Wild Coast (Pt. II)

On Saturday morning, we decided we wanted to wake up to see the sunrise. In Bulungula, there is a sand dune about a half mile away on the beach where there is an incredible view of the sunrise every morning. We got up at 6:30 and walked to the dune. It was a little cloudy, but we still saw an amazing sky. After this nice warm up, we got ready to go on our full-day hike. We started at 8:30 am, and hiked the coast south to Coffee Bay. We did have a tour guide, one of the local guys from Bulungula who is employed by the lodge. He didn't speak much English, which was pretty funny considering the length of the hike... The hike took 9 hours total. It probably should have gone faster, but it was a hard hike! The first half was not too hard, but the second half was almost completely hills, and many of those hills were VERY steep. Plus, we made a lot of stops for pictures and to take in the views. We knew that it was supposed to be an 8-9 hour hike, so once we were nearing the end (or so we thought), we asked our guide how much longer. He kept saying ,"Just around the corner" or "Five minutes"...... LIAR! Five minutes turned into an hour! We were pretty miserable by the end, to be honest, but now that I look back on it I am SO happy (and proud!) that we did that. There is no better way to enjoy the landscape of the Wild Coast. It was like never-ending, virtually untouched land. We walked right next to donkeys, sheep, lambs, cows, chickens, dogs, and more. I was really nervous about how my knee would take the trip, but somehow it survived well! It did hurt, especially on steep downhill slopes, but the next day and since then, it has been completely fine! It meant a lot to me that I could get through this, considering how many problems my knee has caused me. Now I have more confidence in my knee, but we will see how my doctor's appointment goes when I get home. Along the way, we passed through many rural villages, very similar to the one in Bulungula. We met several local people who were some of the most friendly people I've ever met. All the women would smile at us and want to hold our hands. Even if we couldn't speak well to one another, we knew how to communicate! And they definitely appreciated our attempts at speaking the minimal amount of Xhosa we can. Without this hike, I would not have had the pleasure of encountering so many amazing people throughout the Wild Coast. 

We finally arrived in Coffee Bay at dusk at 5:30 pm. Needless to say, we were RELIEVED and exhausted. Our hostel, called Coffee Shack, has received much praise from various students in my program here. The second we entered, we knew why. People greeted us with beers in hand, asking us to come party. As soon as we checked in at the front desk, the woman walked us to the bar where we were given our free welcome-drink. (Note: We all chose WATER because we were so thirsty. Yup, we passed up free alcohol, how responsible of us!) Our hut was on the other side of the "river," which was really just part of the ocean that formed a river when the tide was high. So we could not make it across to our room to unpack and shower. But there were also rooms and showers on that side, so we moved all our stuff into the bathroom and took a much needed, long shower! It was the first time we really had hot water during this trip, and it was the perfect time for that! Then we sat down to a nice, big dinner of steak and potatoes. It was the perfect heavy meal after a long day of exercise! We met some people from all over the world, especially our special friend, Ricardo from Brazil who greeted us when we had first arrived. He also said that we looked terrible, and repeatedly called us crazy for doing such a long hike. He was a character, that's for sure. We also met a girl who graduated at UPENN and is now in med school at GW in DC. She's from the DC area, and she was so nice and great to talk to. She is working at a hospital in Mthatha for the summer, which is such an amazing opportunity. When we were finally able to cross the river, Melissa and I were way too tired to walk back to the other side where the bar and the fun was, so we just stayed in bed. Casey went back across for a little, but didn't last too long. The Coffee Shack was such a fun place, and we all wished we could have stayed there an extra night to actually partake in the fun, but we all had to return to Cape Town for our last final! The next morning, we all woke up and walked along the beach near our hostel and had a nice breakfast with Ricardo. By 9am, he and his friend were both drinking beers. He kept asking if we wanted one, and we just laughed at him. (And he called US crazy?!?) It was funny observing all the guys there who remind me of frat bro's from Trinity.... Part of me was relieved to not spend a night there, since I was definitely not looking for a reason to party on this trip! After breakfast, we walked around Coffee Bay a bit and visited a couple shops, etc. Then we got into our shuttle to Mthatha at 11. Ricardo followed us to the shuttle and told us we weren't allowed to leave. (I think he was on beer 4 by this point?) We finally got him to let go of the door so we could leave, and we were on our way back to Mthatha. We got to Mthatha at about 12:45 and immediately went to our bus to check in. The bus left at 1:15, and we began our LONG journey back to Cape Town. By long, I mean that we arrived the next morning at about 9:30. This bus was the only one that worked for our schedule, and it was the cheapest, but it made a TON of stops throughout the coast. But luckily, it was an overnight bus again, so that helped to break up the trip a lot, making it much more bearable... or so I thought. I was lucky enough to share a seat with a friendly guy from the Wild Coast. He would not stop talking to me the ENTIRE time, and kept bragging about his marathon running ability, and such. Finally, when I managed to get him to stop talking to me so I could go to sleep, he decided to spend the next 5 hours sleeping on my shoulder.... I kid you not. No matter how many times I tried to move away, I was unsuccessful. I do not like being touched while I sleep, especially not by a stranger! Though I didn't get much sleep, I did manage to just accept his cuddling, and just laughed it off. At 3 in the morning, the people in front of me got off, so he smiled at me and said he would give me room and move up there. What a guy. As I finally began to fall asleep, he turned around and poked me and asked for my e-mail address. (Mom and Dad, why does this keep happening?) I was a little grumpy at this point, and asked him why he needed it. He told me so he could ask me about marathons in the States, and I told him Google would be a better source than me. He didn't seem to mind too much, as he said bye to me in the morning. Just chalk it up to another African experience. It was definitely a trip full of experiences!

Once we arrived back in Cape Town, we were greeted by cold, rainy weather. (Stupid winter!) But this was good for studying since we didn't want to be outside. Once I finished my final on Tuesday morning, I definitely felt a sense of relief, but also panic. Then it hit me that I have less than a week in Cape Town. As I write this, I want to cry because I only have 4 days left here! We've all been cramming in the last minute activities. I spent the day downtown, shopping for one last time at Green Market Square, and then we spent some time at the Waterfront for the last time. I can't believe I just said "for the last time!" It's actually the weirdest thing that we're leaving so soon. It's definitely hitting me and getting to me that we leave. Last night, my internship had a special bowling/pizza night with all of the staff, including the Khayelitsha staff. I was so happy to have a chance to spend time with all of them and say a final goodbye. We all hugged and said our goodbyes, and I could not help but cry (a couple of them cried too). I really think that will have been my hardest goodbye. They've truly impacted me since I've been here, and I know it is improbable that I will ever see them again. I am hoping that I can come back here in the somewhat-near future, but even then, it will be hard to know if they'll all still be here! You never know where they'll end up. But 3 of them do have Facebook, so I can keep in touch with them that way, which is great. When I got back to my apartment, I started crying again. I really love all of them, and they made my experience here so much more meaningful and special. I am so lucky to have had that opportunity. 

The rest of the week will be busy with similar activities and errands. Tonight I am going to my last braai at the apartment next door. People from my program have been gradually leaving throughout the week, but luckily my closest friends are also still here until Sunday. I guess that's all.... As my trip comes to an end, I can't express my gratitude to everyone I've met and my parents and family for making all of this possible. I am still baffled by all of the incredible experiences I've had here. I made a small bucket list before I came here, and I can honestly say that I've checked off most of my list (and the most important items), and that each and every experience has far surpassed my expectations. I feel like I've gotten a taste of so many different lifestyles here, and the last trip to the Wild Coast fulfilled the village experience, which was a perfect way to end my time in South Africa. I'll write one last post once I've settled back in at home.

WILD Wild Coast! (Pt. 1)

I just returned from my trip to the Wild Coast this morning. This was probably my favorite trip of the semester... I don't even know if I'll be able to describe everything accurately. I decided, along with two of my friends, to take advantage of the long gaps between finals and our last couple weeks in Cape Town. Our schedules worked out so that the three of us could take a trip from the 1st through the morning of the 6th.... with spending the least amount of money possible. Let me say right off the bat that this was a success, thanks to my frugal friend Casey. We decided the cheapest way to get there would be by bus.... a long bus ride, that is. So we decided to save additional money by taking an overnight bus so we would not have to break up the trip and we could also avoid paying extra money for housing for two nights (there and back). We took a 14-hour bus ride from Cape Town to Mthatha (also spelled Umtata so people have an easier time booking buses). We were the only white people on the bus, so several people laughed at us when we couldn't understand the announcements made in Xhosa, but everyone was really friendly. We then had to take a mini bus from Mthatha to Elliotdale. This ride was about an hour. Our destination was Bulungula, but we were not there yet.... and the best part is about to come. So we arrived in Elliotdale at a mini bus station/shopping center. Here, we thought we would be taking a mini bus, only to find out that we would be taking a backey. For those of you (the lucky ones) who don't know what a backey is, I'll try to explain: it's basically a piece of crap truck with the back enclosed and (uncomfortable) benches lining the 3 walls of the back of the truck. No, they are not insured... or legitimate in any way, for that matter. We got into the backey at about 11 am on the 2nd. By 1pm, the driver finally decided to grace us with his presence. But not to leave! He managed to squeeze 13 people in the back (including the 3 of us), 5 barrels of gasoline, several bags of groceries, luggage, a wooden door for someone's house, and other things that I am probably forgetting. Once again, we were the only white people there, as you may have guessed, and only two people spoke any English at all. So, we managed to provide entertainment for all of them, as I am sure our faces revealed the amusement/shock/bewilderment/horror that we were feeling in this strange situation. By 1:30, when we finally started to leave, I turned to my friend and said, "Well, at least the roads are paved!" Less than 2 minutes later, the nice pavement disappeared and a hole/rock-covered dirt road took its place. At this point, all we could do was laugh.

About 30 minutes into our trip, we were actually pulled over by police. It turns out that our driver's license was expired, and most likely was not his. (T.I.F.A..... I'll let you figure out what the "F" stands for. Mom, don't be mad- it is TOTALLY necessary under these circumstances!!) An entire school of children was just being let out of school, and they all came out and stared at us, clearly shocked to see 3 white girls in the midst of this commotion. No one could explain to us what was going on until about 30 minutes after all of this when a policeman told us that another taxi was being dropped off and that we would still be getting to Bulungula. In the meantime, we just chilled on the side of the road with some goats, sheep, and stray dogs. At about 3 o'clock, another driver came. We thought another taxi would take us to our destination, but, not surprisingly, we were wrong. That's right, another DRIVER came. We crammed everything back into the vehicle, and just tried to go along with everything willingly. Oddly enough, our unlicensed driver ended up driving the rest of the way to Bulungula..... and that other driver never even got in the truck with us. None of us could figure out why this all happened right in front of the policemen without a problem, so we just assumed we missed something. Plus.... T.I.A.! But, more importantly, we were actually FINALLY on our way to Bulungula at this point.

This part of rural South Africa did not have any road signs. So we actually had no idea if we were actually headed in the right direction, but no one seemed to be too worried, so we tried not to be either. Many, many dirt roads, and about 3 hours later, we finally saw a sign that said "Bulungula Lodge and Parking" with an arrow pointing straight ahead. You can imagine our relief. But, it turns out this sign was misleading, because we didn't arrive at the lodge for another 30 minutes at least. When we finally got dropped off, we had to walk about 10 minutes to the lodge. I was still doubtful that this place existed, but when we turned the corner and saw a beach and several huts, we knew we had arrived. Bulungula is an absolutely incredible place. It is located in a village called Nqleni. This guy, Dave, went to UCT and then travelled many places, knowing he wanted to start some sort of community-initiative program. He then hiked the entire wild coast and decided this village would be the perfect place. On a travel show on TV, it was named one of the top 25 must-see (but most difficult to get to!) places in the world... It is very clear why. First of all, 40% of all the profits go to a community trust, and most of the employees are people from the village. Dave even lives in the village with his wife. Here's a couple of sites/articles that better explain Bulungula:

http://www.bulungula.com/  

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/oct/24/guardian-readers-travel-awards-bulungula

As soon as we entered, we were amazed. It is a very simple place, yet striking and inviting. Dave gave us a quick tour: in the bathroom, the toilets do not flush to conserve water, so the toilets have 2 sections- the front for urine, the back for toilet paper, #2, and everything else. If you use the back section, you had to put 2 scoops of dirt in afterwards to cover it up; the showers did not have hot water, but there is a whole contraption where you place some toilet paper covered in paraffin oil at the bottom of a metal tube, then light it with a lighter attached, and then you have a boiling hot shower for about 6-8 minutes. The main building is where the library, bar, and kitchen areas are located. It used to be a building for fishermen and their supplies. Then he showed us the different huts that were almost identical to the ones in the village. The only thing inside the huts were beds and a couple of grass mats. The entire lodge runs on solar energy, so the lights were very dim, but it was nice living in this kind of simplicity. We knew that one night would not be enough there, as we had originally planned, so we decided to change our plans and stay a second night. The next day, we planned on doing a village tour/women's power tour with a local woman. Our original plan was to begin our 2-day hike to Coffee Bay, but we did not want to miss out on experiencing the village, so we decided to do the entire hike in one day, starting on Saturday, instead. 

So on Friday morning, we met our 9-month-pregnant guide. She then walked us to her village. Our first stop along the way was where two women were making clay bricks for houses. Our first instruction was to help out, so we had to form a brick out of this clay/mud material and COW DUNG.  (EW EW EW!) My friend Casey was better at touching the dung- I figure it's because she is going to be a doctor, so she can handle these things. Clearly, I had a little trouble going near the cow dung, but we made two bricks and got on our way. Our next stop was at our guide's hut where we got our faces painted with a clay/stone material that is used to protect skin from the sun. She also put a traditional head wrap on us. After being beautified, we walked down to the river to collect some water in buckets. We learned to balance the buckets on our heads! This was so hard at first, but I quickly got the hang of it and was able to carry it all the way back to her house without letting it fall. (I'm very proud of myself, haha.) Of course, our guide's bucket was about 10 times the size of ours, but we can ignore that fact. We then walked to the forest to collect sticks and branches for the fire, which we tied together and also balanced on our heads. When we got back to her hut, we went to her garden to gather some spinach for lunch. Then, we had to grind corn kernels with a large stone so that we could make a maize. This was so much harder than I expected, and as soon as I slammed the stone down (attempting to copy her), the kernels flew everywhere. Her sisters and mother laughed, and some chicks and chickens ran in and started pecking at the kernels.... Yup, they came right in the house, along with some puppies and roosters. It was quite a sight. I was, of course, embarrassed, but tried again.... and failed. Then I decided it might be best to let one of my friends have a turn. After we all finished, our guide came over and basically re-did everything, making it much finer than we were able to. We then cut up the spinach and placed it in a bowl over the fire, later adding some salt, sugar, and the maize. We allowed this to sit for about 5 minutes while we played with some of the local boys, including her 6 year-old son. Then we ate lunch.... and it was good! I don't even like spinach, but it was a simple dish and tasty! She also showed us her other job, in which she measures fish that her father catches to see if they are large enough. If they are not, they are thrown back into the ocean. It was definitely an eye-opening experience to see and be a part of what this woman does on a daily basis. Though it was not necessarily a fun day, it was a great experience. I really can't explain what it was like seeing the typical life of someone in a village. For example, she was utterly shocked to hear that I am a soccer player, and she said that no girls whatsoever play in her village, only the boys play. And in their village, if a woman is married, she is not even allowed to work. So she decided to remain single so that she could earn a living and provide for her family. She shares this one-room hut with several sisters and relatives of all different ages, from 4 months old to her age (which is probably late 20's, but I'm not exactly sure, as I did not feel comfortable asking). Her parents and brothers live next door, in a much larger and nicer house, that has a TV and radio, a kitchen table, and even a cabinet in the living room area. Leaving her was sad, but I did not get quite the same feeling that I do in Khayelitsha. Let me explain. In Khayelitsha, I leave every day feeling sad for the kids who are left alone without any supervision. At least in this village, all the kids were relatively contained and she certainly did discipline them. In Khayelitsha, there is more crime, more burglary, etc. But here, there is none. Everyone lives simply, but they seem to be happy. And the houses are not dilapidated corrugated tin, like they are in Khayelitsha. In this village, the houses are made of clay/mud or even cement, and the roofs are made of sticks or metal. It does not seem as much like the villagers are forced against their will to live that way as is clear in the townships; rather, they choose to live that way and seem satisfied. I hope this gets my point across adequately, though I think it is something you need to experience yourself to understand.

The rest of the day was low key. We enjoyed the warm and sunny weather that we have been missing in Cape Town, and we walked on the beach and laid on the beach, reading books. I can't remember the last time I had time to read a book during the day that was not for school, but just pleasure. I read almost an entire book in that day. I can't imagine a better place for a study break, that's for sure! Bulungula is easily the most relaxing, laid back place I have ever been in my life. There was literally nothing to do, but I mean that in the best way possible. We just sat around and read and enjoyed one another's company. We also met several other people who were also staying there, from different parts in the world. Not to mention that Dave is one of the coolest people I've ever met! Obviously he's done a great thing here, but on top of that, he's the kind of guy that spent the ENTIRE day helping roofers fix the roof. I kid you not, he was on the roof the entire day helping with the repairs. Not many people would do that, but it just goes to show you what a great guy he is.

I'm sick of writing, so I'll write about the rest of my trip later!

By the way, I will be getting home in EXACTLY 7 days.... almost to the hour (if traffic is not too bad!). Lots of mixed emotions, but I am definitely getting more and more ready to be home. I can't believe it's almost time to leave Cape Town!!! Things I am looking forward to at home: obviously my family, friends, and neighbors. But also: Internet that actually WORKS, a cell phone without having to buy air time, summer weather, mom's cooking, and much more.