Hello World
- Quirky name : ✅
- Minimalist design : ✅
- Inflated sense of importance : ✅
Here we go, all the boxes are checked, the travel blog is off and running.
I don’t really know how this is going to go. Will it be updated weekly? Sporadically? Never again? I guess it depends on how much time I end up having to update this and how much ‘blog-worthy’ shit I’m able to capture or want to recount. I’m imagining an obscure public diary of my travels told as honestly as possible for the sake of my memory and anyone who cares to follow along.
Anyways, here’s an update of what’s happened so far…
Dubai Connection
Sandwiched between two long Benadryl-fueled flights was a lengthy Dubai layover. I opted to check out the city for a bit and hopped on the metro towards downtown Dubai. My first thought after settling on the train was ‘wow, there are a lot of women in Dubai.’ After a few minutes and a couple stern glances from some of the women on my train I had my second thought, ‘the women here do not seem to like me.’ I pondered prejudices and other potential explanations before noticing that the metro car I was in was for women and children only. My first idiotic tourist move of the trip, many more to come.
I checked out the Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall area. As expected, the Burj Khalifa is mind-bogglingly tall. The surrounding area is filled with designer stores and luxury car dealerships. At least in this part of the city, the excessive stereotype of Dubai was very much affirmed. Who needs designer clothes when everyone seems to wear the same exact white robe?
First days in Cape Town
When I arrived in Cape Town I realized that my surfboards had not. No big deal, the surf was supposed to be stormy that day anyways. I got my rental car (sick little Ford Figo) and drove to my airbnb. My host is the man and the spot is picturesque overlooking part of the city:
Cape Town is super cool. The people are friendly and the area is undeniably beautiful. The Rand is fairly weak against the dollar so things are relatively inexpensive, especially Ubers. You can get a ride across town on a weekend night for literally two dollars.
But boy oh boy, the wealth gap here is stark. Bernie Sanders would have several heart attacks. Some people seem to be living an upper-class American lifestyle, while other people are living in legitimate third world conditions. It definitely feels weird whipping around buying artisanal sandwiches and all of the sudden driving past a township. It’s very sad to see this contrast, such is post-apartheid life in South Africa I suppose.
First couple surfs in South Africa
My boards eventually arrived a day and a half late just as I was getting over the jet-lag. I wasted no time but lots of gas driving all over the area trying to figure out the spots. The swell was solid, but the wind was onshore for most of the coast. I eventually stumbled across this protected reform in Kommetjie. It ended up being really fun and I got a couple sessions in:
The next day the wind went offshore and I got up early to check out a beachbreak I had read about. It’s a long white sand beach that supposedly gets super hollow at a spot in the middle. I rolled up to some groomed swell but no barrels in sight. On good faith and the reassurance of a few locals, I trekked several kms across the sand to a spot called Dunes. It was firing. It reminds me a bit of Supertubos, where a specific spot on a long beach focuses the swell and has a defined peak that goes off:
The long walk back.
The little peak next to this massive bluff is Dungeons. Whenever I see a big wave spot in person it scares the shit out of me. Needless to say, I won’t be paddling out here this trip:
I also surfed this fun peaky little beachbreak a couple times. It reminds me of the beach in Sagres that Tim and I posted up at:
The surf forecast looks pretty weak for the next couple days, so I think I’ll try to do some more traditional exploring and touristy shit. One of the surfers I met promises it’s going to get good again soon, but idk. Stay tuned.