Tag Archives: South Africa

Decisions, Decisions

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Well, I certainly have had a lot of time to think about things, now that Ryan is getting over the surgery and I am getting over the stress of it all!

Seal Beach is a very cool area. Still laid back, lots of older houses that haven’t been torn down and replaced with MacMansions! The house is just two blocks to the beach and I have been walking along the sidewalk or along the beach at least once a day. The negative ions are doing me the world of good. It’s definitely a location worth looking at as a home base. Just about everything is within walking distance – grocery stores, banks, library, post office and Main Street has an eclectic collection of sidewalk cafes, stores, bars and full restaurants. It’s not the glitz of Newport Beach, still has the old beach town flavor which suits me fine.

When I spent the time with Cody and Mel in Apple Valley, I considered moving there, even went so far as to look at Spring Valley Lake, a nice area quite close to them. But the more I think about that, the more I know it wouldn’t fit me and what I want my life to look like. I just don’t think I am a suburban grandma!

For most of my life, I have done what other people wanted me to do – except my initial running away from South Africa when I was 18. But that was because I didn’t know how to handle the situation I was in, as I pretty much had no role models to learn from. That role model deficit followed me for a long time! So I have either run from situations or done what I thought was the right thing to do, which was pretty much always what other people thought I should be doing and not what my heart, intuition, gut was telling me.

But now it’s time to do what I know is right for me, regardless of what I am hearing from other sources about what I “should” do.

I love being close to the family here. That’s why Seal Beach is good – almost equidistant from the boys. One-two hours to get to either of them, or them to me. Close but not in their pockets! Whether I can afford to find a place here is another matter, but I have simplified my life so much that all I need is a small place. I do know I won’t go into an apartment in a complex. Here in SB, as in many other small beach areas, there are one-bedroom apartments over garages behind the main house. This would suit me fine. Or, if Betsy does decide to stick around and wants to share a place, I can do that.

Of course, for years I’ve talked about living somewhere other than the U.S., but my short stay in South Africa brought home the fact that moving to a foreign country as a single person is not an easy feat. Add the fact I am a woman and “mature!” makes it more difficult. It is a dream I have not given up on and who knows what the future holds for me. I just know that at this point in my life, I need to be here.

Of course, all this hinges on ecology coming through and I am ever-hopeful.

It also means I will not go back to South Africa to stay. The main reason being the boys and their proximity.

But a huge factor in my decsion is the fact that I can’t do the traveling I want to do there, due to the lack of safety in the country. I am too independent to live there and it is not a place for a single woman, regardless of age. If there was a companion or partner in the picture who was willing to travel and explore, I would think harder about being there. But I have to face the fact that on my own, those options are non-existent.

I will miss seeing that side of the family and my friends there. And I know how important  friends, especially girl friends are! And most of mine are in Washington, where I know I will never live again! If I am based in SB, I can visit there fairly inexpensively and the girls can visit me – which I know wouldn’t happen in South Africa.

So whether ecology comes through or not, somehow I will find the ways and means to stay here. On 23rd, two days before Betsy returns, I head up to Port Townsend where Susan has a place for me, as does Mardelle. Teresa has a small truck I can use for transportation so hopefully the weather will cooperate while I am there! But it’s Washington so….

And I will see my kitties!

Today, Ryan and I are going to have a BBQ with Cody and family for Mothers’ Day and am really looking forward to that. Such a blessing to be this close.

Snakes and Mileage

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How many times do you see this in your car?

300000km

Today the odometer turned over to 300,000km or 187,500 miles. Not bad for a 1991 VW! I didn’t have any champagne or would have poured it over the bonnet! But I did take the slow way, back roads to Howick from Ashburton, so that as the dial hit the big number, I could pull over without getting side swiped by a big rig, or “heavy,” as they are known here. So just outside Howick, I pulled onto the grassy verge and immortalized it.

It was good to go back to Ashburton for a few hours. The roofers were here at the B&B and were hellofa noisy! So grabbed my water bottle for a Kangen water refill, and headed down the hill. Mick was home and we had lunch together on the veranda.

Absolutely spectacular weather, it’s getting a little chilly now but the sun is gorgeous.

Just before I left, when I went out to get my iPad on the veranda, I saw that Gingi had caught something, and wouldn’t you know, it was a snake. I yelled for Mick who quickly picked it up with his bare hands! It was a Philothamnus semivariegatus – Spotted Bush Snake, a beautiful, brilliant emerald green with golden reddish brown eyes. It was very small and very slippery! Needless to say, I let Mick rescue him and put him out of harms way in the orange tree! As pretty as it was, I don’t do snakes!

Excitement on the (Horse) Farm

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Here I was, minding my own business on the veranda, enjoying the day, searching the internet for jobs, when I heard this funny noise coming from the aloe garden area. Got up and looked around the corner and there were 10 horses of various colors, grazing on the grass!

Well! I’m not a horse person but I knew I better keep them out of the vege garden before finding out who they belong to! I thought for sure someone would come calling from the road, but no!

I’m out there, trying to keep them from wandering into the garden in front, standing guard, never showing fear! They actually were very friendly, and very pretty! And thinking – what the hell am I going to do about this?

Hmm, I thought. I know the neighbors have a donkey but not horses! So I called Mick – no answer. Called Debbie – no answer. Texted Debbie – and a response. Oh joy! Find Bheki the gardener from next door and tell him the horses are out!

Great consternation over there. Which gate was left open? Who left the gate open? Why was the gate open?

So Bheki comes rushing over and starts shooing them out and they took off into the open field and galloped around with him chasing and waving his arms! Finally, they all headed for the wide-open gate (which no one knows how it was opened – or no one is saying) and they returned home.

Not really home. Mick says Van has various horses come daily to graze – so I guess it’s horsey day care!

A Funny Experience!

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I had a rather funny experience today!

Picture this: a car (fairly old, mine) the size of a Honda Civic or a bit smaller. Add 5 (five) yes 5 rather large black ladies, average weight 200 pounds! And you get a little putt putt car valiantly driving down a dirt road, me at the wheel, carefully avoiding any pot holes so we don’t bottom out! Ladies are shrieking with laughter, the three largest – probably close to 800 pounds combined, wedged into the back seat, I don’t know how! And two, plus me driving, in the front!

I had been up to Stocklands to get some decent pix of Evie and Roland, we went out to lunch and to visit Liesl, her daughter-in-law, and as I was leaving, which was quitting time for the ladies of the B&B, they simultaneously stuck out their thumbs! What could I do but stop and load them all in! Fortunately for me – and the car – it was a short distance (probably half a mile or so which they usually walk to and from work) to their bus stop, and mostly down hill!

Just wish I had had the time to take a picture – but I have it etched in my mind. What a hoot!

Bundu Bashing – In Search of Dioscorea Brownii

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valley

Looking out over the valley, the homes are visible, and also the old areas where the houses used to be.

The trip to the Buddhist Retreat was a lot of fun!

Debbie and I left the house around 7:30 for the 90km trip, allowing an hour and a half for all the slow moving trucks on the rural road. It’s a gorgeous drive, hilly with areas of natural bush, vast fields of sugar cane and smaller vegetable farms with rows and rows of cabbages and onions and what looked like some kind of lettuce. We crossed several bridges over muddy rivers and watched as birds soared overhead, with Debbie expertly identifying them!

We turned off the main road just before Ixopo, onto a muddy dirt road, and were grateful to be driving Mick’s bakkie – a Toyota 4×4 – as the road got pretty slippery. African houses dotted the sides of the roads and hillsides, and people were walking every which way. I assumed they were walking to work but as we hadn’t passed any towns or settlements, it would have to be Ixopo, 7k away! There were some taxis waiting on the side of the road as well.

The Retreat is a sprawling complex on beautiful grounds. Peaceful and serene as a retreat should be.

We were the first to arrive as people were coming from Pondoland, on the South Coast and from Durban and Pietermaritzburg, and there was a lot of traffic as the Dusi (a huge, international river kayaking event) was running.

grass

Grass seeds on a misty morning

After checking in at the office, Debbie and I and a couple of others headed out. Debbie had given me a picture of the plant we were looking for, the Dioscorea Brownii, but when you get out there, and the grasses are as high as your head, it’s difficult to distinguish one plant for another. Initially, we stayed on the trails, but to get a better look, we pushed through the veld, peering through tall flower-bearing plants, slipping and sliding on the slick grass. It was overcast and slightly misty, making everything soggy.

More of the group appeared and we ended up with about 10 avid botanists – three professionals and the rest of us amateurs! Of course, I was clueless, but the other volunteers obviously do this often and all knew each other, and were taking and comparing notes!

I took pictures!

There were wonderful stands of yellowwood trees, and walking with these people, I learned to shift my focus and find different plants, many of them almost hidden in the long grasses. The area is also a blue swallow zone. Debbie identified one, but I didn’t see it – mainly, I think, because I didn’t know what I was looking for! The swallow is listed as Vulnerable on the Endangered Species list.

tall-grass

"The weeds are as high as an elephant's eye."

We walked and looked for three and a half hours, at one time (by mistake) walking through tall, tall weeds. Our leader kept right, when we should have gone left, but as a guest along for the fun of it, I didn’t point it out to her, and by then we were so deep in the bush, it didn’t make sense to go back, so kept moving. We ended up climbing through a barbed wire fence and came out on a hilltop with spectacular views down the valley.

Houses and small farms dotted the hillsides, and you could see where the farming has depleted the soils, and they (the farmers) simply moved to another plot, “destroying the biodiversity” as ecologist Debbie said.

Debbie and I took a more leisurely walk back to the Retreat, both of us feeling the effects of the heat and prolonged exercise! If I did that kind of exercise every day…

Lunch was a wonderful lacto ovo vegetarian meal, with a delicious Malay bobotie made with lentils instead of beef, roasted veges, rice, caramelized onions, salad and homemade bread! We ate outside with a couple of the women who work at the retreat in the office. A beer would have gone well with it, but we were offered water instead!

It is a busy place, able to accommodate 45 people and they bring in specialized people to teach yoga etc. It would be a great place to go to de-stress for a few days, meditate under the trees or do walking meditations on the trails.

Coming home was a faster trip, with a lot less traffic. I was happy we didn’t go back out into the field with the diehards as I was beat! And after all that, the elusive Dioscorea Brownii (no common name) wasn’t sighted!

Hey Ho Silver Wheels

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silver fox

My "new" car, the Silver Fox, and that is Gremlin, my co-pilot on the roof

Wheels! Just picked up my “new” car* and am thrilled! Everything works, it drives well and it is quite amazing what good condition it is in.

I followed Mick home, as he he said he wanted to make sure “you drive on the left hand side of the road!” Thanks brother, dearest.

So though I don’t have any pressing needs to go anywhere, it is definitely a good feeling to be able to, and not have to rely on Mick or Debbie. I expect they are happy too!

Yesterday, I finally got to the beach at Winkelspruit with Graeme, my dear old friend who I grew up with. He lives in Johannesburg, and when he rang and said, “I’m coming to Durban, want to go to the beach?” of course I gave a resounding YES!

The water was clean and clear and warm!!! About 78F (25C) and although it was very choppy and no surfable waves, it just felt so good to get in. There were some bluebottles which I avoided, but one got Graeme but used the old remedy of Hottentot figs to soothe the sting. Brought back memories – one of my earliest – of when I was completely wrapped in the bluebottles and Mum slathered me with the hottentot fig juice and buried me in wet sand. hoping I wouldn’t go into shock from the stings. Obviously, she did the right thing, because I am still here!

There is a wonderful tidal salt water pool there. We had to wait for it to be filled, about an hour, but it has to be 25 yards or more long and if I lived close, would swim every day. It was clean and fresh and hardly anyone in it. It also brought home my desire to live really close to the beach, something that is always No. 1 on my list of where I want to live. The sound of the surf and the smell of the sea spray is what I want to wake up to every day.

The beach was cleaner, less rubbish, than when I was here three years ago, and I was also pleasantly surprised with how clean the public changing rooms were. Dilapidated, in dire need of maintenance, but they were spotless.

Had a great walk along the almost deserted beach and headed home to a lovely braai with Mick and Debbie.

That was a good day.

* For those who want to know: The car is a 1991 VW Fox with almost 300,000 km (187,000 miles) on it.

A Day Trip to Richmond

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the oaks

The Oaks, where we didn't have lunch

Saturday was a fun day. We took a day trip out to Richmond, about 40 minutes from here, to get some paperwork for Colleen (Bryan’s daughter) who is in a sheltered home. She is going over to see them in April and Mick is sorting things out for them.

It is a really pretty drive, picked Colleen up and went into the town for her passport pix. Richmond is a very “African” town. The streets filled with vendors selling mangos, onions, cabbages and clothes and heaven knows what else. The store fronts all dilapidated and many closed. I wanted to take pictures but was nervous about getting out with my big honking camera, way too obvious and wished I’d been able to buy the little Lumix before I left.

Anyway…

putt-putt

Putt putt course at The Oaks

Because Colleen gets out so little, we planned to take her to lunch. After a bit of a misdirection, we drove back through town and out the other side, into miles and miles of tree farms. Not much out there but wanted to go to Burne Valley where we thought we might find a cafe or pub.

When we got to The Oaks, we were too early for lunch but walked around a bit. A beautiful place that looked like it has been there for years. It has pool, tennis courts, putt putt, a couple of pubs and a restaurant and a lot of guest rooms around the grounds. It would be a lovely place to go for a few days of peace and tranquility.

It was misty, drizzly day so we didn’t wander too much and went back to the “village” of Burne Valley where we had seen a sign for Etterby’s which advertised itself as a tea garden. Walking in from the road, we were met by the proprietor, a little lady who has lived on the property almost all her life. We strolled down to the house, me expecting to see a cafe or something. Silly me! Her old house was it and she sent the maid off to get table and chairs, while she told us about the place. How the tree farms had destroyed the aquifers, that there used to me abundant water in the valley, and now there wasn’t and she  had to buy village water.

house

The classic old house with wrap around veranda

The house is classic, big wide veranda running around it. And the gardens! Oh what a pleasure. Old, established trees and bushes and flowers. On the veranda were starts of all sorts of plants. There was a Pride of India that must have been at least 40 feet tall.

The veranda was full of all sorts of stuff that she apologized for, saying she was storing it for a friend who was moving. All the while, her three dogs trailed after her wherever she went – a black and tan dachshund, an old staffie and little terrier of some sort who wanted to play.

pride-of-india

Pride of India tree that must be 40 feet tall

Our table was brought in from the garden, chairs wiped down and dried, and we proceeded to order toasted sandwiches and coffee, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

As I sat that, I had to compare where I was with back in the States, even Port Townsend which can be pretty funky (or at least used to be) and thought how much better life is with places like Etterby Tea Garden. Where you can’t be in a rush and you can’t expect matching cups and saucers or color coordinated table linen. And where the prices are reasonable and you wonder how she makes a profit, and then realize that she probably runs the Tea Garden simply to have visitors.

All in all, a good day.

 

 

house

The veranda

etterby-sign

Tea shop

crinum

Indigenous amarylus

veranda2

Our tea spot

A Week Gone By

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If you listen very carefully, you can hear the birds. Noises are dying down now, as it seems the females have approved the home building and the male can quit weaving – until next season. BTW, I took this with my iPad!
 

Well, here I am, a week gone by already. Settling in and getting adjusted to time etc.

I don’t have a car yet, which so far isn’t a problem, as I really haven’t felt like going anywhere in particular but am going to need one soon. Graham left me a message and have called and left him one, so hopefully that will be a happy outcome, with a car at my disposal.

My office on the veranda, with Gingie the cat as my personal assisitant

It has been really hot, and I am so not used to the heat. I love wearing light clothes and going barefoot, having all the windows and doors open. This afternoon we had a heavy rainstorm, but not enough, says Debbie. It was just enough to lay the dust and cool us off a bit. There was thunder, but no lightning. So we are hopeful that another storm comes roaring in later, as everything is very dry. There has not been the normal rainfall this year.

We went out to breakfast this morning, to a café called the Coffee Berry in a local shopping center. It was my first South African bacon since I got here, and it was yummy! So much better than US bacon, which is all fat. Our server, or waitron, as they are called here, was very pleasant. It’s a whole different attitude towards the customers, almost obsequious, but not really. He tried very hard and was extremely polite. I think I am so used to the wait staff in the States who seem to not give a damn, or who, on the other hand, are so casual and overfriendly towards the customers.

Breakfast cost about R50 (6.25) – bacon and eggs, potatoes, toast – fried tomato which I opted out of. And filter coffee. But not bottomless cups, just one. I didn’t need a second; the first one was plenty powerful to set me up for the day. Prices are getting up there.

As we left the café, I started thinking how many more people there seem to be about, but when we got in the car, I realized it is just there are so many more cars on the road than there were three years ago. The roads are really busy and I have to get my head around driving on the wrong side of the road again!

As we drove through Pietermaritzburg, I noticed the lovely old buildings that are everywhere. The sad thing is, so many of them are in disrepair or filled with squatters. There are lots of Victorian era house, with the scrollwork and the old government buildings are beautiful. I hesitate to take my camera out into the downtown as it is filled with people who might take a fancy to it. I wish I had a small point and shoot and not my great big Canon! I’d love to go out shooting – the camera, that is.

Not much has changed, really. Just more people. Mostly it appears peaceful, people seem cooperative, but I haven’t been out much, so will see what the real world is like when I do get a car. And when I go down to Durban to do an article for a local business-to-business journal – Facilities Management! A new morgue is being built so will go interview and take pix. Something different for me. I’ve read a couple of the journals and the content is good, so I think I will enjoy doing it. It actually kind of ties in with ecology.com, as there is a lot of environmental awareness here. At least amongst the educated people.

 

A South African Moment

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night-adder

My visitor this morning - Photo wikipedia commons

Well, I knew it had to happen at some time. I was walking out to my room, which has outside access, this morning and saw something unusual at the step.

Hmmmmm…

A night adder! A baby, according to Mick. It had a very fat tummy, and as their favorite food is frogs and toads, it might be quieter by one croak this evening. Mick decided to catch it and move it, but it scuttled away before he could trap it. Later, I saw him again, but Mick said it was probably his brother as it was again, a young one and there are usually more than one in the – what do you call a batch of snakes? Litter? He couldn’t corral that one either – they are quite quick! So now I go out there more carefully! A real South African moment. Of course, I didn’t have my camera!

I am definitely over jet lag and ready to get going on something! I don’t do well with no direction. Country Life wants me to start all over – there is a new editor there, so she has no idea what I can do, so maybe, once I have wheels, I will go down to the office with my portfolio so she can take a look. That might help.

And I will try to get reactivated on Demand Media although the pay is so low, it almost makes it not worth it. But the dollars will go further here, despite the increased COL.

Went to the market with Mick and the fruits and veges are much less expensive, but cheeses and meats are way up there with US prices. Good time to go vegetarian :)

Next mission is to get a car somehow. Not buy one as I have no idea how long I will be here, but find someone who has a spare that I can use or rent month-to-month. I definitely need wheels or I will go stir crazy.

I am excited – going to the Lea cottage at the beach over the weekend – can’t wait!