Salt Heart

It is so strange to have the weather warming up during this time of year, and to think that by Christmas it's going to be the hottest time of year, and kids are going to be breaking from school for summer holiday. I am really looking forward to the warm weather, and this weekend gave us a taste of it. I think my body is happier in warmer climates, I really don't mind being hot, but I get cold really easily (Maine was a true test living up there). But there is something I miss about Autumn and seeing the leaves turn from emerald green to copper orange, and getting bundled up on clear crisp days to go for a walk outside. Ahhhh....grass is always greener, but believe me, I wouldn't change where we are right now for anything. This past year has seemed like we're chasing winter around, and I'm glad to be in a place where we'll be able to enjoy a summertime for a little while.

Eliot's parents arrived on Friday night after a very long trip, and I think they were happy to have a glass of wine and hot meal waiting for them. Friday we had warm weather, which was a prequal to what we were to expect over the weekend.

Saturday morning we woke up to clear skies and a promise of 25 degrees (77F). Saturday was also the day of the women's regatta that I was participating in, so I kept checking the water to see if the breath of wind we had was going to stick around. The race didn't start until 2 so I wasn't very optimisitic. I headed down to the club around 11 to meet up with the rest of my crew and to see how many other ladies I was actually going to have on the boat. There was me and there was supposed to be 3 more. Unfortunately one called and cancelled the day before, and one didn't show up. So I was convinced it was going to be me and one other girl, Alli. I wasn't too worried because the wind was so light, and I knew that we probably could manage, but Alli seemed a bit nervous since she hadn't done much racing. At the last minute they did managed to find us one more lady to join our crew, which brought our numbers to a nice round 3.


~The Crew~

We had a fabulous day. The wind stayed steady right around 8-10knts, the breeze was warm and it was a lot of fun. We didn't do that great in the actual race, but we didn't come last and I think we probably had the best time (being 3 ladies who didn't even know eachother). I was trying to drive and teach at the same time, which isn't always easy, but by the end of the day those girls had their tacks down, with the headsail in and trimmed.








~The Girls~


~Gorgeous, er... woMEN~

*Photos courtesy of the Royal Cape Yacht Club

I met a lot of really nice people and I'm feeling more motivated than ever to get out on the water again.


On Sunday we decided to take a boat and go out on a tour of Robben Island. It's about a 40 minute boat ride from the water front area of town, and it's probably most famous for having a large prison that used to house political prisoners. The most well known prisoner being Nelson Mandela who served 18 years on Robben Island, and went on to become the president of South Africa in a fully democratic election.

The tour was incredible, and was made that way by our tour guides. The first guide was a man who was also a political prisoner himself on Robben island for 5 years. He showed us around the prison, and it was really incredible to get his take, first hand. It also reminds you, how it's not that long ago that South Africa wanted to segregate their population into racial groups. The last political prisoners were only released from Robben Island in 1991.


~Ex Political Prisoner- imprisoned for high treason~

The second tour guide, showed us around the rest of the island, and knew almost everything about South African history. He kept asking people on the bus where they were from, and for every country he could tell you how they had contributed to South African history. A very dynamic and interesting speaker who is the favorite guide when it comes to giving tours to political dignitaries including president Obama.






~High prison walls~


~Mendela's garden where he buried his manuscripts for his book, The Long Walk to Freedom~




~Mendela's prison cell~

So a near perfect weekend in South Africa with family visiting, sailing and also a bit of South African history thrown in. Quite Lekker.

*after note- After posting this I received an email from a woman who works for a non profit organization called The Robben Island Singers. They send a group of ex-political prisoners to tour America and share their stories of struggle as well as perform concerts. The whole project sounds really interesting, and you can check it out by clicking HERE.