Making it Rand
Can’t believe I had the nerve to imply a theme of radicalism and then proceeded to live like I have this past week in Cape Town. “Pampered guy doesn’t work, gets takeout 37 meals in a row” would be the headline.
In my defense, the economics of food seem a little out of whack here. I did go to the grocery store when I first arrived. I spent ~$30 on what I ended up making into maybe 5 meals. Instead of being a grocery-cart-toting sucker, you can get one of these delicious steak wraps with avocado and feta cheese for 60 Rand (~$4):
I’ve been living it up here, saying yes to everything, drinking beer and red wine, ubering all over the place, giving everyone big tips, and generally stimulating the Cape Town economy. I’m usually more of a shoestring traveler, but Cape Town has been too much fun for tight purse strings.
What’s fifty Rand to a motherfucker like me, can you please remind me?
I spent most of this past week at this awesome hostel in Green Point. It’s called the B.I.G. Backpackers, I highly recommend it if you’re in Cape Town. The staff’s cool as fuck. I hung out with a bunch of other travelers, a few who were doing something similar to me.
Portuguese lesson
Surf’s Down!
The surf hasn’t been great this week. Turns out that Cape Town is windy. Like, prohibitively windy. And not just for surfing, but for hat-wearing and hair-styling and walking straight:
A combination of the wind and a lack of swell has made it hard to get in the water everyday. I’ve had a couple fun sessions but nothing to blog home about.
While the surf was bad, I did the two classic Cape Town hikes up Lion’s Head and Table Mountain.
I did the Lion’s Head hike on one of the windiest days, and for stretches of it I was clutching the ground for dear life. I even considered turning around at the windiest points, but ultimately pressed onwards. As I crested the mountain, I reflected on what a badass adventurer I was, only to see a group of well past middle-aged ladies taking pictures and looking unfazed.
I met an Italian guy at the top, and we hiked down together. We ended up hiking Table Mountain a few days later. Hiking is fun, I’ve never really gotten into it in the past, maybe I’ll start doing it more.
Table Mountain and Lion’s Head
The top of Table Mountain in the clouds
Must’ve thought it was school picture day with that pose
I’ve also been skating this park a bunch:
There are some great skaters in Cape Town. Especially this skinny kid with a bucket hat who is one of the best skaters I’ve ever seen in person. He just rips around with amazing style, weaving in and out of kooks like me, never pushing, and hitting everything in the park. I even saw him switch songs on his phone while 5-0’ing around the corner of the bowl. On an unrelated note, I’ve been looking for a bucket hat for myself.
Garden Route to J Bay
I’ve been keeping an eye on the J Bay forecast this whole time. It’s becoming summer down here so I wasn’t sure if I’d get a chance, but a swell popped up for this week which might make it break. The wind looks good, so I pulled the trigger. It’s an 8 hour drive from Cape Town through the Garden Route.
The drive itself is super cool. It’s through arid farmlands, mountains, lush gorges, forests, lakes, and rivers. It’s about as various as an 8 hour drive can be. I only managed to get a couple pictures as I was trying to make decent time:
It was hard to leave Cape Town. I could’ve stayed for months, but there are other places to go. Hopefully J Bay is breaking tomorrow.
Music Rec
P.S. I realize you probably don’t want to check this weird website to see if I’ve updated it. I made an instagram and I’ll post their with the description declaring the new posts. I’ll try to keep the brand deals to a minimum.