It was fun hanging out with the REAL athletes, once again.
Here are some of the Ironman South Africa competitors staying at my hostel in Port Elizabeth. All finishers.
official Race Report – Schildknecht and Donavan reign at Spec-Savers IRONMAN South Africa 2013
My old friend Colin, many years at University of Winnipeg, returned to his burned or burnt country of Australia for retirement.
March 4th, 2013 he said goodbye to his 93yr-old Mom and jumped into his used 19 foot pop top Caravan. It has a 3-burner gas cooktop and gas gorilla, built-in fridge, a roof mounted air conditioner
He (and friends at times) are on the road in Aussie for a year.
Follow Colin on his blog
I came across a statistic the other day that claimed only about ten percent of Americans have traveled outside their country. There is no reason for this. The recession is not an explanation …
… I count among my friends the most-traveled man in history, Paul Theroux. Not only has he written many wonderful novels and short stories, but a shelf of travel books. …
He is the most widely-read man I know, and he suffers my company because I have heard of Mrs. Gaskell and Oliver Onions, and I share his opinion that for a book to read on a journey, nobody beats Simenon.
I told him one quiet afternoon that with his eyes he had seen more of the surface of the earth at ground level than any other man had, and any other man ever would. He said he had never thought of it that way. …
Has travel broadened him? He says not. He is rather notorious for having written, “Extensive traveling induces a feeling of encapsulation; and travel, so broadening at first, contracts the mind.” …
Why then, does Theroux travel? “The greatest justification for travel,” he wrote in Dark Star Safari, “is not self-improvement but rather performing a vanishing act, disappearing without a trace. …
A slow boat to anywhere (2009)
I rather doubt that Theroux, one of my favourite writers, is the most traveled man. But he’s up there.
Dave Sykes linked to a post by a fellow returned from 9 months living out of a backpack in New Zealand:
… One of the most surprising discoveries I made during my trip was that I spent much less per month traveling foreign counties (including countries more expensive than Canada) than I did as a regular working joe back home.
I had much more free time, I was visiting some of the most beautiful places in the world, I was meeting new people left and right, I was calm and peaceful and otherwise having an unforgettable time, and somehow it cost me much less than my humble 9-5 lifestyle here in one of Canada’s least expensive cities.
It seems I got much more for my dollar when I was traveling. Why? …
Raptitude – Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed
My hostel dorn bed in Cape Town cost $9/night.
Later, for 3 nights, I splurged on a poolside single, $28/night.
related – my philosophy of voluntary simplicity
FANTASTIC.
Trip report coming soon.
I had an airline ticket to El Salvador. On checking in, a young agent for Copa Airlines noted that I only had 3 months left on my passport. El Salvador is one of those nations requiring a minimum of 6 months.
If an Airline puts me on the flight, they could be fined.
She refused me a boarding pass.
I tried 6 or 7 ways to get permission to get on that flight. All failed.
Finally a more senior employee of Copa suggested I try buying a last minute ticket on another airline. The other airline was happy to sell me an expensive ticket, ignoring the 6 month passport requirement.
My bad.
Still, I’ll avoid Copa airlines in future, if I possibly can.
related – A friend has a visa for Congo. But was not allowed on the flight because the visa would expire before she was scheduled to depart the nation.
5 days.
Far too few.
Cape Town is one of the great tourist cities: wine, climate, beaches, outdoor activities, history. Mandela and Desmond Tutu.
Long Street is the Khaosan Road of South Africa. Young people flock her looking for meaningful short term friendship.
Table Mountain was recently voted one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the world.
That said, this city and nation have problems: urbanization, land degradation, petty theft, disparity of wealth, …
I’m sure I’ll be back. Perhaps en route a Southern Hemisphere Round the World itinerary.
South Africa is a long, long way from … anywhere.
A Gatsby is a South African style of deli sandwich very similar in content and method of preparation as a hoagie in the United States. It is mostly popular in the Western Cape province. It is a seasonal dish and oddly is not served anywhere in the Cape Town region past 25 February each year until it returns on 10 March.
Gatsbies usually consist of long bread rolls cut lengthwise and opened up to form a sort of cradle which is filled with various fillings. While the choice of filling in a Gatsby varies widely depending on customer preference and vendor, one standard item is usually hot chips i.e. French fries.
Different varieties of Gatsbys include masala steak, chicken, polony, Vienna sausage, calamari, fish, and chargrilled steak.
Gatsbies originated in the Cape Flats area of Cape Town, where people would often buy large rolls and fill them with whatever leftovers they had, and split them four ways. This practice has carried on in modern times, with gatsbies being bought in full, half or quarter sizes. …
My half Gatsby made 3 meals. And I threw out most of the fries.
related – The great Gatsby hunt in Cape Town: Where to find it and how to enjoy it
District Six … is the name of a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town, South Africa. It is best known for the forced removal of over 60,000 of its inhabitants during the 1970s by the apartheid regime. …
MUST see attraction.
After World War II, during the earlier part of the apartheid era, District Six was relatively cosmopolitan. Situated within sight of the docks, it was made up largely of coloured residents which included a substantial number of coloured Muslims, called Cape Malays. There were also a number of black Xhosa residents and a smaller numbers of Afrikaans, whites, and Indians.
Government officials gave four primary reasons for the removals.
In accordance with apartheid philosophy, it stated that interracial interaction bred conflict, necessitating the separation of the races. They deemed District Six a slum, fit only for clearance, not rehabilitation. They also portrayed the area as crime-ridden and dangerous; they claimed that the district was a vice den, full of immoral activities like gambling, drinking, and prostitution.
Though these were the official reasons, most residents believed that the government sought the land because of its proximity to the city center, Table Mountain, and the harbor.
On 11 February 1966, the government declared District Six a whites-only area under the Group Areas Act …
… in 1994 the District Six Museum came into being. It serves as a remembrance to the events of the apartheid era as well as the culture and history of the area before the removals.
The ground floor is covered by a large street map of District Six, with handwritten notes from former residents indicating where their homes had been; other features of the museum include street signs from the old district, displays of the histories and lives of District Six families, and historical explanations of the life of the District and its destruction.
In addition to its function as a museum it also serves as a memorial to a decimated community, and a meeting place and community center for Cape Town residents who identify with its history. …
District 9 is a 2009 science fiction film produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Neill Blomkamp. Although set in an alternate Johannesburg, it is inspired by the events surrounding District Six. …
After a couple of days, I’m starting to get a feel for the vibe of this town.
Click PLAY or watch a promo on YouTube.
Cape Town – World Design Capital 2014
In one way hip, like something in Scandinavia.
In other ways, quite rustic and backwards. Pedestrians all jay walk, for example. Foot traffic is lawless.
I’m not convinced yet that South Africa could host the Olympics.
