Welcome to our blog! Taryn's an old pro based on her practice blogging in India, and Kraemer has had to report on his ridiculous amount of world traveling to so many friends and family that blogging is really just second nature. No, but really, we do hope you find an entry or two entertaining. Otherwise, this is just our way to let our parents know that we're still alive and kicking, even on the continent of Africa.

As a disclaimer, though this is written in tandem, please recognize that some things would only come out of Kraemer's mouth. :)

Saturday, July 31, 2010

The Accident

It just wouldn't be a trip to a foreign country if I didn't have some sort of undesirable encounter with a vehicle.

In one of my earlier posts I reference my white-knuckle trip north to Belin. What scared me was people's judgment, or lack thereof. The general rule is, "Pass if you want to." Big scary bend? No problem. Oncoming traffic? Heck, they'll get out of MY way. Solid white line? That's just a suggestion. (Not that the lines are always there anyway.)

In this instance, I was feeling pretty good about my ride. We were coming back from our site visit to Gorongosa. The driver was from Chimoio, so this was his turf, and he worked for an international development firm, which for some reason made me more confident in his driving abilities (don't ask me where the logic is there). But all around cool, calm, responsible guy.

The problem, as I mentioned earlier, was the OTHER guys. It was dusk, we were on a two-lane highway approaching a big ol' semi chugging past another semi (read: in our lane) as it was coming up a hill, around a bend (see? judgment issues) and would have hit that brother head on. So, our driver calmly pulls completely off the road and comes to a stop - it wasn't going to be a good idea to drive at high speeds on the barely-there margin.

Crazy chapa driver man behind us was either not too bright or going way too fast and didn't make the move in time. Instead, he DID slam head on into the semi and spiraled into our parked car, which promptly slid down the embankment. At first I didn't realize what had happened - had we hit the truck? I just prayed we didn't start to roll. We all had on seatbelts and fortunately the car stayed upright. I walked away intact with only a headache.

Chapa folks weren't so lucky. First of all, as usual, they were packed in like sardines. All those people there? That times two, that's what filed out. The little kids were wailing. A man covered in blood was laying motionless on the sidewalk. The men were busy tugging luggage out of the front of the chapa so that they could get to the driver, who was wedged between the crushed metal frame.

We waited around for an hour or so before a friend of our driver's came to pick me and the other TDYer up. Our and his colleague stayed on. The police had arrived and were directing traffic around the scene, and some of the onlookers helped flag down a pick-up where they lifted the unconscious into the bed of the truck - an ambulance was out of the question. I have no idea how they made out. Chapa riders had begun to start the long walk to who knows where.

We eventually made it to the hotel, where they couldn't find our reservation. Go figure.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Cape Town, I love you!!!

Even though I'd been hoping to take a long trip while here, I wasn't sure whether I could swing the vacation time. But Kraemer gets antsy. We tossed around the idea of Madagascar, but it never really grabbed me, and when we found out that it's nearly just as expensive to fly there from here as it is from Washington (eh, and that bit about political strife), it got the ax.

Enter Cape Town.

YAY! Amazing!! Worth every penny!! I would LIVE there. Are you grasping my excitement here? Mom, you would like this.

There's no way to fit everything in in a week, but we sure gave it a shot. We visited the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, which are gargantuan, and I'd be out there every afternoon reading if I lived here. Gorgeous, blue Table Mountain framed by bright white clouds; a trickling stream hidden amongst leafy, green rain forest; endless exotic flowers = awesome. The first flower we walked past was with Mandela's Gold, a Bird of Paradise they spent 20 years + perfecting.


















Of course, I could never leave Cape Town without visiting wine country, so we spent an afternoon ... at only two wineries. Hey, don't drink and drive, folks. We had to limit ourselves. But we were so enamored by one that we bought a case. Mostly pinotage, but it even included a port (which Kraemer typically despises) and two whites. If only they sold it somewhere in the U.S. other than California. Maybe that's where I should move. I love wine country.



The mountains, the vineyards, the country roads, the open sky and brilliant evenings..... Anyway. I would recommend Delheim to anyone. I might even get it shipped to me. The one right before it - Murati, just in case you go, was cool-looking, their windows covered in cobwebs and the rooms stalked with heirlooms, but their wine was forgettable.



We went on the recommendation of a lovely woman (and her hubby) that we'd met while eating lunch at Olympia Cafe in Kalk Bay. Pretty sure it used to be a dry town back in the day; something about the king not wanting to have to deal with a bunch of drunk sailors. Makes sense. This was the cutest, quaintest little harbor town I've ever seen. The shops ran the gamut and were all adorable, little antique shops, art galleries, shops with vintage clothing, ice cream and gelato shops, shops, shops, shops, all right on the water, watching the boats come in.

Olympia's was divine. Fresh bread. Fresh juice. Heavy pour on our second glass of wine, to share. Our waitress was sweet. I had a scrumptious seafood pasta dish (I'm always looking for one done in red sauce and not cream!) and Kraemer inhaled his fish. We were seated out back, with walls of cracked stones and gems, and a little picnic table further out back (that was sucking down some good-looking mimosas with fresh orange juice). Kraemer made me leave early because we were there forever, and there was no way I should be eating all the mousse they gave me for dessert.


The V&A Waterfront, while as much as I want to call it a big mall, is really than just a big mall - it's on the harbor, and - featured once again - Table Mountain is lit up with spectacular blue lights in the background. (We climbed Table Mountain ... and took the cable car back down.) We ate at a good Thai spot, Wang Thai; twice, in fact, as the second time we really just were in search of ANY place that served a drink where we could sit and watch the semifinals. Actually made a killer spicy martini.


And while we're talking drinks: has anyone else discovered Appletisers? Only after I looked at their website did I realize they have flavors other than apple, grape and pear. They have POMEGRANATE. People in SA drink them everywhere and with anything. They mix it with their whiskey. They mix it with their wine. They drink it straight up. They probably serve it over ice cream or cook it inside of chickens (hey, we cook ours with a beer can).

We also discovered this amazing deli: Giovanni's. Well, not really, my coworker Bita told us about it, but It. Was. SO. Good. Seriously. We were there six days and I think we ate there at least three times. They basically have the biggest selection of ham ever, gourmet sides, dips and cheeses and wide selection of freshly baked bread (multigrain with toasted pumpkin seeds! toasty french loaf! homemade salty pretzel bread, holy cow!) Delicious breakfast goods goes without saying. Fortunately for us, it was basically right outside our door.

That, and the stadium. The place was nuts. At some points it was impossible to get from Point A to Point B, visible from Point A, without walking about 1/2 a mile out of your way and pushing the guy with the clown wig out of your path. There sure were some stellar costumes though. I think some people confused the World Cup with Halloween.

We spent some time driving (or, rather, Kraemer spent some time driving, since I am a pathetically incompetent individual and cannot drive stick, sorry!) up and down the coast, too. Took in beautiful Chapman's Peak, met with the penguins, had a run in with some baboons (but not nearly as close as another car, which had a pretty mean-looking 'boon pop a squat on the hood of their car) and peered over the meeting of the waters at Cape Point. We got a glimpse of the suburban beach town north of Cape Town with some sundowners at the Blue Peter (though next time? We'd stay in town and watch the sunset from the 12 Apostles. I write this for all of you who make the right choice and visit CT.)


As usual, food featured very highly in my adventure. We treated ourselves with a dinner at Aubergine, where we indulged in the degustation menu paired by a sommelier who visited our table between courses to describe his selection. We dined on tian of waterhog confit and crusoy potato, squid ink noodles with skate wing and calamari, the "cape sea harvest" (I can't remember what it was!), loin of lamb and aubergine, wizenberger puffs and dessert. And those aren't even the full descriptions. Uh huh. We also enjoyed a cookies and cream milkshake at Mr. Pickwick's (known for their shakes, that one in particular), some delicious salads and sandwiches at Frieda's, another fine dining experience at Savoy Cabbage and a thali (yay, how I missed you, my never-ending cheap lunch!) at Masala Dosa.


What we didn't do: Robben Island (our tour was canceled due to wind) or the open-top bus tours (both times we went to the office, all tours were off since roads were closed because the World Cup was in town). Plus probably another thing or two. ;)