are no fences so cows and other livestock just walk on out like it's no big deal.  What a crazy, awesome place this is!

So we make it to Hlu Hluwea (sounds like shlew shlewy).  Dave goes up to check in.  We see a warthog and some cute deer looking things.  Dave comes back to the car...so bummed!  We are not staying in the park...since we booked our tour with a company it was not in the package.  Needless to say some details got lost in translation.  We had not told our kids about the safari plans up to that point so basically it was only Dave and I who were disappointed.  Once we got to our new digs and told them what we were doing the next few days they were really excited.  So don't feel sorry for them one bit...just us old people:(  boo hoo! So...that's our drama.  Oh wait..there's more fiasco where that came from.  One of our bags got left somewhere...don't know where yet.  It contained a math book, all of Jakes homework and Emily's camera.  So we came out with two cameras and two phones with cameras.  My phone and one camera died in a beach accident and now Emily's camera is gone!!!  Sigh.  Any-who...pray for Dave's camera phone...that it will continue to survive the rest of the journey.

Every day continues to be an adventure!  I am loving it here...love all the crazy, fun characters we have met along the way.  The people here are a hoot!  One last thing...I have so much more to tell but am too tired and don't want to assume people will stick around for six whole paragraphs! The place we are staying is called St. Lucia...very tropical but not an island.  It is surrounded by several parks and some wetlands.  There are elephants and rhinos and hippos that roam nearby (the next best thing to staying IN the park i guess).  Hippos in the neighborhood and we saw one tonite just up the street.  HUGE!  Could definitely eat us if it wanted to.  We were keeping a safe distance when along came a group of inebriated men.  They were loud and not paying attention until they were pretty close to the hippo...one of them noticed and boy did that sober them up.  They were practically jumping into our arms!!!  It was nice to be the ones laughing for once:)  Until tomorrow!  Cheers!

Jake and the biggest geode ever!!!

Okay...this pic doesn't do the size of this hippo justice!

Shark flags line the beaches of SA...this sign explains what each color means for that day.  Today was a black flag day meaning...you won't see the shark til it's too late!

The Scratch Pad...the floor is covered in polished rocks!

Me and my love at the love shacks:)

Muisenberg...love the cute and colorful beach huts!  They were once used as changing rooms back in the day.  Now they seem to be just for show.

Emily and Brooke in the common room of our mostly out of doors hotel.  The only doors are on our rooms...other than that it's all outside.  It's a mashup of Swiss Family Robinson and the Jungle Cruise.