Running Into An Old Friend

Argo is at the dock in Cape Town!

For those of you that don't know, this is the boat that I did my 90 day Sea~Mester on. I last saw her when I stepped off the boat in Phuket Thailand almost exactly 3 years ago! She came from Singapore 7,400 nautical miles across the Indian Ocean. It was great to catch up with her and her crew.

For more on Sea Mester Programs visit them HERE.

Look who's coming to Cape Town...

Two very dear friends from Seattle, Ben and Jen are coming out to see Eliot and I in South Africa! I've done a lot of racing with these guys on their boat (Moore 24 named More Uff Da), and they really are two of the most fun loving people I know. This photo is from a few years ago, and almost immediately after it was taken the lifeline snapped sending us three girls into the frigid November waters of Puget Sound! As soon as we bobbed back up and realized what had happened we just fell into a fit of giggles. Always a great time with this crew, I can't wait to show them our little world down here in South Africa.

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.

I've always wanted to be a rock star

Wow, another week has gone by and we have arrived at the weekend once again. Thank goodness for weekends, they're always the shiniest part of the week. Most of all, I just love sleeping in on Saturday morning. Knowing that I get to sleep in on Saturday morning, makes waking up at 5:30am during the week bearable (but of course when you wake up at 5:30am almost everyday, it makes it impossible to sleep in past 8:00am on Saturday).

Also, recently, I've been testing out going to the gym in the morning before work which means I try to be at the gym by 5 so I can be home by 6 and ready to walk out the door by 6:30. It may sound crazy, but it has been the only time that I can get motivated to go. After work, all I want to do is unwind with a cup of tea and relax a bit before dinner. So far it's been working out, but we'll see how long it lasts.

Another bright spot in our weekend, Eliot's parents are flying in today from England. We're looking forward to having them here for a few weeks, and I'd love to say "showing them around" but the reality is they've been here a lot more times than we have and they'll probably be showing us around.

Also this weekend, I'm racing in a women's regatta out of the Royal Cape Yacht Club, and I've even been asked to skipper the boat! (and no, it's not an opti as Eliot asked when I told him.) It is a bit strange to me, that I don't know any of these people, apart from corresponding via email, and they want me to drive. But I like to just push those thoughts out and pretend I'm a rock star for a day.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend Happenings

~View from our braii porch as the sun sets in Cape Town~

So I've started working now, and the weekends have become very precious to me. It seemed like in China we never really had weekends, just one day a week Eliot and I got to hang out together, and the rest of the time he was working and/or I was going to classes. So on the downside I've started working (nothing too exciting so I won't bore you with the details), but on the plus side, we actually have real weekends that we try and cram pack full of stuff we really love doing (weather permitting). Friday night we had a "proper braii" at out place with some good friends. Now that we have a kitchen and can buy the ingredients we like, we really enjoy having people over for dinner, or just drinks.






Notice the name of the wine? Delicious South African wine named after my hometown :)


On Saturday we mostly just laid low and chilled. It wasn't an absolutely spectacular, sunny Cape Town day, although Eliot did manage to get some good body surfing in.

Sunday though we managed to get out on the water and go sailing! We took out a 46' sail cat with the guys that Eliot works with and they're significant others. It was a beautiful day, and the weather was perfect for being out there. Although I didn't take too many photos. I guess I was too busy sipping wine and enjoying myself to be bothered. After we got off the water we ended the day by body surfing at the beach in front of our place until the sun went down. It's safe to say, I'm really loving being here, and I feel like there's always so much to do, and 2 day weekends are not enough.


View of Table Mountain and the Lion's Head from Table Bay


Eliot at the helm


Mike and Anthea

My Trip Home

I recently left China for 2 weeks during my birthday to go to Bellingham and catch up with friends and family at home. I had a great time and was able to do some sailing, which wasn't always the warmest but was so refreshing. I also did some hiking and of course lots of eating. I really missed some of the western foods you just can't get in Fuyang, one of them being really good bread. It was so good to catch up with my family and friends. I'm really lucky to have so many great people to go home to.