Canary Islands

In the Canary Islands....still alive

Will write more later

Volunteer

Maryam left a little while ago. She has a crazy flight schedule: Cape Town - Jo'burg - Paris - Amsterdam (4 days here) - Minneapolis - Calgary. And I'm back to travelling on my own.

My time in Cape Town is down to 2 days. My flight is on Tuesday at 17:10 (or so) I fly to Istanbul, have a few hours there and then a flight to Madrid. Crazy stop over!

But before I go, I will be volunteering tomorrow - Monday - with an organization that is supported by the hostel where I am staying. I will be going to a school to play soccer with the kids, help with homework and maybe some other tasks. Should be a really good experience. It's only for the day but I really wanted to do it before I left.

Cape Point pics

Road Trip!!!

The day after the safari, Maryam and I rented a car and drove down to Cape Point. I was quite nervous since they drive on the opposite side of the road in South Africa. Didn't need any coffee to stay awake for this trip.

We stayed one night at the Boulders Beach Lodge - right on the ocean! Boulders Beach is known for the penguins! Thousands and thousands of penguins! You can swim with them, walk beside them...but don't try to pet them as they have very strong and sharp beaks! Just about learnt the hard way.

Continued down the beautiful coastline to Cape Point where we were literally, attacked by baboons...crazy buggers!!

Drove back on the Atlantic coast to Hout Bay where we had a delicious seafood lunch. It consisted of queen sized prawns, fish, mussels and calamari!! All fresh!
Dropped the car off and came back to the hostel.

Taking it easy tonight as we plan to hike Table Mountain (again) tomorrow morning. Mind you, it won't be bad as for the rest of the day we plan to do nothing but hang out on Camps beach. And then Maryam leaves on Sunday :(

Safari Pics

Safari

So after the shark dive I decided that I needed to see more animals. This time on land. I booked a safari for 2 days which gave me one night at the Garden Route Game Lodge which included dinner, breakfast, accomodation for the night and 2 game drives (I got them to give me 3 though).

Saw 4 of the Big 5...missed out on the Leopard. Got pretty close to some of the animals. An elephant started charging at the jeep...and when a 4 ton elephant is coming your way - you move - fast!! The guide jumped back in the driver's seat and took off. Everyone else was like "COOL!!!" And I took photos...

I went walking with cheetahs...way cool! We weren't really suppose to but the guide said he would take us in quickly if we didn't say anything to anyone. Now that I wrote this on the web...everyone knows haha

Saw buffalo, lions, rhinos (and a baby), cheetahs, antalope, giraffe, springbock and a lot of birds. And some I can't remember...

Bite This!

 

And to think...I was in the cage! CRAZY!

SHARKS!

Shark Dive in South Africa!

Well....I am still alive to tell the story of me diving with Great White Sharks....and I have pictures and a video to prove it!

We were picked up at 5:40 in the morning to embark on our 2 hour drive to the boat, where we were debriefed and started out on the ocean. It took about 40 minutes to get to 'the spot' The crew started throwing in blood, intestines a LARGE slab of tuna to hopefully bring in the sharks. We waited, and waited...nothing. We decided to head to the front on the boat to get some sun. SHARK! someone yelled, so everyone (40 passengers) jumped up and ran to the back of the boat to catch a glimpse of a Great White shark. It never went for the tuna...it circled the boat a couple of times and swam off. Back to the waiting...SHARK! We ended up seeing 5 Great White Sharks! It was unreal! And I jumped into the cage and came literally face to face with the shark...all that was between us was a few metal bars (thankfully!) The video is great and I will try to post some photos in a few minutes.

Maryam and I did a wine tour yesterday, tasted some really good South African wine. One of the wineries we went to has one distributor in Canada...and it is in Chestermere of all places...crazy!

We visited Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for most of his time in prison. Very interesting!

I am going to be doing a safari next week - Maryam is going to skip it since she has done them before. And then I am off to Spain on March 24!

Cape Town - Week 1

The flight was long and tiresome! 9 hours from Sao Paulo to Joburg, 2 hours in the airport and then anther 2 hours to Cape Town (CPT). I arrived around noon on Monday, arranged for a shuttle service to the hostel. The first offer was 220 Rands (26$) and another was 140 Rands. It helps to shop around.
Checked into my room and passed out for the next 5 hours. Woke up, had a bite to eat at the hostel and went straight back to bed for the night. Suprisingly, I slept all night - even after my 5 hour power nap.

Tuesday I explored the city by foot. 32 degrees and sun! Gotta love it. Walked around the city Centre, down Long Street - the main street in downtown CPT with shops, cafes and bars. Got back to the hostel and enjoyed the BBQ put on by the staff. Chicken, salads, sausage, ice cream and fruit...a good dinner! Went out to Zula with a couple guys from the hostel - John and Brendan. John is orriginally from Vancouver Island and Brendan is from South Africa and running food and beverage at the hostel. Zula was cool - had live music going on upstairs, kind of like an open mike.

Wednesday I slept in until 10 or so, spent the day walking around the Waterfront. Sauntered through the mall, checked out some shops and bought a book. Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. Had Thai food for lunch and took a taxi back to the hostel. Had a very chill night which was nice!

Woke up at 06:40 on Thursday to start hiking Table Mountain at 08:00. I am not sure if today was the best day to pick since it was suppose to be the hottest day of the year so far - 38 degrees! In some parts of the country, the mercury passed 46 degrees! The hike was enjoyable and suprisingly not extremely hot. However, the girl I was hiking with was very sick and dizzy for the majority of the way up. Normally it should have taken an hour or so but we took 3 hours to get up. And every minute that passed, it got hotter and hotter!
Went out that night to see 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' I saw it in Argentina but missed the beginning so this time it clarified a few things.

Friday I woke and went for breakfast at 'Slice on Bree' (on Bree Street) just down from the hostel. Went down to Long Street, grabbed an ice coffee on St Georges Market - wrote in my diary and watched people for an hour or so. Went to the aquarium in the afternoon to escape the heat! Saw turtles and manta rays being fed which was very cool. Got some good pictures of Nemo (or his distant relatives) and had a brilliant dinner on the waterfront. I was joined by an Austrian girl whos name I can't remember at this point.

Today I plan to head to the beach - ALL DAY! Find a spot and stay there. Actually, I will probably play some beach volleyball if possible. Apparently, the water is freezing! Even with this heat!

South America - Complete

My time in South America has come to an end. My first 3 months of traveling have been an unforgettable experience. People ask what the most memorable experience has been so far. I have to say - the people I met. It seemed that in every country I visited, there were people welcoming me - a complete stranger in most cases - with open arms.

It was my first stop, not in South America but El Salvador was quite the eye opener. A country still rebuilding after a devastating civil war, has come a long way, but still has a long hard journey ahead. Beaches, volcanoes, 'pupusarias' and coffee plantations all dominate the beautiful landscape of this tiny country. The people are extremely welcoming and take great pride in being El Salvadorian. Poetry and art museums are helping to shape the slowly growing but fairly popular art scene. Anita and Ivannia were amazing hosts and I felt so welcome with Marcella and her family in Santa Ana.

Peru was my second destination and probably one of the most memorable. Not all of Peru but Machu Picchu was unforgettable. An place everyone should visit. My 2 weeks in Lima allowed me to take a Spanish course, have Christmas dinner with complete strangers and have a really good New Years party at the hostel. Cuzco, the Salkantay Trail hike to Machu Picchu - amazing! The 11 people on the tour made the trip what it was. Mateus, Daniel, Marcos and Agustina are great people. I hope to stay in touch with them all.

Next, I traveled south to Chile. Before I even entered the country, I was taken in by some of the most generous people in the world. A mom and 3 boys invited me, a total stranger, into their home and took care of me like a brother.

Argentina I definitely want to visit again. I stayed in Buenos Aires the majority of my time in this country. My dad and uncle arrived two days after I did and made my stay a great one. I was lifted up from the backpacker lifestyle into the luxury of great restaurants, swimming pools and king-size beds. Thanks Dad!! The trip to Iguazu Falls was absolutely unforgettable as well. Another highlight for sure! It was so nice to experience the boat tour with my dad and uncle. I think I can speak for them both but it the boat trip was definitely the best part!

A quick few days in Uruguay followed. I took a boat trip from BA to Punta Del Este where I enjoyed the sun and beach! One night in Montevideo followed with a flight to Sao Paulo the next day.

If I could only come back to one country in South America, I think it would have to be Brazil. The country has it all - beautiful people, great food, remarkable landscapes, the best beaches and perfect weather. Although the crime in Brazil is very high, I never experienced any. There were, however, two hostels robbed while I was staying in Rio de Janeiro. Sao Paulo was my first stop in Brazil. Once again, the people made my time here what it was. Laura, Rinaldo and Gabriel treated me life family, opening their home to me. Rio de Janeiro was next. I stayed with Marcia for a few nights and then was invited to stay with Mateus and Anne. They showed me around Rio and explained what it was like to be a real 'Carioca'
Buzios - a small beach town still holds it's small town roots. No huge developments, apartment buildings, etc. I stayed there for a few nights and definitely want to return. Some of the most beautiful beaches around!

Arrived in South Africa

I stepped off the plane in Joburg to catch a connecting flight to Cape Town yesterday. This was after a 9 hour journey from Sao Paulo, Brazil. The flight was long but the time passed fairly quickly since I was playing games and watching movies. Sleep - did not get much of that on the flight. So, after checking into my hostel around noon, I crashed for 5 hours.
Wish I could explain what South Africa is like, but I have only seen out the window of the shuttle from the airport to the hostel.
Updates to come on my time in South America and my first day in South Africa.