I’ve decided US drivers are in great need of etiquette lessons from South African drivers. When someone wants to pass you, they give a little flick of the lights. After they pass, they give you the hazards to say thank you and then you flick the lights back to say thank you back. I mean it’s all very nice as they are driving you off the road. After 5 hours of driving, I think there were only 2-3 people who did not show their manners.
Jill had issues with the entire process since she hasn’t quite mastered the blinker on the right thing but DANG are the car windows clean as a result. She would try to cover her mistake by washing the windshield often(since our blinker is their windshield wipers). I on the other hand feel very comfortable hugging the shoulder. It’s not easy when you see oncoming cars to know where you are on the road.
As the road signs say, speed kills so I stick to the left – the old ladies pace.
Another scenic drive along the Garden Route to a lovely place on the Indian Ocean called Plettenberg Bay. To say I am in the middle of nowhere may be an understatement; to say I am in a luscious forest surrounded by dense bush is quite another. I mean Jill read a manual about what not to do and topping the list was entertaining the baboons. It’s not like I am an animal person to begin with but now I am in the Wilderness and no kidding that city is just 10 kms away from here. I am now in the middle of a bug’s dream come true.
My shower I just took started with brown water for about 15 minutes before I just said fuck it. (It did eventually get hot and clear but that was after my hypothermia.) On a positive note, it is beautiful. The trees are rich and full and the richest green you can imagine . You have to appreciate the nature as it occupies a vast amount of land here in SA. I will be avoiding any sort of adventures hikes as I am pretty sure there are many snakes that are lurking in the darkness waiting to bite me. Oh did I mention I am in complete silence and will be forced to live as one with nature. I am finding it hard to just be but my guess is eventually I will lose my NY edge and truly unwind. I don’t think I would last long on a deserted island unless I could teach a bird to talk to me.
One last commentary and I am off to a seafood dinner on the Indian Ocean. For those with small bladders like me, you should feel very comfortable visiting SA. These are some of the cleanest bathrooms on earth. I mean I have never seen anything like it. It has so impressed me that I started asking the locals about it and they contend clean bathrooms are a big deal here. I mean it’s like going at home…fresh flowers, tp and a wonderful scent (don’t take that the wrong way).
Tomorrow I am meeting monkeys and hanging from trees at least that is the plan for now.
