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Day 48: The Madman & the Sea

6/28/2013

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After 3 straight days of walking around Barcelona, we were ready for a break from the city. The four of us rented a car and drove out to Figueres to visit Salvador Dali's museum - Teatro Museo Dalí. I had been to this museum twice before and it's one of my favorites. I was very excited to bring my parents and Chris!

Getting There:
If you are traveling with more than 2 people, it's worth renting a car. The car rental cost us just 33 Euro and the tolls amounted to about 15 Euro.  A round trip train ticket would have cost around 35 Euro per person.  


Teatro-Museo Dali
Dali is one of the most famous surrealists of all time - known for his edgy artwork and eccentric showmanship. He was from the small town of Figueres in Catalunya Spain, right near the French border.  The mayor of Figueres once tried to acquire one of Dali's paintings for the city. Dali's response:  
Where, if not in my own city, should the most extravagant and solid examples of my art remain?

Instead of bestowing just one painting to the town, he built an entire museum.  He chose to build the museum in the town's old theatre because it was right next to the church where he was baptized and it's the first place he ever exhibited his artwork. The museum was completed in 1974 and is considered the largest surrealist object in the world. It's also home to Dali's crypt.

The building itself is a work of art.  Figueres is a relatively average town, but then you turn a corner in the city center and see a most unexpected sight: a Pepto-Bismol colored castle with large eggs in place of ramparts. 
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The museum peeking out over a courtyard in Figueres.
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Teatro-Museo Dali. Dali used eggs to symbolize hope & love. He also covered the exterior walls with plaster bread loaves, an object he commonly used in his paintings. He used bread as a personal emblem - a symbol of his art - to become an object of mass consumption, to be devoured by art fans.
We waited about 20 minutes in line and then entered this bizarre museum. We saw every single exhibit and were amazed at the variety of styles and mediums (they even have a jewelry exhibit). Here are some of the highlights:
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Monument to Catalan philosopher, Francesc Pujols.
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Inner courtyard & Gala's Boat (Gala was his wife)
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Main hall of the theater. It was crowded!
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Face of Mae West Which Can Be Used as an Apartment (1974)
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The Persistence of Memory
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Taking a quick rest in between collections!
My favorite Dali series is less well known. He dedicated an entire floor to a variety of paintings featuring figures comprised of colorful rocks. Here are a few examples:
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After spending a few hours at the Dali museum we drove to the coast to visit an adorable little town called Tossa de Mar. I visited Tossa back in 2001 and always remembered it fondly. It's an old Spanish city built on a peninsula along the Costa Brava. We had lunch by the beach and then hiked up to see the ruins of the castle with views of the rocky coast, and then walked through the winding streets of the old city. 
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Tossa de Mar. We had lunch under those orange umbrellas :)
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Nice shot of Mom on our way up to the castle!
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Stunning views!
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Tossa's theater
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View from the old city wall
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We drove back to Barcelona and dropped off the car.  That evening we walked around the old bullfighting ring, which has been changed into a mall since Catalonia banned bull fighting.  Then it was time to say goodbye to Mom and Dad as they had an early flight the next morning. We had a perfect day to end a wonderful week in Spain!
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Double Serendipity In Barcelona

6/28/2013

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I love the way the word serendipity just rolls off the tongue.  I'm always excited when I get to use it, which isn't often, because it's rare to find something wonderful when you aren't looking for it.   So it was great when I experienced two serendipitous moments during my 5 days in Barcelona!

Serendipitous Moment #1:
This one requires a little background: I met my friend, Leah, while studying abroad in Sevilla.  We were roommates staying with a local family.  One of the many photos we had in our room was of Leah with her friend Allasia.  During spring break, Chris came to visit me along with a couple of friends from BC.  On their last night in Spain, we stayed out all night in Madrid because they had a 5am flight back to Boston.  After dropping them off at the airport, I headed to the train station.  The place was deserted.  I began dozing off while waiting for my train when I heard two voices in English.  I looked up and immediately recognized the girl from Leah’s picture – Allasia! I walked up to her and said something like, “Excuse me, but is your name Allasia?”

The next time I saw her was in 2008 when we were both bridesmaids at Leah’s wedding.

Then, on our second day in Barcelona, my parents, Chris and I were leaving our apartment in Gotic when I saw a very familiar face walking down the street.  We both recognized each other and found it pretty hilarious to meet this way once again in Spain! She is in the middle of a master’s program in BCN and lives right around the corner from where our apartment was located. The next night, the three of us caught up over drinks & dinner.  Allasia showed us her apartment on the top floor of a building from the 1300's, with an amazing view of a plaza and church in El Borne. Christopher Columbus supposedly lived in a building right around the corner!
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with Allasia at the Mercer Hotel rooftop bar
Serendipitous Moment #2
The day after dinner with Allasia, we did a lot of walking and sightseeing. By 7pm we were exhausted, so my parents went back to their hotel and Chris and I walked back to our apartment.  At the apartment I checked email, Facebook, etc. On Facebook I saw a picture of my cousin Mirta from Costa Rica in the plaza right around the corner from our apartment. It had just been posted.  Luckily, she was still connected and I found out that she was in town just that day/night with her brother Alejandro so we made plans to meet for dinner at 10:30.  The last time I saw Mirta & Alejandro was in 2004 when Chris and I visited Costa Rica so it had been a long time.  Mirta & Alejandro were on a whirlwind European vacation visiting Paris, Barcelona, Morrocco, Rome, Florence and probably a few other places I’m forgetting. They were staying with their friend in BCN and all of us went to this great little Indian place in Barri Gotic where I had an awesome lentil soup.  We loved catching up with Mirta, getting to know Ale (since he was so young when we first met him), and meeting their friend Ber.  I took pictures that night but they never appeared on my phone:(  Luckily Mirta got one!  
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Alejandro, Me & Mirta in Barcelona
Serendipity, thank you! Barcelona was such a treat. 
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Days 43-47: Wallmania in Barcelona

6/27/2013

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Wallmania = anytime a large group of Wallmans gather. My brother and I use this term in reference to Thanksgiving, when 25+ Wallmans re-unite for 1-2 days at my Grandma's farmhouse. While we didn't have the full crew, we did bring a little slice of Wallmania to Barcelona: my parents came out to visit us for 5 days!

In fact, Chris and I are lucky that both of our parents made plans to meet us at different points along our trip. Mom & Dad Wallman chose Barcelona while Mom & Dad Barbier chose Southern Italy!

Our Barcelona trip began with an overnight flight from Johannesburg to Zurich with a quick morning connection to BCN (as it is commonly called). We rented an apartment through Flipkey at 25 Regomir in a neighborhood called Barri Gotic which is the oldest part of the city. While crowded with locals and tourists alike, Barri Gotic is incredibly charming, filled with small winding streets lined with all sorts of interesting shops.  We were just minutes away from the Cathedral, the famous Picasso Museum, La Rambla, the major shopping district and tons of little bars & restaurants. 

Our apartment was a nice size and we got a great rate compared to what hotels go for in the area. We had a living room/kitchen (with washer/dryer!), bedroom and modern bathroom. The apartment was an interior unit so it didn't face the street, but that meant it was quiet, which is important because people dine around 11pm and party all night in BCN. The only complaint I had about the apartment was that it faced an interior courtyard and the people below us smoked out their window all the time. The smell would wander into our unit - sometimes as early as 6am. Gross.  I quickly remembered I was in Europe and cigarette smoke is simply inescapable. 

The day after we arrived we called Mom & Dad at their hotel which was located in the Plaza Espanya (in Barcelona they speak Catalan which is a bit different from the Castillian Spanish we are used to. So instead of España with a tilde over the n, they spell it with a y). Thus began 3 days of sightseeing on foot! Before this trip, I had been to Barcelona twice over 10 years ago and it's one of my favorite cities.  However this was the first time my parents and Chris had ever visited, so we had a lot of ground to cover. Here are some of the highlights:

Gaudi: Sagrada Familia & Park Guell
Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) is an architect from the Catalan region of Spain, known for his unique style that incorporated various materials including ceramics, glass, stone and iron work. Most of his great works are located in Barcelona, including his most famous project - a basilica called the Sagrada Familia (technically it's not a cathedral as it does not seat a bishop) .  Gaudi was hit by a train in 1926 and died at the age of 73, when the Sagrada Familia was only a quarter of the way through construction.  He left detailed plans, however construction progressed slowly because it relied on private donations which were interrupted during the Spanish Civil War.  Construction began again in the 1950's but was slow going, and by 2010 construction of the basilica had only reached it's midpoint. Currently they expect it to be completed by 2026 - the centennial of Gaudi's death.  It's too difficult to describe this work of art in words - it's like nothing I've ever seen before.  It seems to be made from a dream and after seeing it for the third time, I'm still in awe that Gaudi was able to materialize his vision out of stone and glass. 
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Gaudi's magnum opus - The Sagrada Familia - still under construction!
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Dad, Mom, & Chris in front of the Sagrada Familia. There was a crazy old lady sitting on a bench to the left of my dad. She was yelling nonsense while a younger woman (maybe her daughter) was making a weak attempt at calming her down.
Park Guell was commissioned by industrialist Count Eusebi Güell. It was originally part of an unsuccessful housing project that was inspired by the English Garden Movement. Only two houses were built (not designed by Gaudi) out of the sixty originally planned, as no buyers came forward. Eventually Guadi purchased the park and moved there with his family and father.  It's definitely worth a visit, mainly for it's beautiful mosaics, lush gardens and stunning panoramic view of the city. 
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Welcome to Park Guell!
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We started at the top of Park Guell to see a great panoramic view of the city!
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Gaudi's colorful mosiac bench
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Spectacular design!
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Taking a breather on the Gaudi bench
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Park entrance
There are a  few other Gaudi buildings that we did not visit, mainly because there were very long lines. If you area  fan of his work or architecture in general, it's worth buying tickets online ahead of time in order to skip hour-long lines. 
Plaça d'Espanya, National Museum of Art of Catalunya, Botanical Gardens & the Magic Fountains

Plaça d'Espanya (Plaza Espana) is a beautiful, yet busy, plaza. It's beautiful because of the Italian-styled building called the Palau Nacional. In this building you'll find the National Museum of Art of Catalunya. Leading up to the palace is a series of fountains which dance to three different types of music every night from Thursday-Sunday. They are called the the Magic Fountains. Chris and I missed the show on Sunday but my parents saw it and said it was spectacular!  We walked from the plaza up the palace stairs and into the botanical gardens. 

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Palau Nacional. At night this entire area is alive with dancing fountains!
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View from the top of the palace.
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With my dad in the botanical gardens.
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An artichoke in bloom!
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Palace view from the garden.
Montjuïc and the Olympic Park
From the National Museum of Art of Catalunya we walked to the Olympic Park & Montjuïc where you can view beautiful views of the city and, if you are up for it, tour the old fort. We were pretty tired (and hot) by the time we reached the top of Montjuïc so we skipped the fort, stopped for a cafe con leche and then took the cable car down to Barceloneta for lunch. 
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Team Barbier over Barcelona!
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Having fun at the Olympic park:)
Barceloneta
When I visited Barcelona while I was studying in Spain, I didn't even know Barceloneta existed!  Barceloneta is home to the city's beach and boardwalk. It's a bit of a walk to the city's main attractions but if it's summer and you like the beach, this neighborhood would be a great option to look for a hotel. If you can swing a room at the W, you should go for it. It looks awesome!!
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View of the W in Barceloneta from the cable car
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Boardwalk in Barceloneta. Notice Frank Gehry's Fish sculpture in the background!
Parc de la Ciutadella & Arc de Triumf
Another nice little walk in Barcelona is through the Arc de Triumf to the Parc del Ciutadella. Afterwards, stop in the neighboring area of el Borne for lunch!  
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Beautiful fountain in the Parc de la Ciutadella!
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Arc de Triumf - constructed for the Exposicion Universal de Barcelona in 1888.
Spanish Culture & Fashion
I can't write about Barcelona without talking about the culture & fashion. When you visit, you will find that people here don't sleep much. Dinner starts around 10:30/11pm and they tend to stay out all night. When I was studying in Spain this was easy, as I was just 20 years old. I figured this time around we'd be in bed by 11pm! I was wrong. While we were exhausted after a full day of walking and went back to our apartment around 7pm, we ended up going back out for dinner at 10:30pm (for really great reasons which I'll explain in a future post). It's still light out at 10pm and, well, you just get used it. 

The fashion in BCN is also worth noting. I love the shops in Spain. LOVE. It was really hard refraining from shopping on this trip, but since I'm traveling with a backpack, I really have no room for new stuff. I did, however, admire the fashion from afar. Everyone is very bohemian, especially in Barri Gotic and El Borne.  There are so many cute boutiques worth exploring.  I highly recommend visiting these neighborhoods if you are looking for a few new interesting pieces! 
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Not the best example, but here is a glimpse of BCN style. Bohemian & flowy threads.
Well, that is my recap of our walking tour of Barcelona.  Stay tuned for my next post on two very serendipitous moments in Barri Gotic & El Borne! 
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Chris' Corner of Culinary Delights: Episode 5 - African Game Meats

6/25/2013

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Africa presents a veritable paradise for the sampler of exotic meats.  Here are some of the creatures I enjoyed whilst there:
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Kudu
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Springbok (these guys are actually not found in the Kruger Park area and primarily inhabit the areas around Cape Town)
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Crocodile
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Impala
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Wildebeest
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Ostrich
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(Just kidding)
Shown below is a plate featuring many of the above, courtesy of Momma Africa in Cape Town.  From right to left, crocodile with peanut sauce, springbok, ostrich kebab, kudu, and a sausage made of a combo of kudu and springbok.  The concoction on the left is a mash made from corn meal called pap n' wors, with tomato sauce atop.   
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Verdicts?  

Starting on the right:  I've had alligator on several occasions which, to me, has been virtually indiscernible from chicken.  I expected something similar from its reptilian cousin.  In fact, the croc had a taste all its own.  It was interesting, but I found the peanut relish, depicted above as the orangeish heap on top of the meat, to be the best part.  The peanut relish actually added a bit to it, but the meat itself did not do much for me.  

The sausage had lots of malay spice in it, and that is primarily what gave it flavor.  It was quite tasty, but not sure it had much to do with the meat. 

I've also had ostrich before, and knew pretty much what to expect.  It is a fine beef alternative, and one which I will continue to eat with pleasure, but also not terribly unusual.

Which brings us to the highlights: kudu and springbok.  Both of these deer cousins tasted more beef-like than deer-like to us.  Given their red meatiness, Eva actually sampled these with me!  Between the two, our favorite was easily the springbok.  It tasted like an exceptional cut of steak.  Extremely flavorful, tender, and perfectly cooked.  The kudu was a strong second, but not quite as tender a cut of meat as the springbok.

We also tasted wildebeest at Ryan's Kitchen in Franshhoek, which was another tasty beef-like meat.  It was a tender medallion prepared with pancetta and a sauce made from a local stout beer and honey.  It was a solid protein, but the award for the meat itself still goes to the springbok (though Ryan's preparation put Momma's to shame).

Finally, we are left with the McDonald's of the bush, the omnipresent impala.  Ryan, the chef at Tanda Tula (not to be confused with Ryan of Ryan's Kitchen), made this into a stew, which was then cooked over charcoal.  The stew itself was excellent, although I am not sure whether it was the impala or Ryan's culinary magic.  It may well be one of those multipurpose meats that can be enjoyed in a wide variety of preparations.  

So there you have my recap of some of the more interesting animals we ate in Africa.  Some were tastier than others, but all were a wild adventure.

Note: Photos of springbok and crocodile courtesy of Google Images. All other images are from our travels.
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Days 41-42: Notten's Bush Camp

6/23/2013

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From Tanda Tula, we drove about three hours south to Notten's Bush Camp, which is another family run game lodge located within the Sabi Sands game reserve.  Notten's is not a tented camp like Tanda Tula, as the rooms are actual buildings.  We decided to try two different safari camps in order to get a feel for these two different types of experiences, but more importantly, because Sabi Sands is geographically and environmentally different from Timbavati and hence you could potentially see different types of animals.  Specifically, Timbavati is rather open, spread out and vegetation can be very sparse at times.  Sabi Sands features some areas of very dense vegetation and other areas with wide open savannas.  

As mentioned, Nottens' accomodations are completed structures rather than the tents at Tanda Tula.  Here are some photos of our room:
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Our cabin #6
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Our deck and, of course, outdoor shower.
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View from our deck
Similar to Tanda Tula, Notten's has two game drives per day - in the early morning and at sunset.  Our group this time consisted of a very nice couple from Berlin who were working for the German embassy in Rwanda.  The other members of our group were two girls from Sweden on the first day, and a small group from India on the second day, as well as our guide, Thomas and tracker, Fox.

As we expected, we did get to see some different types of animals at Notten's and had some more great experiences!  Here are some of the highlights:

Cheetah!
According to our guide, these are very rare to glimpse in this part of Africa.  He said he sometimes goes six months without seeing any.  However, on our second evening drive, we spotted this guy sitting on top of a large termite mound staring out over the open fields.  
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Lions
This time we came across a group of four female lions snoozing in a field on our morning drive.
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Our tracker, Fox, and one of the four lions walking just a few feet away. Just another day in Sabi Sands!
In the evening, after sunset, we came upon the same group waking up and getting ready to hunt.  We followed them for 30 minutes or so, hoping they would find dinner.  They walked slowly, single-file, evenly spaced, listening for any potential prey in the bushes.  Amazingly, they paid little attention to us or our spotlight.  We felt like we were on the hunt with them.  It was really incredible to see!
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Waking up and getting ready to hunt! A little blurry as this was well after sunset...
Here are some videos of the lions. Please note that the flashlight did not bother them since they are primarily nocturnal.
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Following the lions in our Land Rover. Fox, our tracker, is sitting in front holding the flashlight.
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Buffalo
We saw many more buffalo at Notten's, including a group of about 8-10 grazing in a clearing.  This is the only time we saw our guide get a little nervous.  Some of the buffalo are more used to the safari vehicles than others.  Because the reserve is not fenced in, animals come and go from other areas of the park and beyond.  Those that are not as used to seeing vehicles and people can sometimes react unpredictably.  We saw a buffalo freak out when we got too close, and our guide quickly moved the vehicle away from the area.  Nevertheless, we got some great shots!
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Buffalo
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This guy was hilarious. The bird rode around on his head and the buffalo seems to have simply stopped caring.
Wild Dog and Hyena
For such an elusive animal, we got lucky twice and saw more wild dogs at Sabi Sands.  We saw these guys coming, turned off the engine and waited.  Three dogs came right by our vehicle, barely paying us any attention.  Later that night, we saw a solitary hyena prowling around for food and captured a few shots, though he seemed a bit put off by us.  Even our guide, Thomas, could not believe our luck and the number of animals we were spotting, saying It's like a zoo out here tonight!
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Wild dogs
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Hyena looking for food after sunset.
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In addition to the "Big 5" the safari camps also maintain an unofficial "Ugly 5". Perched atop the list is the hyena. We can't figure out why :)
Bush Walk
After breakfast on our second day at Notten's we went on a guided walk through some of the local areas to learn more about some of the interesting plants and smaller animals one might not see on a game drive.  We soon came across a local warthog named Philemon.
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Eva, pointing to Philemon the warthog (so named by the locals). We kept our distance.
We learned lots of interesting tidbits about the local plants, bugs and dung identification techniques, skills sure to come in handy one day.  We also got to see bones from lots of the local wildlife:
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Pile of bones
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Rhino tooth
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Leopard jaw.
In addition to the highlights described above, here are some of the other interesting creatures we saw while at Notten's:
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Baby warthog fleeing the scene
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Wildebeest
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Lots more rhinos!
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More of these guys too!
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Mother and baby zebra
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Sunset over Sabi Sands
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Sunset our during our first sundowner at Sabi Sands. There was a controlled fire in the distance.
Notten's also featured all of the traditional aspects of safari life, such as sundowner cocktails in the bush and fun dining experiences with the other guests.  Notten's was fully booked while we were there (about 16-18 guests), while Tanda Tula was at most half full (10-12 people), which created a bit of a different dynamic.  We had a great time at both places and are glad we chose to try two different sites, as the environment was very different and we got to see a wide variety of animals.   The only drawback was the drive between the two camps, which was tedious due to slow mining trucks along the route and long stretches of bumpy unpaved roads within the reserves.  We unwisely rented a compact car instead of an SUV, resulting in some interesting experiences traversing dried up sandy riverbeds in the reserves.  It is a miracle we got the car back in one piece with no visible scratches!

We made the six hour drive back to Johannesburg, as the return flights from Hoedspruit and Nelspruit were very expensive.  This is another very tedious drive due to lots of severely potholed roads, more trucks, and curvy mountain passes.  If possible, we'd avoid this drive next time around.  

Overall, the safari experience was amazing and a highlight of our voyage so far.  We would highly recommend it to anyone and hope to do another someday.
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Tanda Tula Addendum: Lion Expressions

6/22/2013

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As promised, here are more pictures of the younger of the two male lions we saw at Tanda Tula. We watched these lions for a good 20 minutes and had fun taking photos of this guy.  
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Hey beautiful. Try and resist these eyes.
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Hahaha! You humans are funny looking.
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[Distracted by an impala in the distance] Lunch?
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Don't even think about it. It's my impala.
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Ugh...more people arrived to stare at me. I know I'm ridiculously good-looking but can't a lion have a little peace and quiet?
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They've been here almost 20 minutes. This is so boring.
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Can you roll your tongue? I can!
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Oh, you can roll your tongue. Well la-di-da. I bet you can't do this.
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Hehehe. You can't. I knew it.
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Tired lion.
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Mmmm that felt nice.
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Ugh. It's too hard to stay awake.
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Ok, guys, show's over.
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Days 38-40: Tanda Tula Safari Camp

6/21/2013

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From Cape Town we flew across South Africa to Hoedspruit, which sits just east of the Kruger National Park.  We had booked two nights at two different safari camps.  The first was located in the Timbavati Reserve, a large area of private game reserves that is open to the Kruger Park.  We chose to stay in these private reserves rather than in Kruger itself, as in Kruger, you are not allowed to leave the roads and thus your chances of viewing wildlife are more limited.  Within private reserves, game lodge operators can look for wildlife anywhere. 

We spent our first two nights at a camp called Tanda Tula, which was about a 45-minute drive east of the Hoedspruit airport.  Tanda Tula is what’s known as a ‘tented’ camp.  There were twelve individual ‘tents’.  We use the term ‘tents’ loosely as our tent was really more of an upscale cabin that happened to have canvas walls and ceiling.  Here are a few photos of our ‘tent’, #8.
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The bathroom was a mud structure attached to the tent.
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View of the riverbed from our tent. During the summer that sandy area is a flowing river.
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Pool on the main part of the lodge. Animals such as nyalas and monkeys wander close by.
Upon arrival we were greeted by everyone working at the camp - Harry, Smiling, Pretty, Ryan the chef and many others. Everyone here is very friendly and welcoming!  We arrived just in time for the first of many excellent meals prepared by chef Ryan. 
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Our first lunch by Chef Ryan. Perfection!
We met up with the rest of our group, who would share a guide, tracker, and safari vehicle together for the next two days.  We were very lucky as we ended up with a great guide (Scotch), tracker (Patrick) and group mates (Thomas, Sabina, Barbara and Ann).  Thomas and Sabina are from Munich and were vacationing in South Africa for a few weeks.  Barbara and Ann had both retired to Antigua and were beginning an African vacation as well.  We had a lot of fun with our group and shared a lot of laughs over the next couple of days!

We toured the bush in a Land Rover pictured below.  We could get very close to the animals without alarming them because they think the Land Rover is just another large animal. We had to maintain the shape of a the vehicle because if we were to stand up, the animals would think our vehicle was a different animal, potentially an enemy, and they would attack or run away. 
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Chris in front of our Land Rover.
After meeting up with our group, it was time to get ready for our first game drive.  Typically, on a safari, you will go on two drives per day, one in the early morning and one around sunset, as this is when the animals are most active.  Therefore, at Tanda Tula, we had four separate drives, each of which lasts 3-4 hours.  Without going into each of the game drives specifically, here are some of the highlights of our time at Tanda Tula:

Lions
We came across two male lions catching some sun on a dried up riverbed.  The younger lion does not yet have a mane, which typically comes in when the lion is 6-7 years old.  They were taking turns keeping watch and snoozing.  We later caught the same two lions in a field.  Take note of the younger lion here.  He put on a bit of a performance for us which will be highlighted in a future post…
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Two male lions on the riverbed
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Closeup
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We found the same two lions hidden in the grass later on that day
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The younger lion
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Elephants
The Timbavati Reserve and much of the Kruger region abounds with elephants.  In fact, there are too many elephants, which is a problem because they eat trees nonstop.  There was an attempt to relocate some elephants to Mozambique, however, they soon found their way back to Kruger.  At least we were able to benefit by seeing lots of them!
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Different elephant generations
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Eating
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More eating. These guys eat constantly.
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Attempting to hide from us
Rhinoceros
We saw loads of these guys too.
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Leopard
This is apparently one of the more elusive animals to spot.  Unlike lions, leopards are typically solitary and are harder to find during the day.  On our second day, we saw this in a tree on our morning game drive.  This is a freshly-killed impala, pulled up into a tree by a leopard the night before.  We searched the area for the leopard but to no avail – in fact, we ended up with a flat tire after driving over some sort of small tree and had to abandon the hunt.
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Leopard's freshly killed impala
However, the next day, our fortunes were better.  We found this female leopard in the grass under a tree protecting a recent kill.  She also had two cubs with her!  The cubs ran off when we approached, but we were able to snap a shot of them heading off into the bushes…
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Female leopard
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One of the cubs hiding from us, courtesy of Thomas who was quicker with his camera than we were!
Wild Dogs and Hyenas
Another animal that is fairly rare to glimpse is the wild dog.  These are similar to a large domestic dog, and they travel / hunt in groups.  We were lucky, and came across a pack of wild dogs that had just killed an impala.  Soon afterwards, a group of hyenas stole the kill, chasing off the wild dogs!  This all happened right next to our jeep and we got to see the hyenas fighting over the kill up close.  They also had a baby, which had to fight for a few bits of the carcass just like the others.  Hyenas are slow and therefore rarely hunt for their own kills.   They are, however, vicious, move in large groups, and typically take kills away from many other types of animals.  Unfortunately, this all happened after sunset, so our photos are a bit blurry, but it was amazing to see.
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Wild dogs after being chased away from their impala dinner.
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Hyena about to dig in
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Yum. Credit for this photo goes to our friend, Thomas, who was wisely using his flash!
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A baby hyena unhappy about our interruption of his meal. (Also courtesy of Thomas)
In addition to these, we also saw a variety of other animals including buffalo, warthogs, giraffes, monkeys, lots of different types of antelopes such as impalas, kudus and water bucks, and many types of interesting birds.  Here is a sample:
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Buffalo startled by our approach. Of all the animals on the safari, this is the one the guides fear the most, as they can charge at the vehicles.
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Group of impalas. Known as the 'McDonald's of the bush' because they are everywhere - good fast food for all types of predators!
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Male impala
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Steenbock
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One of the many giraffes we passed by!
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A warthog
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Zebras (pronounced Zeh-brah)
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Monkey ascending a tree. These guys were everywhere and loved to try to steal our food at meal times!
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Tree squirrels
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Hornbills
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A lilac breasted roller. These birds were very pretty.
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An eagle perched on top of a tall tree.
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Flying away
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Our fantastic group at Tanda Tula! Sabina, Thomas, Barbara an Ann, and our tracker, Patrick and guide, Scotch
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Team Barbier!
The animals were amazing. We saw all big 5 animals (elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo, and leopard) in just two days at Tanda Tula.  In addition to the game drives we also enjoyed the traditional aspects of safari life. For example, every night at sunset we stop in the bush for Sundowners - a cocktail & snack.  The South African sunsets are stunning and it's also fun to look at a sky full of stars on the drive back to the lodge. 

After our game drive, everyone warms up with an Amarula hot chocolate before dinner. Then the entire lodge eats together - either fine dining style or a typical braai (BBQ).  We enjoyed many different game meats that Chris surely write about in a future Culinary Delights post!

We had an AMAZING time at Tanda Tula - stay tuned for more safari adventures from our next stop, Nottens Bush Camp!
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Sundowner vista
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Days 36-37: Conquering Table Mountain, African Dancing & The Impossible Dream

6/20/2013

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The day after our shark encounter was a rainy one.  Luckily for us, it was a travel day because we were driving back to Cape Town from Hermanus.  This time, we opted to stay in a different part of Cape Town called Greenpoint. We found a neat little boutique hotel called Villa Zest that felt more like staying at someone's ultra modern home than staying at a hotel. While the rooms were compact, the staff was very friendly, the common room was very comfortable and the breakfast was delicious. We'd recommend this place, especially if you are into modern design. 

Table Mountain
The next day was clear and sunny so we decided to take advantage of the weather and go up  Table Mountain, one of the official New Seven Wonders of Nature.  One can hike up the mountain or take the cable car up. We opted to hike up because we had been consuming mass amounts of food in the Winelands and really needed a challenging workout. The hike up took us an hour and half and the view at the top was the perfect reward for our workout. Check out some of the photos:
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Chris on top of Table Mountain
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Table Mountain
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Table Mountain with Cape Town below
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Cable car
Magritte Moment
That evening was so lovely that we decided to walk along the beach in Camps Bay. The light was phenomenal so I spent most of the time taking pictures. While approaching Camps Bay in the car, I spotted what looked like an amature photo shoot of a man in a suit floating in the water. It immediately made me think of one of my favorite artists, Rene Magritte (famous for painting men in bowler hats).  I jumped out of the car and from a distance, I snapped a couple of shots of the scene. I was incredibly jealous of the photographer, but happy I had the chance to see his vision! 
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Photographer snapping the Magritte-like image in Camps Bay. Totally inspired!!!
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Here are a few more shots from the sunset at/around Camps Bay:
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Chris in front of the Twelve Apostles
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Camps Bay
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Where the man made pool meets the ocean in Camps Bay
Gold Restaurant
That evening we walked down the street from our hotel to Gold Restaurant. It's a popular tourist spot in Cape Town that received rave reviews online because, not only do they serve typical South African dishes, but they also have a series of live performances of African music & dance.  While the food was very good, I enjoyed the dancing and music most. 
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Dancing with the African king!
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Gold Restaurant singers and dancers. The guys wear Chucks!
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A few of the dishes they serve at Gold - Shrimp stew with rice, broccoli and tomato salad and a delicious spinach dish.
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The ladies painted both of our faces with African face paint. We received some odd looks from people on our walk home!
Here are some video clips of the performances.  The first dance featured below was amazing but sadly, I ran out of memory right when the guy went crazy on the dance floor. You get a brief glimpse of it - maybe enough to tempt you to go see it for yourself one day! 
USA: The Impossible Dream

During this stay in Cape Town, we talked at length to a gentleman from Zimbabwe who was working in South Africa. As most of you know, Zimbabwe went through an economic meltdown and political revolution in the late 90s/early 2000s and has been slowly trying to recover ever since. Because of this, many people have fled the country to find work - some permanently and others, like this man, hope to one day go home to a growing, stable country. We talked for a while about his history, family, the challenges he faces being from Zimbabwe and living in a South African township, and his vision for the future of his young family.  

At one point I asked him what he thought of the US, since I like to get an outsider's perspective on our country. He response:  To live and work in America is my biggest dream.  But it is impossible for me to get in. It will never happen. America  - it is the impossible dream. 

He was very sincere and looked off into the distance when he talked about the US, as if he was visiting the imaginary life he had built there many years ago. A few things struck me about what he said:

1) What made it impossible was that he literally can't get into the country. He wasn't concerned about having no money - he would do anything - any kind of work - everyday for the rest of his life just for the privilege to live and raise his child there.

2) He knew we were from the US and never said anything like - you are so lucky to have been born in the USA.  He didn't seem resentful or make us feel badly about our good fortune for being born in a successful country. He just answered my question simply and honestly.  

3) He spoke similarly about the UK and Germany. He just wants the opportunity to work in a strong, diverse economy where you can make a better life for your family if you work hard.

I think about my grandparents who fled Cuba or Chris' grandmother's family that fled Germany during WWII. They both came here with very little money and almost broken spirits.  Everything was taken from them so quickly.  But they had the freedom and opportunity to work and prosper. And they did so quickly - rebuilding little by little from the ground up. 

I've always known that I'm lucky to have been born in the USA, but I never felt more thankful for my country and the freedom & opportunities we have as Americans than I did after that conversation. 
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Day 35: DIVING WITH GREAT WHITE SHARKS

6/17/2013

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We were in Cape Town during peak shark viewing season, so we could not let the opportunity remain unexploited.  Chris was very excited about the chance to dive with the great whites, while I was more hesitant about the encounter.  We booked two spots with Great White Shark Tours, Chris to dive and me (I thought) to watch from the safety of the boat.  You see, I saw Jaws the Revenge at the young age of 6 one summer in Puerto Rico. That summer, I was so scared of sharks, I refused to swim in any body of water, including pools, fearing sharks would somehow find their way in through the drains.  Not only was I scared of the sharks, I was also afraid of plunging into the frigid winter seas.  

We departed from Gansbaai, a small town about 45 minutes south of Hermanus, and about two hours south of Cape Town.  We took the boat about five miles offshore to Dyer Island.  This is the area known as Shark Alley that you always see on Shark Week specials.  The area attracts the highest concentration of great whites in the world due to its bountiful seal crop. 

Check it out:
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Dyer island covered in seals
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An appetizer
We dropped anchor and the guides began chumming the water to attract the sharks.  They also put a seal decoy into the water to further entice the beasts.  Supposedly, it normally takes about 45 minutes for the chum to do its job and the first sharks to show up.
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Chumming
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Our seal
We didn't have to wait that long.  The first shark made his presence known in about 15-20 minutes.  Here are some of the scenes we witnessed from the shark boat.
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The first of these monsters was soon joined by 4-5 others.  They ranged in size from about 12 feet up to 18-20 feet.  Some of them were absolutely massive.  We saw some great attacks on the seal decoy but unfortunately, I was a bit slow on the trigger to capture a good shot of it with its teeth bared.  

After taunting the sharks with chum, bait and decoys for about ten minutes, it was time to get into the water.  The first few people suited up and made their way into the cage.
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Chris, eagerly awaiting his turn in the cage
About 6-8 people typically get into the cage at once.  The cage is just wide enough for one person in each slot, and floats in the water with about one foot of cage above the surface.  You wear a wetsuit and scuba mask, but no diving gear, as the air bubbles apparently frighten the sharks.  Then, when a shark approaches, the capitan gives you a signal and you hold your breath and go underwater.  

After watching the first group emerge from the cage unscathed and in awe, I decided I had to try it out.  Chris and I suited up and descended into the frigid water.
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We had been toying with the idea of investing in a GoPro before our trip, and the next 20 minutes caused us to thoroughly regret not pulling the trigger.  The sharks were spectacular.  We saw 4-5 different sharks from underwater attacking the seal decoy and bait, and making many close passes by the cage.  There was one massive shark that would come straight toward the cage very slowly while staring right at you with its bottomless eyes.  It would only turn at the last minute, in order to catch a better glimpse of the potential meal awaiting it inside the cage. This was by far the scariest part!

While we didn't have an underwater camera, we found this random guy's video on Youtube. He used the same company as us. This is pretty much what we got to see!
After our great white encounter, we decided that the sharks were not nearly as aggressive as we had expected, and were mostly curious about us rather than threatening.  It made me think of the movie Edward Scissorhands, where Edward just wanted to shake someone's hand or touch someone's face but couldn't because he would cut them with his sharp scissor hands.  Similarly, the sharks wanted to play and explore, but instead of scissors for hands, the sharks have a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.   While this gives me a better understanding of what is going through the shark's mind, I still would not want to find myself in the water with one!

As we headed back to Gansbaai after our adventure, we were accompanied by these birds, who were hand-fed in mid air by one of the boat's crew.
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This bird flew a couple feet from us on the boat.
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Feeding the birds en route.
We spent the night in the quaint town of Hermanus, which is known as the best spot in the world for land-based whale watching.  The town also employes a Whale Crier, whose job is to wander the streets and inform everyone about the latest whale sightings.  Unfortunately, while we were there, we didn't spot a while or hear a whale cry.  We did enjoy a night in the town, however, and an excellent dinner at La Pentola - highly recommended if you are ever in town! 

The next day, we headed back to Cape Town and hoped for better weather than the previous weekend's...
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Hermanus
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Days 32-34: The Winelands Awards

6/15/2013

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After a few days in Cape Town, we drove out to South Africa's famous winelands.  We've been to a few other well-known wine regions including Napa/Sonoma/Healdsburg in California and Marlborough in New Zealand.  While these regions are both stunning, we liked South Africa's Winelands the best because of their unique landscape, friendly locals, phenomenal red wines and amazing (and affordable!) food.  

Similar to California's wine region, the Winelands consist of a number of small towns.  The biggest is Stellenbosch, which is full of great wineries, but the town center is pretty crowded with tourists, students and people who work in the area. The next largest town is Franschhoek  which consists of beautiful vineyards, a small town and some of the world's best restauarants. Then there are smaller towns like Paarl, where the town itself is nothing to write home about, but the vineyards are very pretty. 

Our brother-in-law, Jerry, is a chef and long time wine connoisseur, so he had some connections with a few wineries in South Africa. Thanks to said connections, we had a nice list of places to visit! We also ventured out on our own and made some great discoveries.  

We did a lot in just 3 days so for this entry, we will list our favorites.  In case you don't know us, we should note that we are, by no means, food & wine experts.  We are, however, fortunate in that we have very similar tastes in wine, so we tended to favor the same wines during our Winelands tour.  Some have even suggested that we had less sophisticated palates (ahem...cork dork at New Zealand's Serasin winery).   We just like what we like.  As a preface to the following, we should mention that we only made it to about eight wineries, and tasted 3-8 wines at each place.  Therefore, we are by no means qualified to issue the following awards.  However, we will do so anyway.  So without further ado, here are our Wineland Awards:

Best Red Wines:

First place: Boekenhoutskloof's flagship Syrah shown in the picture below (seven chairs on the label).  We wanted to buy a bottle, but they only sell it by the case and, sadly, do not ship to the US. We tasted this on our 3rd day in the Winelands and it was easily the best red we had during our visit. 
  

Second place: a tie between Choloclate Block (also a Boekenhoutskloof wine - it's second-tier offering) and Mont Rochelle's 2007 Syrah.  We tasted the Mont Rochelle at dinner at Ryan's Kitchen the first night and loved it so we went to the vineyard the next day and picked up a bottle.  It is really a shame (or maybe a blessing) that none of these places ship to Massachusetts! 
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Our favorite wine from the Winelands is the one on the right - Boekenhoutskloof Syrah (seven chairs label).
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Porcupine sculpture at Boekenhoutskloof. They also make Porcupine Ridge wine.
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One of the many great danes at Boekenhoutskloof.
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Boekenhoutskloof's labels
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View from Mont Rochelle winery
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Mont Rochelle Winery
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Runner-up for best red - Mont Rochelle's 2007 Syrah
Best White Wines:

First place: Grand Provence Sauvignon Blanc.  Normally we enjoy Sauvy's from New Zealand, and this wine was very close to one of our favorites (as it happens, the one our unsophisticated palates were ridiculed for enjoying, so take this one for what it's worth!)  It turns out they use grapes from the coastal region, similar to those in New Zealand, while others source their Sauvy grapes farther inland.  These other local attempts at Sauvignon Blancs fell a bit short for us.

Second place:  Hamilton Russell Chardonnay.  Typically we do not like Chardonnays due to their heft and full, buttery taste.  This wine, however, was lighter and crisp with a great flavor.  They use clay barrels in combination with oak, which gives it this taste.
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We finally found a Chardonnay that we like - Hamilton Russell!
Best Pinotage:

Pinotage is a red wine variety produced exclusively in South Africa.  We tried several of these at various wineries, but really only cared for one of them, the Pinotage produced at Neil Ellis winery.  Apparently, about 80% of the Pinotage grapes burned last summer due to excessive heat, so it may be a while before production levels are restored.
Best View:

First place:  The beautiful view from Tokara, which is perched atop a hill on the main route between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.  The bright colors and diagonal lines of the vineyard contrasted with the blue sky.

Second place: Delaire Graff's main outdoor patio. The owners of this vineyard also own a diamond business and have poured a lot of money into this place. It's decadent.  The wines were not our favorite, but we really enjoyed the stunning view of the fall leaves and colorful gardens surrounding the property. 
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View from Tokara
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Tokara
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Delaire Graff
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Delaire Graff
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Delaire Graff
Best Dinner:

We ate at a place called Ryan's Kitchen in Franshhoek. Supposedly you can't get a table at this place in the high season, but this time of year, you can walk in.  It was our good fortune.  While the menu was very interesting we opted for the fixed menu chosen by the chef, which ended up consisting of the following:

  • Amuse-bouche:  Beet mousse with crispy mushroom crumbles served in a miniature pail
  • 1st Course: Tuna tartare in a tunnel made of frozen vegetable puree with seaweed gelatin cubes, aubergine and some sort of dust that made the tuna effervescent
  • 2nd Course: Minced lamb in a thin pancake / crepe with chopped nuts, white pepper meringue and roasted red pepper 
  • 3rd Course: Wildebeest medallions on a bed of minced green beans with duck fat french fry cubes
  • Dessert: Guava souffle with caramel ice cream and some sort of chocolate concoction with pumpkin seed oil ice cream. The guava souffle was one of my all time favorite desserts!

This was our favorite/most interesting meal from South Africa.  We also had dinner at The Common Room which was not nearly as creative or delicious.
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Ryan's Kitchen - Our table was in front on the left so we had a good view of the kitchen.
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Guava souffle!!! It's heaven in a ramekin.
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Thumbs up from Team Barbier!
Most Relaxing:

We had lunch at La Motte winery.  This winery is owned by the same family that owns (or owned) large stakes in a number of famous luxury brands, such as Cartier. The wine estate is expansive and beautiful, and there was a great spot for lunch where we spent a few hours eating, exploring the grounds and of course, sampling the wine.  Here are a few photos:
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La Motte
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Bubbles to accompany my salad at La Motte
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La Motte's dining room
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Chris relaxing outside after lunch
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La Motte
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La Motte
Best Decor:

Part of the fun of visiting all of these wineries is seeing how each has chosen to decorate its facilities and wine tasting area.  Each is different based on the owner's personal style and tastes.  While it's tough to choose, for us, first place goes to the tasting room at Grand Provence, which was certainly not the most elaborately decorated place we visited, but had great style.
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The tasting room at Grand Provence. We had the place to ourselves!
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Best Lodging:

This isn't really an award because we only stayed at one place in the Winelands, but we thought it was worth mentioning because it was wonderful!  We stayed at a guesthouse called Fransvliet outside of Franschhoek.  It consists of 4 lovely cottages situated in the garden with a great view of the vines and the mountains.  The manager, Victor, was incredibly hospitable and the owner, Shirley, was very friendly. Shirley owned a cooking school in Johannesburg for many years and recently decided to retire to Franschhoek.  Victor also worked with her at the cooking school, and moved his family to Franschhoek to manage the property. 

The rooms are massive and nicely decorated by Shirley's daughter who is an interior designer. The bathroom is huge, with a claw foot tub, heated floors, and wonderful bath products (I loved the lotion!). Each room has a wood burning stove and two complimentary bottles of wine - a perfect combination for a cool winter's night.  

Another thing worth calling out is the breakfast. The amazing breakfast!!! We ate at gourmet breakfast in the main  house every single morning. Here is a sample of our menu:

-A fantastic juice made from ginger, lime, apple and pear
-Yogurt with fresh warmed berries from the orchard outside
-Cappuccino and fresh breads & pastries
-Eggs with portabello mushrooms and bacon

If you ever make it out to the Winelands, definitely stay here!
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Our room at Fransvliet (Cabernet Room)
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Our bathroom at Fransvliet
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View from the garden at Fransvliet
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Fransvliet cottages
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Chris with the friendly property manager, Victor
Best Bartender:

We stopped into Tokara primarily to see the grounds and the view, but ended up having a tasting and spent probably an hour talking to the bartender who helped us out.  He was very young, maybe early 20's, but very passionate and knowledgeable about wine. He talked about wines from different regions - inside and out of South Africa. We think he may be a winemaker some time soon!
Best Wildlife:
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Baboons in the road outside of Paarl.
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    Eva has been traveling for 15+ years, including an 8 month journey around the world.  

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