Remi on the Road: DnR's Eastern Cape Adventures - Part 2

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Before saying good-bye to Hogsback, we were told that having breakfast at the Edge was a must. Too bad it was cloudy that morning, but other days you could see off the edge of the cliff, the valleys and hilltops in the distance. Since the view was limited on this day, we could not wait around as Coffee bay was awaiting.

Our drive to Coffee bay was exactly as warned by other tourist. Once we turned off the main road the potholes were unavoidable. Majority of the drive through Eastern Cape was less interesting. Rolling hills were still along the road but the vegetation was extremely dry. I would wondered to myself about the kinds of food available to the communities we were driving by. There wasn't much farm land that I noticed or just wasn't being used at that time. As we started approaching the coast, the landscape turned greener. It also started to rain which indicated why everything was so beautiful and green (we were hoping the sun would follow us).

At the Coffee Shack, we were welcomed by drinks and a lovely dinner. Here we had the chance to mix and mingle with other tourist and find out where people were coming from and going to. During dinner we also had the pleasure to watch local girls dance and sing traditional songs. It was a lovely introduction to a magical place. (While sipping on our very first drinks and only 20 minutes into our arrival, we were already being introduced to buying some.....in the land of green).

Thursday, November 17, 2011

It was humid and raining the next day so the activity for today was cancelled. Surfing. However, since it was warm and the rain wasn't going to ease up this week, we convinced the instructor to take us for a few hours. I probably did my best surf ever on this day. No ankle cord, using opposite stance as before, but I was riding into shore. Once we were tired out, we headed back to the hostel and dried off, only to get wet again. The rain did not want to let up. It was especially frustrating as people shared their sunny days from the week before(these people were also extremely tanned which was a good enough proof for us).

Because of the rain, we wouldn't get to see Hole in the wall either. We were told it was a 3 hour hike in muddy conditions. For now we were happy to have had the chance to surf and practice our drumming skills on a dijembe. We were hoping for a nice day in order to complete one of the hikes while staying at Coffee bay. However, there was no hiking on this day.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Today, rain or shine, 5 of us decided on a hike to the coast would be completed. Three people were eager to see at least the coast leaving Coffee bay, and we decided to join them on this hike. We first had to wade through a river mouth (not thinking of the consequences). At this time the water was only knee deep. The hike took probably an hour once we reached the ocean shore. The wind was howling and we were soaked through and through. Since we arrived to this place, the rain did not want to let up. And we did not want to sit on our butts either.

The big surprise came when our little rive mouth grew into something that resembled a white water rafting course. The water was moving fast and the depth reached meters. One of the tallest guys waded in and water was up to his chest. If this taller guy wasn't around I would not have been able to make it back on my own. While Dan was carrying his jacket filled with electronics over his head, I was being kept up float by the others. My legs weren't long enough to wade through this time, and the current could have swept me away at my first entrance. Our minor panic was resolved slowly and encouraging each other to keep close. We then celebrated our bravery and persistence with a few beers after our hike. Still disappointed about the weather, Dan and I chose to stay one night in the village with a local family and broaden our knowledge of traditional living in Easter Cape.

We changed our clothes from the hike and met with the father of the family who's house we would be staying. Alvin owns a small farm and welcomes guest from the hostel to stay with his family. He walked on crutches (he lost one leg as a miner, and now uses a prosthesis) to come and fetch us. Only once we were following him realized the difficult course he was able to do on his crutches. Muddy paths that follow over the hills and valleys, Dan and I had difficulties keep up with his pace.

Once we arrived to his home, he showed us his farm where he grows various vegetables, where the animals feed (and where his green leaves grow, um, yes under rocks). It was lovely to meet his family, wife and some of his children. We had a nice dinner, pap, spinach and cabbage, and beans. Once we did the dishes in front of a single candle light (while singing Loliwe with the youngest daughter), we continued our chat over coffee and corn bread. Everything tasted delicious and simple. Since there is little to do in the dark with no electricity, we had an early bed time, I believe it was 8pm. However, drinking coffee at 8, will require a loo break by 10pm. I woke Dan up in urgency and asked him to come outside with me so I can use to loo. The outhouse was miles away, and so I ended up using a gutter near the house (I figured it was ok since the animals roamed this same yard), iphone in Dan's hand, and he holding my hand.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Our night at the village was eventful even though with didn't do anything active (other then the 30 minutes hike to the house and back to the hostel the next morning). The night was pretty eventful, with me needing to use the loo, having things crawling on you once in a while (I assumed those were random bugs) and Dan's snore waking me up once in a while.

Alvin was awake at 5am to feed the animals and take care of other morning chores. I was up for that but pretended to be sleeping. Dan and I were both awake by 7am and didn't know when to get up for breakfast. As we laid on the floor mattress, we kept hearing a chicken making noise. I said it was coming from inside the hut, but I think Dan suggested the noise was coming from outside. Only when we see 24 little chicks following the hen we realized, sure enough, they are inside the hut (and hatched over night). I open the door to let them out so they can get some nibbles. But they all stayed close to the hen not wanting to go outside. Both Dan and I were laughing to ourselves and enjoying the experience (and speaking from a public health professional, hoping that we won't contract lice from them).

By 7:30 we decided to wake up and head to the kitchen. There, coffee and cornbread awaited. But before breaky, we had a basin with heated water and a soap for us to wash our faces. Once we finished eating we were ready to say our goodbyes and head back to the Coffee Shack.

Oh, before I forget, Coffee bay actually has nothing to do with coffee at all. There was a story about a ship carrying coffee from India(?) long long time ago. There was an accident where the damaged ship, along with all the coffee beans washed up to shore at Coffee bay. The locals were not familiar with the beans and the plants it grew. So, every single plant and bean where destroyed by the locals, thinking that it was an invasive plant. With time, however, coffee became popular and trade worthy. I'm sure the locals are now hitting themselves for not knowing what the future had in store for coffee. But then again, Coffee bay is popular for another plant which I'm sure brings in enough money for the community, as long as there is tourism.

Our journey to Durban was very interesting, a mix of extreme fog and super clear sunny day, we followed along some crazy long traffic. Looooongest drive so far.