Pinch Me, I’m in Heaven 🌍
The sun travels across the northern sky in South Africa. This sounds very logical and trite, but I hadn’t thought about it for the last several days of being here. So when the sun is blazing on my left, I’m heading east. It’s the opposite of what I’m used to (and yes, I notice these things), and it helped me to understand where we were heading today without my usual navigation equipment.
What started this thought was a conversation with some new African friends, Dani and Marius from South Africa and Richard from Namibia, over some coffee and milk tart. We also chatted about the national languages of South Africa (there are 11), the origins of Afrikaans (old Dutch), and the lack of melting of people in this country.
They asked me if I had ever seen a landscape like South Africa before, and the best analogy I had was California. But then we immediately talked about its disgusting suburbia and painful traffic. We agreed that South Africa wins by a long shot. 🏞️
We then rode down to Mossel Bay and had lunch at a barbecue joint. I ate a local delicacy that is similar to a hamburger, but less greasy. I took pictures of Mossel Bay while waiting for lunch to be served and looked at where we were on a map. This bay leads to the Indian Ocean! Holy cow, I made it to the Indian Ocean! 🌊
We finished the remaining short stint back to our hotel. My room is a small round cottage with a thatched roof, looking like a place where a hobbit would live. Outside my door, I have views of endless mountains and horse pastures. I was told to lock my door at night because baboons might try to come in and steal my stuff. It doesn’t feel that rustic here, but maybe it is. 🏡🐒
Before dinner, I went for an hour and a half hike with Jane up to the lookout vista. Along the way, we found a tree with bright orange petals that jumped out compared to the dull green fields and graying skies. It took about 10 pictures from every possible angle, but we each ended up with one or two that satisfied us. 🌳📸
Over dinner, I chatted with Jerry and Barbara from New Zealand. We shared our love for extensive traveling and fun adventures. In February, I’m considering a motorcycle tour in New Zealand, and Jerry and Barbara offered a place to stay while I’m there. So it’s very possible we might see each other again soon. 🌏🏍️
Thinking about the day, it was filled with mountains, an ocean, good food, great company, and superb motorcycle riding. Pinch me, I’m in heaven.
