Hadeda Ibis bird
Here's a picture of the bird that wakes me up every morning! Louder than my alarm! Jane says they usually go in pairs and are very shy.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Dinner at the guesthouse
The audit team
Sept 28
This is crunch time, we are aiming to finish the report friday night so that we can have the 2nd wknd free as well. This means some late nights this wk to get it done. Since we didn't have time to go out for dinner which is usually a 2+ hr affair. So we took advantage of the guesthouse making a dinner for us. It was a lovely night so dinner was served out in the patio. We had some homemade lamb stew and a steak & kidney pie. For dessert Jane the owner made us a delicious sponge cake with hot pudding poured over it. So good!
My team this time is an international one. Rene is from El Salvador but lives in germany. Thorsten is german and Federico is from argentina but now lives in germany. We all get along very well and have a lot of fun together despite all the work.
Our colleagues at work are very nice and are great to share all things south africa. Its soo interesting to learn about the different cultures here.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
AMAZING sunset in Cape Town
THe sunset here is incredible. If its full moon people hike up table mountain to see the sunset on one side and the full moon rise on the other side. It's supposed to be a spectacular sight. Too bad we werent there at the right time.
That night we had dinner at a local restaurant that is known for its game meat. OMG, so good. I was with an argentinian colleague who loves meat so he was in heaven. We ordered a mixed grilled plate that had all different meats: steak, ostrich, alligator, kudu, springbok, venison sausage. They were all delicious. The restaurant was called mama africa and was so cool. The decor was definitely african and they had a local band playing reggae. The other thing that we both wanted to both while here was to listen to local bands so it was great. After dinner we moved into the bar area and closer to the band. It was a band of 5 black guys who played all the traditional instruments and a saxephone. They were so good I bought their cd at the end. After dinner we walked up long street to a music club and got to experience another 2 local bands before the night was over. It was 1am before we headed home. I wish we had more time here, there's so much to do.
Death Hike up a mountain
Table Mountain, 3000 ft up
A local at Plalakti Gorge trailhead
Another local!
View from the top
SO happy to have made it!
Federico
9000 miles from home!
Saturday Sept 24
Death hike up Table Mountain
One thing we both wanted to do while in cape town was to hike up table mountain which stands at 3,300 ft. It didn’t sound so high (after all, I hiked the grand canyon!) so we decided to skip the cable car (for a sissy) and hike up through Palakti Gorge. Fed is a strong hiker and did a lot of trekking when he lived in argentina. I do ok but haven’t been hiking too much with this job. But like I said, it didn’t sound too hard, especially since they said it should take about 2+ hours for the hike. I told Fedi upfront that I’m a slow hiker and as I tell Gary all the time, just go ahead and wait for me at the top. Within 5 minutes Fedi was out of sight. It was a warm and sunny day and the trail was 100% exposed. I didn’t have a hat and only had a bottle of water with me. I had some snacks but realized that they were in the daypack that Fedi had insisted on carrying along with my big heavy camera. I was struggling already in the first half hour because the whole trail was made of huge stepping stones at least 1-2 feet high. Halfway there I felt I was in trouble because I was feeling weak and spent. I was drinking most of my water. Fedi was nowhere in sight and I had no choice but continue up. I was sweating so much I knew I was loosing a lot of my body salt and need to eat something for energy. The whole time I was remembering the story of a friend who overestimated her ability and hiked up the grand canyon with only water. She collasped near the top and had to be helicoptered out, she was in a coma for 2 days. I didn’t feel like I could get to the top. For the first time in my life I felt desperate enough to ask someone for some food. So I started to keep an eye on the people coming down. Finally I saw a group of guys coming down with daypacks which means they might have food. I asked them if they had any spare granola bars or snacks. I told them that my husband has all of our snacks and that he was already on the top. They were nice enough to give me a granola bar which I forced myself to eat even though I wasn’t feeling any hunger. Had to ration the water that was left. The sun was brutal and any spots of shade I could find from a bush I would huddle under it for a few minutes and thinking Fedi must be waiting for me and wondering where I was. I didn’t care, I needed to let my body cool down as much as possible otherwise I could collapse with heat stroke. The temp was only in the low 80’s and really pleasant if you are sitting and relaxing in the shade. But I tend to get overheated when I exert myself. The way to the top seemed to take forever and I thought I would never get there since I seem to stop every 5-10 minutes. It was torturous! Can’t describe the feeling of joy and relief when I saw the narrow gorge that led to the top. OMG! It felt glorious to walk on flat land! I found Fedi who was having a good time hanging at one of the points. It’s called table mountain because the top is literally a relatively flat plateau of maybe half mile long. The top was a playground of rock scrambling into different off trail directions with views in all directions. Gary would have loved it.
Before we headed down Fedi noticed a woman carrying a thermos and he got excited. He told me that she was drinking mate, which is a bitter tea that argentinians drink, he was addicted to that stuff and hasn’t had it in awhile. I jokingly said that maybe he should chase after them for a drink of the mate and that was all the encouragement he needed. Next thing I knew he’s walking fast in their direction and started talking to them. THe group of father mother and 2 sons were very friendly and they were indeed from buenos aires. We chatted in spanish for about 20 minutes. In between the woman was putting fresh tea leaves and pouring hot water in a mate cup for Fedi. I've tried that stuff and its too bitter for me.
One thing we both wanted to do while in cape town was to hike up table mountain which stands at 3,300 ft. It didn’t sound so high (after all, I hiked the grand canyon!) so we decided to skip the cable car (for a sissy) and hike up through Palakti Gorge. Fed is a strong hiker and did a lot of trekking when he lived in argentina. I do ok but haven’t been hiking too much with this job. But like I said, it didn’t sound too hard, especially since they said it should take about 2+ hours for the hike. I told Fedi upfront that I’m a slow hiker and as I tell Gary all the time, just go ahead and wait for me at the top. Within 5 minutes Fedi was out of sight. It was a warm and sunny day and the trail was 100% exposed. I didn’t have a hat and only had a bottle of water with me. I had some snacks but realized that they were in the daypack that Fedi had insisted on carrying along with my big heavy camera. I was struggling already in the first half hour because the whole trail was made of huge stepping stones at least 1-2 feet high. Halfway there I felt I was in trouble because I was feeling weak and spent. I was drinking most of my water. Fedi was nowhere in sight and I had no choice but continue up. I was sweating so much I knew I was loosing a lot of my body salt and need to eat something for energy. The whole time I was remembering the story of a friend who overestimated her ability and hiked up the grand canyon with only water. She collasped near the top and had to be helicoptered out, she was in a coma for 2 days. I didn’t feel like I could get to the top. For the first time in my life I felt desperate enough to ask someone for some food. So I started to keep an eye on the people coming down. Finally I saw a group of guys coming down with daypacks which means they might have food. I asked them if they had any spare granola bars or snacks. I told them that my husband has all of our snacks and that he was already on the top. They were nice enough to give me a granola bar which I forced myself to eat even though I wasn’t feeling any hunger. Had to ration the water that was left. The sun was brutal and any spots of shade I could find from a bush I would huddle under it for a few minutes and thinking Fedi must be waiting for me and wondering where I was. I didn’t care, I needed to let my body cool down as much as possible otherwise I could collapse with heat stroke. The temp was only in the low 80’s and really pleasant if you are sitting and relaxing in the shade. But I tend to get overheated when I exert myself. The way to the top seemed to take forever and I thought I would never get there since I seem to stop every 5-10 minutes. It was torturous! Can’t describe the feeling of joy and relief when I saw the narrow gorge that led to the top. OMG! It felt glorious to walk on flat land! I found Fedi who was having a good time hanging at one of the points. It’s called table mountain because the top is literally a relatively flat plateau of maybe half mile long. The top was a playground of rock scrambling into different off trail directions with views in all directions. Gary would have loved it.
Before we headed down Fedi noticed a woman carrying a thermos and he got excited. He told me that she was drinking mate, which is a bitter tea that argentinians drink, he was addicted to that stuff and hasn’t had it in awhile. I jokingly said that maybe he should chase after them for a drink of the mate and that was all the encouragement he needed. Next thing I knew he’s walking fast in their direction and started talking to them. THe group of father mother and 2 sons were very friendly and they were indeed from buenos aires. We chatted in spanish for about 20 minutes. In between the woman was putting fresh tea leaves and pouring hot water in a mate cup for Fedi. I've tried that stuff and its too bitter for me.
I usually feel confident about going down and assured Fedi that I could go down the hill with no problem. Well, famous last words. The steps were so high and steep that the going was just as slow and tough. It took forever to get down but at least we were in the shade. This sounds bad but the views on top was so fantastic it was worthwhile. We also felt very proud of doing it, even our local colleagues were impressed we hiked up the mountain. Normal people go up the cable car. Both of us were so sore and it didn't get better for 5 days! Going down the stairs was painful! Still, I was glad I did it. THis mountain is a final candidate to be one of the new wonders of the world so you can imagine how beautiful it is.
Weekend in Cape Town
Ocean view outside my hotel room
Sea Point
Walks along Sea Point
Downtown Cape Town
Sept 23-25
Sept 23-25
OMG, I love this place! Such a difference from Joburg. Cape Town is on the very southern tip of the African continent, next stop Antartica! Fedi and I flew out on Friday after work so that we could at least have 1 full day Saturday and most of Sunday. Didn’t make any set plans and knew we would have to do some work over the weekend. But who cares, I pictured sitting on a seaside terrace café and writing the report.
Our hotel in cape town
We stayed at a ocean front hotel in Sea Point. Both of us booked rooms with sea view but I got lucky and got a corner room with gorgeous views of the ocean and boardwalk. Since it was already late when we got to our hotel I couldn’t exactly see the water but boy I could hear the sounds of the pounding surf! Had a moment of indecision of keeping the windows open because it was so loud but I decided to keep it open.
The next morning we decided to go to Table Mountain via a double decker hop on hop off bus. So toursity but who cares! Since we didnt have a car it was a nice way to get around and get our bearings. This city was the place where the dutch first settled. The british also came and colonized. Someone told me that Cape Town was lovely and looks like southern california. As if! I almost didn't go because of what she said! This is so much better. Yes the climate is mild and sunny with the ocean like cali but that's about it. THe food, the people the music and the culture makes it quite different.
Lunch on Heritage Day - you want me to eat what?!
African beer
Federico eating Mopani worms, ewww!
Pot of Mopani worms
Chicken feet
Sept 22, Heritage Day at Hnkl
AFRIKANER MENU
Main Course: Potjiekos
•Oxtail
•Chicken
•Lamb
•Biltong
•Lambknuckle
(Served with Rice / Samp)
Dessert:
•Koeksisters
•Milktart
Sept 22, Heritage Day at Hnkl
I wanted to remember what we ate for lunch. Even the Whites (Afrikans) would not go near the Blacks food booth! I was hanging at the Blacks booth taking pictures and would see people stopping by and just picking up a worm and popping it into their mouth like it's a snack, gag! BUT we decided that we will at least taste some of it. Federico and I both had the tendons and ox tripe and then I had the chicken feet and he ate the worms, yuck! The ladies also gave us some other dishes like pap with sour milk. I have to admit non of it was especially yummy but at least I tried it! I don't think I will ask for the recipes to these dishes! I took a picture of Federico eating the Mopani worm but it wasnt good so I wanted him to do it again for a better picture, he just looked at me and said don't push it, lol!
The food from the Indian booth was delicious and the steam fish from the Coloured booth was also great. Too bad we were to full to go to the Afrikaner booth but they are the most westernized of the 4 booths and we have had different versions of it in our meals here. It was so much fun, we were treated like VIPs and everyone wanted us to try their food.
These are the 4 different menus, not all are weird and disgusting:
AFRICAN MENU FOR CULTURAL DAY
Ting - Sour Porridge made with Mabele
Umngqusho - Samp & Sugar BeansDumbling
Mogodu - Ox Tripe
Maotwana - Chicken feet with tomato gravy
Masonja - Mopani worms
Morogo – African Spinach
Home made ginger drink
Nama ya Tlhogo - Meat from the cow's head
Phuthu na Masi - Dry pap and sour milkPap
AFRIKANER MENU
Main Course: Potjiekos
•Oxtail
•Chicken
•Lamb
•Biltong
•Lambknuckle
(Served with Rice / Samp)
Dessert:
•Koeksisters
•Milktart
Indian Meal
STARTERS
Indian Chai (Tea) with Naan Katai (Biscuits)
Indian Chai (Tea) with Naan Katai (Biscuits)
ada (Savoury)
OR Samoosa
MAIN MEAL
Vegetable Breyani served with dhall & salads
OR Mutton Curry with potatoes served with roti or rice.
* Above meals with pickles
DESSERT
Soji
Falooda Milk (Milk Shake)
Vermicilli Milk & papad.
Various sweet meats
MAIN MEAL
Vegetable Breyani served with dhall & salads
OR Mutton Curry with potatoes served with roti or rice.
* Above meals with pickles
DESSERT
Soji
Falooda Milk (Milk Shake)
Vermicilli Milk & papad.
Various sweet meats
Menu for Heritage Day Colored Food
Mutton Bredie with Tamaryn
Mutton Bredie with Tamaryn
Baked Snoek (in Foil)
Dessert
Yellow rice with Raisins & Cinnamon
Koeksisters
Lemon beet Slaai
Trifle
Gemmer bier
Gemmer bier
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Colorful Heritage Day at Hnkl
Zulu dance performance
The African ladies serving their traditional meals
Zulu costume
Friday, Sept 22
Today the plant celebrating hnkl friendship day. Since the national heritage day falls on this coming Sunday they decided to combine the 2. Lucky for us that we got to be part of it. I was planning to do a day tour on one of the weekends while we were here but this turned out to be way way better! The festivities started at noon and kept going. People were in their traditional costumes and for lunch each group made traditional meals from their culture. Here I learned that there are 4 distinct ethnic groups. First are the Afrikaners who are the whites, their ancestors are the dutch that came from the Netherlands or the English that came from the UK. Second group were the Blacks who are the indigenous people here, between them are about 9 major tribes including the famous zulu tribe. Third were the Colored, they are all with mixed descents including Asians. If you are a product of a inter-racial marriage then you automatically become a colored person. Third group are the Indians from India. There were 4 food booths that made a multi-course meal for lunch. I am copying the menus below this so I can remember the interesting menue and names of dishes. Well, our colleagues thought that since we are visitors they would give us a meal ticket for the Afrikan meal, since according to them was the most western style of food. The other extreme was the menu from the blacks which included, ox tripe, tendons, meat from a cow’s head and worms!!! Even the afrkaners can’t eat this stuff! Federico and I decided that we wanted to try them all. When would we get this opportunity again?! I told Federico that he must try the worms because another colleague of our has always bragged that he ate monkey meat when he did an audit in china. I think worms will top that!
It was such a fun day. It was set under a huge tent in a big grassy area of the plant. Each group came up to talk about their culture and either did some traditional dance or song. And their costumes, especially the blacks!! I have read that the south African tribes have the most colorful tribal costumes and this was so true. I took so many pictures and still couldn’t get over the excitement of so many beautiful faces and costumes. The day before I asked manie, the head of ops, that it would be wonderful if he could arrange for a group shot of everyone in costume with me and Fedi. One reason is that I could send it to our big boss in germany who likes to post pics like this on our board in the office. The other reason is that it would be an awesome momento for me. They did organize a group shot for us and before they took the picture Fedi decided that he wanted to make a short speech! He introduced himself and explained that he was half german and half argentinian. The ofcourse I had to say something so I explained my heritage and that I now live in the US. Then I felt compelled to add that I’ve always wanted to come to south Africa and is now so excited to be here! Everyone clapped for us, it was so fun
As mentioned we noticed that people tend to segregate themselves so that the whites sit at separate tables and the blacks do the same. Well, we played the ignorant foreigner card and decided to sit with the blacks. Fedi and I basically got up 3 times to get different samples of meals and each time we would go to a black table and asked if we could sit with them. Each time we were welcomed very warmly.People already knew about the 2 of us coming from corporate so we got some special treatment, they all wanted us to try their food. The Indian food was so good and the Indian ladies were telling to just take a sample from the platter with my fingers, so I did. They had meat samosas that was really spicy and delicious. It was already into the afternoon and Fedi had gone back to the office to send out an email to our big boss. I started talking to these 2 young black girls that work in the office. One was zulu and the other was soni. The zulu girl introduced herself as soneni. I commented that her earings were lovely and very colorful. She then asked me how long I will be here because she will bring a pair for me as a gift. I was a little surprised at her offer since we had just met but she insisted as a gesture of friendship. Wow, and all I did was complimented her on her pretty earrings. I cant picture someone back home doing the same! Soneni and Suyi were so curious about my job and how cool it was to travel all over the world. They wanted to know how they can get to do my job so I gave them some career advice. They were very young and saucy, it was very cute. Soneni mentioned that the way of dress from her zulu tribe is too revealing for hnkl dress code. Apparently they are used to wearing minimal clothing!
By this time I lost any shyness and was asking everyone about their costume and they were all very proud to show and explain to me. It was a nice party.
This was one of the best experiences so far. Federico and I agreed that this was even better than doing a tour because you are also hanging out with the locals.
Today the plant celebrating hnkl friendship day. Since the national heritage day falls on this coming Sunday they decided to combine the 2. Lucky for us that we got to be part of it. I was planning to do a day tour on one of the weekends while we were here but this turned out to be way way better! The festivities started at noon and kept going. People were in their traditional costumes and for lunch each group made traditional meals from their culture. Here I learned that there are 4 distinct ethnic groups. First are the Afrikaners who are the whites, their ancestors are the dutch that came from the Netherlands or the English that came from the UK. Second group were the Blacks who are the indigenous people here, between them are about 9 major tribes including the famous zulu tribe. Third were the Colored, they are all with mixed descents including Asians. If you are a product of a inter-racial marriage then you automatically become a colored person. Third group are the Indians from India. There were 4 food booths that made a multi-course meal for lunch. I am copying the menus below this so I can remember the interesting menue and names of dishes. Well, our colleagues thought that since we are visitors they would give us a meal ticket for the Afrikan meal, since according to them was the most western style of food. The other extreme was the menu from the blacks which included, ox tripe, tendons, meat from a cow’s head and worms!!! Even the afrkaners can’t eat this stuff! Federico and I decided that we wanted to try them all. When would we get this opportunity again?! I told Federico that he must try the worms because another colleague of our has always bragged that he ate monkey meat when he did an audit in china. I think worms will top that!
It was such a fun day. It was set under a huge tent in a big grassy area of the plant. Each group came up to talk about their culture and either did some traditional dance or song. And their costumes, especially the blacks!! I have read that the south African tribes have the most colorful tribal costumes and this was so true. I took so many pictures and still couldn’t get over the excitement of so many beautiful faces and costumes. The day before I asked manie, the head of ops, that it would be wonderful if he could arrange for a group shot of everyone in costume with me and Fedi. One reason is that I could send it to our big boss in germany who likes to post pics like this on our board in the office. The other reason is that it would be an awesome momento for me. They did organize a group shot for us and before they took the picture Fedi decided that he wanted to make a short speech! He introduced himself and explained that he was half german and half argentinian. The ofcourse I had to say something so I explained my heritage and that I now live in the US. Then I felt compelled to add that I’ve always wanted to come to south Africa and is now so excited to be here! Everyone clapped for us, it was so fun
As mentioned we noticed that people tend to segregate themselves so that the whites sit at separate tables and the blacks do the same. Well, we played the ignorant foreigner card and decided to sit with the blacks. Fedi and I basically got up 3 times to get different samples of meals and each time we would go to a black table and asked if we could sit with them. Each time we were welcomed very warmly.People already knew about the 2 of us coming from corporate so we got some special treatment, they all wanted us to try their food. The Indian food was so good and the Indian ladies were telling to just take a sample from the platter with my fingers, so I did. They had meat samosas that was really spicy and delicious. It was already into the afternoon and Fedi had gone back to the office to send out an email to our big boss. I started talking to these 2 young black girls that work in the office. One was zulu and the other was soni. The zulu girl introduced herself as soneni. I commented that her earings were lovely and very colorful. She then asked me how long I will be here because she will bring a pair for me as a gift. I was a little surprised at her offer since we had just met but she insisted as a gesture of friendship. Wow, and all I did was complimented her on her pretty earrings. I cant picture someone back home doing the same! Soneni and Suyi were so curious about my job and how cool it was to travel all over the world. They wanted to know how they can get to do my job so I gave them some career advice. They were very young and saucy, it was very cute. Soneni mentioned that the way of dress from her zulu tribe is too revealing for hnkl dress code. Apparently they are used to wearing minimal clothing!
By this time I lost any shyness and was asking everyone about their costume and they were all very proud to show and explain to me. It was a nice party.
This was one of the best experiences so far. Federico and I agreed that this was even better than doing a tour because you are also hanging out with the locals.
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