Journey For 4

Author: Kendal

Hello, long time no blog 🙂 .

Last week we went to this place called Spier.  Originally the plan was to eat BIG for lunch at a really cool restaurant at Spier called Moyo (it’s buffet style) and has an African music show, but . . . we decided it was best if we just went to see the animals rather than pig out.  The cool thing about Spier is that it is not only a vineyard, but it has Moyo, another restaurant called Eight, cheetah’s, horseback riding, segway tours, a hotel (we ate in their bar), and it has a bird-of-prey rehabilitation center. Driving up we immediately saw the cheetah’s, they were big and beautiful let me tell you, they are something else 🙂 . We had wanted to come and see them but learned when we called that cubs would be coming in October so we waited to visit so we could see the cubs.  It was awesome to see them.   Dad and I even got to pet one! We only pet the older cheetah because the rest of my family didn’t want to go in with the babies, and me being the baby that I am didn’t want to go in by myself. The cubs had just arrived that Monday (they were pretty big for cubs) and they weren’t used to visitors petting them so we had to stick with our new family motto “you can never be too safe” (I made that up last week).  Then we jumped right next door to be with the birds.  We got right in to a show that was going on, they gave us each a special glove and we got to hold the birds on our arms, they were quite scary because they were so close that if they wanted to they could have poked our eyes out!  We also learned that they don’t use their beaks to kill prey but they use their talons (feet), they have the death grip and once they hold their prey they never let go unless they are eating it. They have a lot of different owls there that we were able to hold and pet.  They are extremely soft.  Two of the owls have been together since they were babies.  One a spotted Eagle Owl and one a Barn Owl.  We learned that they imprinted on each other and the Eagle Owl thinks he’s a Barn Owl and the Barn Owl thinks he’s an Eagle Owl – pretty cool.  We got to hold “Wally” the Walbergs Eagle later, and when we were petting her she thought we were picking off her ticks for her so she nibbled our fingers to take off our “ticks” as well, she was returning the favor :). It was so cool we even kissed her but sadly Mom didn’t get to take the picture fast enough.

Mom(to Keegan): When you kiss her do it nice and slow so I can take a picture, you kissed her way to fast, nice and slow…

Keegan: Mom I already kissed her like 3 times!

Cheetah cub Chillin' in the sun

These are the cute cubs that just arrived, pretty big cubs don't you think! And they were running around like crazy.

This 6-year-old cheetah was really relaxing when we pet him but later we saw him staring at the cubs that were in a different area. When the trainer tried to grab his leash the cheetah growled and snapped at him, it was really scary. The trainer backed away and said that the only thing this cheetah wants to do right now is kill those cubs. He wasn't used to them being around yet.

Good thing we had the gloves.

She kept staring at me but I got used to her really fast, she was so gentle.

This bird really liked Keegan!

We also did a hike called a The Moon Rise, where you climb up a mountain as the sun is setting and then climb down when the moon is out. While you are on the top you have the picnic dinner that we packed. We, being the Nervous Nellies that we are, went up early, ate and then went right back down when it was still light out. Reason being is that it was a very treacherous walk up, especially towards the top, at one point we were on all fours going up huge rocks, very scary.  We would be coming down with a couple of torches (flashlights) but no light from the moon because it was cloudy.  The view was breathtaking :)!  We only took a few pictures though because it was extremely cloudy, and you couldn’t really see the moon rise or the sunset with all of the clouds.  I hope that the few that we did get show the great view of all the vineyards around us.  Hopefully next time we’ll get a less cloudy night.

Here's my family on the way up the mountain for a picnic.

As you can see it was a lot of hard work getting to the top.

That's my mom and a nice view of the gorgeous valley.

Author: Amy

Being on the road our “honey do” list is not very long so we are able to go for coffee and visit all the fun places in town.  It’s exciting to venture out and stumble upon places, we have found some very cute cafes to have coffee.  It’s quite a fun treat.  We all have been watching a work crew erect a new ferris wheel at the waterfront for the past month it’s called the Wheel of Excellence.  We had to go on it, we really enjoyed the ride, and it’s a great view of the waterfront.

Wheel of Excellence

A great day for a ride!

The view of the waterfront from the top.

Without any soccer games or chores we like to find a fun market to visit on the weekends.  It serves multiple purposes.  Steve can find some ingredients for his cooking adventures, we get to see the locals in action and we find delicious foods to fill our bellies.  Our favorite find so far has been the Old Biscuit Mill.  It’s a cute old Mill that on Saturdays fills with stalls of locals selling their local goods.  The middle of the rooms are set with long tables (old doors connected end-to-end) with candles lit on them.  It’s a very shabby chic scene that is just so fun to be a part of and makes you want to come back every Saturday (we have gone more than once).  We make it fun by giving the kids money before we leave that they can spend on whatever they like.  Keegan is always saving for “something”.  The funniest thing is watching him eat waffles with no syrup (it cost about $.25 US for syrup) because he was too cheap!  If you know Keegan and his love of breakfast and syrup you too would love to see this.  The ironic thing is later he will pull out his money and say, “Mom, you want me to buy you a drink?”  My little man!

Keegan's famous waffle stand

This was a different Saturday morning where Keegan decided to splurge and spent a little extra!

Inside the Old Biscuit Mill

Crispy pizza flambé - oh so yummy!

Author: Steve

WARNING, this is probably going to be a boring blog for most readers but…I love this stuff!!

This is one of the places I’ve wanted to visit since we arrived here.  I had planned on going myself but then I thought, ‘what a great educational experience for the kids’.  So when I talked to the family about it they were sooooo excited (heavy sarcasm).  I told them they could leave at any time if they saw blood or felt queasy.

After we got to the Groote Schuur Hospital and found the Heart of Cape Town Museum we were introduced to our energetic guide Trace.  She was extremely knowledgeable and made the 2-hour event a great experience for all of us.  Her energy and method of teaching kept us all engaged.

Back in 1967 Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first ever human heart transplant surgery right here in Cape Town.  He was an amazing surgeon known to have incredible hands.  In 1956 he received a two-year scholarship for postgraduate training in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Minnesota to gain his PhD.  However, the University told him it would take him 6 years to get his PhD, Dr. Barnard said, “No, I would like to do it in 2 years”.  They told him that that would be impossible.  He asked them what the requirements were for this degree and said, “let’s see how it goes”.  Well, he not only received his PhD in 2 years but he also gained an additional MS degree (Master of Science in Surgery) at the same time.

The Americans were hot in pursuit of leading this charge, putting in years of research and trying to be the first to successfully accomplish a human heart transplant.  Dr. Barnard left the United States basically telling them that he would be performing this surgery first.  I think they probably pacified him and not knowing much about South Africa thought ‘sure you will, you in your third world country on the tip of Africa’.  In fact they gave him heart and lung machines as gifts to help in his research.  If you remember back during that time Apartheid was still in place and there were trade embargos against South Africa from many countries including the United States.  So it wasn’t easy for South Africa to get such equipment.  I think the American surgeons who gave those gifts may have regretted that donation because on December 3, 1967 Dr. Barnard was the first to successfully accomplish a human heart transplant.

Dr. Barnard had returned to the Americans’ laboratory in 1966 to further discuss their progress, and again informed them that he would be performing this procedure very soon (yeah, right).  After Dr. Barnard’s first case in 1967 the Americans (who now believed the first case was stolen from them and questioned Dr. Barnard’s research of 48 dogs, since they each had approximately 250 dog heart transplants under their belts) started to immediately perform procedures with unfortunately rapid failure.  In fact human heart transplants went crazy around the world, 102 procedures were performed in 20 different countries during the year of 1968 – with the majority being failures.  There was a surgeon in Texas who performed this procedure in 35 minutes flat, that year he performed 17 cases none of which survived.  He subsequently closed his program the following year.  The American government came in and put a hold on these procedures until “things were figured out”.  It wasn’t until 1983 that the Americans got back into this arena (highly due to the drug Ciclosporin which helps to reduce the activity of the immune system and therefore reduces the risk of organ rejection).  Ironically, 1983 was the same year Dr. Barnard retired after a very successful career.

Dr. Barnard was the rock-star of surgery: young, charismatic, very photogenic and always mingling with the most famous people in the world.  He always spoke his mind and was said to be difficult to work with and fairly arrogant.  He was married and divorced 3 times; his last wife was more than 40 years younger than him.  Dr. Barnard died alone in 2001 of a severe asthma attack – he never wore a bracelet identifying that he had asthma and when the hotel attendees saw him (not knowing he was undergoing an asthma attack) they began to give him CPR.

The 2-hour tour goes in to detail from the beginning of the planning stages, the team involved, the donors’ life, the patients, etc.  It was very interesting. We were lucky because there were only 7 in our group. Surprisingly one of the other people on our tour was a radiologist at the hospital during this time and she knew all the key players.

“Life is the joy of living; it is the celebration of being alive.  I realized what medicine was all about: Medicine must bring back the joy into the life of the patient.  Medicine must give the patient something to celebrate.  When medicine cannot do this anymore, then the goal of medicine must be to allow the patient to die a death as quickly and painlessly as possible”

-Professor Christiaan Barnard

Waiting for the tour to start - the recipient of the heart was 53 year old Louis Washkansky

The donor: 25 year old Denise Darvall had just left a bakery where she picked up a cake for a visit to some friends. Denise and her mother (her mother died instantly) were struck by a vehicle before they got back into their car.

Amy, Kendal and Keegan looking from the gallery as each step of the procedure was discussed.

The theaters (that’s what they call operating rooms) we toured were the same rooms used for that procedure and the equipment was all the same as well.

Here's Keegan with Dr. Barnard - you'll also notice his American degrees on the wall behind Keegan's shoulder

"Just stand there and smile"! Denise's brother donated many of her belongings for the museum. That doll was hers from childhood. It had ink draining from her eyes that looked like tears. The museum sent it to get cleaned-up. The doll maker took off the head and removed the old eyes, cleaned the head out and put it back together. She laid the doll on a back table and looked for new marbles for eyes and within seconds she turned around and the doll was sitting up with ink running down like tears from empty eye sockets. Said to be a true story - this room was creeping Kendal out.

Notice the clock behind me, that is the exact time when they realized, "It's going to work"! This place was awesome!

Author: Amy

There are places that we see in life that really are beyond any expectation.  When we come upon some natural wonder I just can’t seem to get enough and am so overcome with joy.  Who can have negative energy when seeing one of God’s many natural wonders?  It reinforces my faith in God and his true intention to create beauty in this world.  This week we tried a sport I had never even heard of before arriving in South Africa.  It’s very possible it is done in the US without us knowing about it.  Sandboarding on sand dunes.  We met our teacher, Upi, at the Atlantic Sand Dunes.  The beauty of this place is indescribable.  We had the most perfect day.  The bluest, cloud free sky on a cool sunny day against the whitest rolling sand dunes.  We left our car in the parking lot and Upi drove us over some dunes in his jeep.  We all did a united “WOW” as we entered the huge white dunes.  It was as though we landed on another planet.  It kept getting better as you walked on the dunes the sand was cool and soft and so welcoming.  That experience will be with all of us forever.

Sandboarding is similar to snowboarding except you are barefoot strapped into footings that hold your feet to the board.  You need to wax your board every few runs to keep it slick.  We all had success in the sport – I was lucky to have had a helmet as I did make a few beautiful wipeouts.  Laying on the ground after was just so beautiful it’s hard to complain that you’re hurt.  Recovery is a bit longer at my age (I hate that part!).

Upi brought along a sled as well which was great fun to sit and go down the hills.  It’s a bit like snow sledding as you need to climb back up the hill. It was a full workout of a day. The longer the run the higher the climb.  Throughout the day Keegan kept saying “I love this day”!

Kendal climbing the hill

Keegan waxing his board.

She's got it!!

Boarding "dudes"

Sledding in the sand - big fun!

Beauty of the dunes and table mountain

Sand dunes everywhere!!

Author: Keegan

Well hello again I am back and ready to entertain you…or will I… only you shall know. We are still in Cape Town and I am still doing swim training five days a week for PE, which is tons of fun.  My coach for swim is really nice; he helps me stay strong and fit.  I am also going to take a Hip Hop Dance class soon. I went and saw one of the classes, it was really cool, I am really looking forward to taking Hip Hop. One of the cool things about living in a new city is exploring the fun activities for kids. There is this cool Tobogganing place we went to and it’s like the Luge at the Olympics but not on ice.  We went really fast but probably not as fast as Olympic Toboggan people. My mom and my sister were scared at first so the first couple times they went slow so sometimes people behind them got stuck behind them.

A funny story about my mom from that day was:

Mom: So how fast are you allowed to go and has anyone ever got hurt or seriously injured.

Release Guy at top of the hill: There is no limit on how fast you can go and no one has every gotten hurt since I worked here?

Mom: How long have you worked here?

Release Guy at the top of the hill: 5 days!

Then he just lets her go as he kind of laughs as he watches her go down the hill yelling.  That was a really fun day for all of us I think we all enjoyed it.

That's me and Kendal getting ready to fly down. If you're wondering, that safety message is in Afrikaans below the english version.

That was a great day!

We also bought an unlimited family pass to the Two Oceans Aquarium.  It’s really close and we can walk there anytime.  We’ve learned when they feed the animals.  So far we have seen the penguin, sharks, stingrays and turtles get fed.  I’m learning about all the different fish and thinking of getting an aquarium when I get home.

There is a huge, cool looking eel right when you walk into the Two Oceans Aquarium.

In the center of the Clown tank is a hole you can climb under just like you're in the tank with them.

That's Yvonne, she's really nice and teaches us a lot of stuff about different living things in the ocean.

I like watching the sharks get fed.

We spent one day on Table Mountain.  There is a huge gondola you can take up and down.  It spins around slowly as it moves you up the cableway.   It’s a cool, very fast ride up and down.  While on the top we saw an animal I never saw before.  It’s called a Dassie (Rock Hyrax), it’s a cute little bunny looking fuzzy rodent.  Amazingly its closest living relative is the Elephant.  South Africa is trying to make Table Mountain one of the 7 new wonders of the world.  I think that we will never have a better memory of any other place in the world (we will still have other great memories though).

This is the view the Dassies have on top of Table Mountain where they live.

Here's a Dassie close-up.

Here we are having breakfast at a Farmers Market

Lucky we didn't run into any baboons on this outing, I heard some of them are as big as me!

Thanks for checking out the blog.

Keegan

Author: Steve

First off Amy would only let me post this if she could title it and pick the pictures.

The kids are busy with school during the morning and swim in the afternoon.  Amy helps them in both of those areas plus she gets her workouts in at the club.  Since I have been labeled the TA (teachers assistant) for the kids’ school and I haven’t been needed lately . . . what do I do?   Other than fill my time with stuff like taking my paint-by-numbers elephant project back to the toy store because the numbers on the painting didn’t match up with the paint it comes with.  Here I am sitting with my nice glass of wine and my cheaters on my nose and the number for the mountains need to mix with black (you know 21/31 mixed together) but there is no 21 (no black)!!  “Amy come here . . . what the heck, look at this”!!   That’s just not right!  After I explained this to the store owner, he immediately took all the paint by number elephants off the shelf, so I’m sure I saved some kid a night of crying and years of therapy over the shear frustration; check your numbers people!  Okay so other than working out, which has been great fun; I thought maybe I should start to venture out in some other areas.

While we were in Joburg I had what I believe to be the most beautiful and fantastic tasting poached eggs ever.  Since I had it more than once I asked the waiter how they consistently make it that great and the kitchen was kind enough to give me a few tips.  I’ve tried to replicate that poached egg here in Cape Town and I honestly give my results a 4 out of 10.  Amy and Keegan (Kendal’s not an egg fan) give it a much higher mark but I think they’re just patronizing me to keep me in the kitchen.

To make this long story shorter, I’ve known for quite a while that I stink at cooking so I was very excited to find and start a “Basics of Culinary” course this week . . . wow, was that a great decision!  There are 14 students in my class.  The head chef has 6 assistant chefs that also graciously help us throughout the night. Much better than Chef Ramsay!!  When I first walked in I heard music pumping in the kitchen, was shown to my station and asked what I wanted to drink. The head chef is a beer-man, in the middle of the kitchen is a beer station (looks like a shrine) that is always tapped.  He likes a beer called Windhoek, from Namibia.  Above the tap is a message, “Chef can not cook with out his Chef Juice”.  He’s been cooking for over 22 years and just this week signed a book deal with a publishing company.  He definitely has a great passion for his work, taught me a ton in 4 hours and had the class laughing throughout the night.  I met some great Cape Town locals in this class and at the end of the night, as I waited for my taxi, I had a great conversation with the head chef about South Africa (what it was like when he was younger and what it is now).  I’m so excited that I have 3 more weeks left.

Let me change the subject – I received a message asking if we’re always happy like we seem in our pictures, the answer is no, we are not in a constant state of euphoria. We have the same silly arguments that we had back home, you know; pick up your clothes, who’s putting the dishes away today, no one said life was fair, you need to get another hour of school work in before bed, Steve are you listening to me?! (I love that one), etc.  But I can honestly say they are much less frequent.  It’s just like home; once the argument is over we quickly realize how silly it was and laugh it off.  When it’s so quiet you can cut the air with a knife and we are all still mad we can always rely on Kendal to come up with some funny movie or TV scene to relive to make us all laugh (watching her tell it is half the fun because she laughs so hard she can hardly get the story out).  So to answer the question; yes we argue but we are all still very happy!

On a not so nice note, but great in self-discovery: I think I may be lactose intolerant (so Amy is making me believe).  I don’t want to get raunchy on this blog but as humans all of us, at one time or another, have flatulence (gas).  Well, I’ve been trying a lot foods I’m not use to while traveling, as of late things like, kudu, impala, ostrich, biltong, etc.

In regards to the above two topics, here’s a sample of a silly argument that happened while driving in the car last week:

Steve: Oh…sorry, excuse me. (It was so incredibly small, like adorable small.)

Amy: (looks at me) God Steve! You are so lactose intolerant!

Steve: What?

Amy: You’re lactose intolerant!

Steve: Well you have ADD! (I know, pretty mature but that’s the quickest thing I could come up with.)

Amy: I’m choosing to ignore that.  You’re just in denial but you are definitely lactose intolerant. You’ve probably had it since childhood.

Steve: What the hell does than mean?!

Amy: You’ve been in denial for years.  Whenever you start eating cereal for breakfast with ‘milk’ consistently this happens to you.

Steve: I drank milk all the time at home.

Amy: Really? Really Steve?  I disagree.  You typically only drank milk right before you went to bed and just enough milk for your 2 cookies. Yes…we all knew you had cookies after we went to bed.

Steve: Oh. (Damn…is nothing sacred!! I decided to not look at her anymore and stare out the windshield)

Amy: So just stop drinking milk for a few days and see what happens.

Steve: Whatever! (I’m still staring out the windshield).

Kendal: (Sitting in the back seat taking in all the action) Remember that episode in ‘The Office’ (ha, ha, ha, ha) where Michael puts his grown college nephew over his lap (he, he, he, I can’t catch my breath) in front of everyone in the office and spanks him. That was hilarious!!!

Guess what; all good in the stomach since I took her advice but I still don’t think I’m lactose intolerant, I just think I have a highly sensitive stomach to new foods.

Cheers!

Some good wine, nice music and a paint-by-numbers project makes for a great night...if you have the correct paint. BTW I didn't ask for a refund I tried to be creative with the colors and it turned out...well, I'm still working on it.

I guess that's a funny picture of me with a turtle...

This is my station and one of three courses I was taught at the Sense of Taste Course on the first night - Salmon Rose and Beetroot Salad. It was incredible!

Here's another one - Chicken Roulade and I'll be attempting this one this weekend at our apartment.

Last week we went out for sushi to celebrate our 100th day on our trip - that's why Keegan has his finger up.

Author: Amy

Back at home we were always so busy with school, sports and our daily lives we often did not visit the places that our area is known for.  I liked having visitors so we could venture out and see what fun our hometown had to offer. We have enjoyed being residents of Cape Town and visiting many of the tourist spots.  I’m finding in the different cities we go to that residents don’t always see what the tourist come to see.  While in Greece we would ask different local people if they’d been to the Acropolis – most of them answered “no, never” and laughed.  Many South Africans we have spoken with have never been on a Safari.

We visited the West Coast Ostrich Ranch this week and it was such a warm, comforting experience.  It is only about a 20-minute drive from Cape Town so a great distance for a day trip.  The Ranch is on a rolling piece of green, lush land and you can see Table Mountain in the distance. Everywhere in Cape Town is prettier than then next.  The man that gave us the tour, Omar, knew everything there is to know about Ostriches.  He took his time showing us around and we felt the pride he had in his workplace.  It’s nice to meet people who really love what they do and are eager to share their knowledge with you.  We had a tour of the museum, learned about the ostrich skeleton, their vision, speed and the history of the ostrich in this area.  The ostrich has no teeth and swallows everything whole (they say to keep your cell phones and small cameras in your pocket because they can swallow them).  They then eat stones to help digest what they have swallowed.  At one point ostriches were poached because in their belly they would find different gems – diamonds, emeralds, etc., these beautiful gems were then sold for a lot of money.  Africa is known for it’s rich minerals and once the locals figured out that the ostriches were eating them, they became a fast way to find the gems and make some money.  Since it is spring here in South Africa the birds are a little aggressive, it’s mating time.  What was fascinating was the male Ostrich’s beak and legs turn bright pink to attract the women (if you know what I mean).  Our trip was the full experience.  We even stood on the eggs – they are so strong and weigh between 3-5 pounds.  One egg is equal to the size of 24 chicken eggs,  – – maybe use an ostrich egg for your next large brunch, only one egg to crack!  We even sat on an Ostrich.  Some ranches allow you ride them – this ranch (and I think it’s this part of South Africa) find it inhumane to ride them.  It was an exhilarating experience just sitting on them.  They cover their head with a fabric bag while you mount them, then they lift the wings so your legs lay between their body and wings – it was a very warm seat on a cool and windy day.  Just in July of this year the Guinness Book of World Records announced Ostrich Tom (who lives on this ranch) as the shortest Ostrich in the World. (I know a couple other short Tom’s but they have not made it in the Guinness Book of World Records!)  The Ranch has a wonderful gift shop that sells all things ostrich; purses, belts feather dusters and decorated eggs.  Our tour ended with lunch where we enjoyed, Ostrich filets, burgers and eggs.  Another fact, actually fiction, that made the guide roll his eyes is the story of the ostrich sticking his head in the sand  – – – it’s just a story – – – not one bit of truth to that!

It took a little while for us to warm up to them

Check out that red beak

Keegan figured it out pretty quick

Mamma warming her eggs

The eggs are so strong

Kendal really felt comfortable and started feeding all the animals

Tom the celebrity ostrich

Keegan feeling warm and ...safe?

Kendal calming the ostrich

Author: Kendal

“Ehhhh ohhhh eeeeeeeh aaaaaah”, think of the sound a donkey makes, that is the same sound we heard when we went to visit the penguins on Boulders Beach in South Africa. On a fine Wednesday morning we were off to see the African Penguins (Jackass Penguins as they are also known). While we were there we got to see the habitat that they lived in, the different safety tactics that they have and tons of new facts about penguins. As we have been traveling we have learned a lot about different animals, but so far the penguins are my favorite.

A few facts I didn’t know:

• Penguins have a mate for life
• The average lifespan of an African Penguin is between 10-27 years
• Female penguins will lay two eggs and she takes turns with her mate incubating the egg, which takes about 40 days
• When the male wants to mate they try to jump on top of the female and if the female doesn’t accept she shakes them off, she decides
• The black and white feathers are a great natural defense system so predators don’t see them. In the water when predators looks down at them they see nothing but darkness and when predators look up they see lightness.

We saw the little cuties at their home on land. When they first came to Boulders Beach back in the 1980’s they trampled a lot of the vegetation that was there. So the National Parks Department decided that they would fence off certain areas to begin a process of growing stronger vegetation throughout the area. When the fenced areas were full-grown they then took the fence down and let the penguins eat and live in that full-grown area. Now they are living in a sea of green thanks to the help of the South African National Parks Department. They also added little bucket type shelters, fiberglass igloos, that lay on their sides and are used as little houses to help with severe environment conditions, protection for them, their eggs and chicks and to encourage reproduction.

It’s an amazing thing to be so close to these wild animals and they don’t seem to mind.  It’s like any other bird you might come across on a path in your home town.  Let me say that penguins have good taste in where to live – Boulder’s Beach is made up of huge boulder’s it looks like a movie set.  Among these boulders are all these cute little penguins, about 3,500 live here.  They are as gentle-looking as all the ones you see in the movies – the only thing is they do smell quite bad, good thing for the breeze and that they are soooo cute!  A man we talked to at one of the stores told us that every morning he has to make sure to check under his car in case the little munchkins are running around underneath. What a difference from our home, where we look for turtles under the car, to theirs, where they look for penguins.

When we were there we were very lucky because they were in the middle of their molting season so they were all there for us to see.  Molting is a big process in how they shed their old feathers and get new feathers. The first step is having to fatten up because when they are molting they cannot eat for 21 days. Let me explain; once they fatten up they go on land and start to shed for 21 days, they cannot swim when they are molting because when the old feathers are coming off they are no longer water proof so they don’t swim and can’t eat because what they eat is in the water.

At the very end on the ride home, we even got to see whales! They were in the water and were holding their fins up in the air for people to see. It was amazing to have witnessed both the penguins and whales in one day.  We are planning another day to see the whales as they migrate.

Our first siting was almost immediate as we got out of our car

Just to watch them walk is soooo cute!

It was like a movie set, the water was so clear...you can see the little guys coming out of the water

Here are the houses or fiberglass igloos that I mentioned and if you look at the two in the middle the female did not shake the male off

We were able to get right up close and they didn't mind

Here I am with a few of my buddies

Author: Keegan

Hi,

Well, you haven’t heard from me in a while.  Do you want to know why you haven’t heard from me?  It’s because Kendal and I started school just like all the other kids.  Instead of a teacher or teachers in front of us to talk to we have a virtual school called Florida Virtual School (or FLVS). Basically you take your class online, you have a pace chart of assignments and tests you take by a certain date.  You might think it’s fun because we don’t have a teacher but we do have teachers that we talk to over the phone when we have an oral exam or an exam to get a password or to ask questions. They’re all nice teachers.  My favorite subject is science.  For each of our classes we have modules we mainly have 8 but in science for me I have 6 modules (have you thought why I like it the most yet :-).

We also started PE!!  Every weekday we go to a health club (Virgin Active) and practice with a local swim team.  The coach is really nice to us, he welcomed us in like it was no big deal.   I haven’t swam as a sport for a few years so it is quite a different workout for me and it is fun.  You might also be wondering what I am wearing to swim…. I am wearing….babababaaaa a speedo but not the tiny kind, the boy shorts style with a cap and goggles.  I am NOT inserting photos but I will tell you that…I look nice!!!

Since we swim with the team we were invited to what they call a “Nipper Challenge”.  It is where all the kids (the “nippers” that are in lifeguard training) on the swim team go to the beach for a fun competition.  First you run in the sand, then there is a course in the ocean (that is way too cold) that you complete 3 times; once swimming, then you go grab a boogie board and do the course with that and after that you use a Malibu board.  The kids swam in the water with wet suites, they had them just in case and they needed them.  We didn’t have any, hoping the water would be warm enough but it wasn’t so we just watched, I did do the sand run.  They served chicken burgers, which were really good.  It was a fun event at the beach!  We also saw a beached whale that was dead 😦 and really decomposed, it was really sad.  Other than that it was an awesome day!

We haven’t seen many of the sites because we have so much time here and have been settling in, but last night we did go to the Gold Museum for dinner.  Before they gave us dinner we had an awesome drum class.  We all got a drum and it got really loud.  We did beats it was awesome!  We didn’t have to order food they just gave us food and told us what type of African food it was.  There were 5 courses, soup, stew, appetizer, main course, and dessert.  While we were eating there were 3 puppet shows, dancers and a singer.  The puppets were at least 8 feet tall with a person inside of it.  I was lucky enough to get to do a traditional dance with one of the guys that wasn’t a puppet.  It was a great night!

Keegan

Here we are with our drum instructors

Me and Mom with one of the puppets

Kendal and Mom joined the act

Here I am doing "my thing"!

Getting our briefing before the “Nipper Challenge”, that’s Lion Head Mountain in the background.

The water is always beautiful but cold this time of year.

Author: Steve

Well we’ve been in Cape Town for over a week and are settling in until November.  We rented an apartment for our time here.  With the kids starting virtual school we really wanted to have reliable wifi, we also wanted to give them time to get into a groove with study habits. Since we are unfamiliar with this area we did our best to concentrate on being in a safe, central location; we ended up on the marina in a 7-story building on the third floor.  This is still off-season so we were able to get off-season rates that are honored through our extended stay.  Spring began September 1^st, it will be fun to watch the season change.  The weather has been comfortable but cool, in the 60’s.  Another advantage of having our own apartment is being able to make our own meals. It’s been nice trading off making meals between the four of us and sharing the time with each other, not to mention the money savings.  At dinner last night we talked about the true definition of the word “extreme” and how we went from one extreme to the other within the same day.  When we left our hostel in Zambia one morning and stayed that same night in Jo’burg at our “special” hotel; that was a complete extreme.  Now being on the marina in Cape Town it’s just so different from the other parts of Africa we have been to so far.  It’s hard to imagine what Brian at the orphanage in Zambia (one of the best 11-year-old soccer players I’ve ever seen) is doing this evening; another unfortunate extreme.  It was nice to see the “bush” of Africa and now one of the more popular big cities to see the diversity the land offers on this amazing continent.

The apartment is about a 10-minute walk to the V&A Waterfront, we go there at least every other day for groceries or to see one of the daily street music performances . . . it’s also a good chance to say hi to the seals.  The new Cape Town Stadium is about a 10-minute walk from out apartment as well, this is where they played some of the World Cup Soccer games last year.  We are in a very beautiful area with huge boats/ships everywhere, seals sunbathing on docks, surfers on the beach, people walking all about; and it’s all nestled in between mountains and water ways.  Cape Town is a very sports driven, outdoors town.  Amy and I joke that we are now living the life in an area we always wanted to but never did as we were creating our life back home.

We found a local swim club that is allowing Kendal and Keegan to train with them.  Amy joined the health club as well so she goes to the club with them during the week while I’ve decided to just use the small gym at the marina since the weather is great for running.

Last Saturday there was a soccer game between the Ajax of Cape Town and the Kaizer Chiefs of Jo’burg (the countries favorite team), you would have thought it was the World Cup.  (Up in Jo’burg the Chiefs play in a stadium that holds 95,000 and they fill it).  The doors opened at 5pm and the game started at 8:15pm. We were wondering why they opened so early so we walked from our apartment at about 6:30pm thinking there might be some pre-game festivities for the kids.  When we got there the stadium was about a quarter filled, the music was blaring to hip-hop beats and people were dancing and singing at will. Many of them in team costumes. The stadium filled quickly, it was packed.  They love their soccer…over 36,000 people filled the stands; dancing, screaming and blowing on vuvuzela’s!  The home team, (underdogs) Ajax, held their turf with a 1-1 tie.

This week we will be begin taking some day trips to check out more of the great sites of the area.  A few days ago we got brave and rented a car for a few weeks.  It’s been an adventure driving a car with the steering wheel on the opposite side of the vehicle and at the same time driving on the opposite side of the road – in traffic!  Good thing we have a washer and dryer in the apartment because I’ve been sweating a lot when I drive – I’m serious!!  Even the round-abouts are clockwise.  I keep thinking, ‘it’ll get easier’ and it is, slowly.  I feel sorry for the left front tire, it’s taking the most damage at this point, the perception you’re used to from right to left is just off enough to cause alarm.  Keegan likes the manual roll-down windows in the back, calls it “old school cool”!  The first day Kendal got a good laugh because she saw me bang my face into the drivers’ window when I turned to the right to reverse out of a parking spot.

The thing that’s really nice is there’s no rush; on this portion of our journey we have time.  There’s so much to see just in this area and we are looking forward to exploring.

Cheers to right here and right now!

Outside the Cape Town Stadium before the game

Keegan and the Ajax mascot an hour before the action started.

The stands were full and the game was exciting

We drove up into District Six (history of this area is amazing and sad) and I took this quick shot from inside the car. That's Table Mountain!

The view from our apartment, we hope to spend more time on the patio as the weather gets nicer.

Our apartment is the one on the right.

Taking a walk to the V&A Waterfront Shopping Center, Table Mountain is obscured by the heavy clouds on the left.

Seals are there all the time.

Nobel Square at V&A Waterfront honoring the four South African Nobel Peace Prize winners; Albert Lithuli, Desmond Tutu, FW de Klerk and of course Nelson Mandela.

Author: Amy

We made to the Continent of Africa for the first time for all of us.  Based on our travel plans/costs I chose a flight with a 2 night stopover in Johannesburg.  When planning I was naïve on most of Africa and thought, ‘I’ve heard of Johannesburg a lot, it must have things to see and visit, let’s stay there between our long flight from Croatia and quick flight to Zambia which is where we go to see Victoria Falls’.  Well, as planning kept moving, poor Africa did not get priority planning and when we would mention Johannesburg to people we almost always received the same response; don’t go anywhere without security; you can’t walk during the day or night; you can’t trust the cabbie’s and most people have high walls and electric wires around their homes as well as a guard for security.  After this information I found a hotel that would pick us up from the airport – it is the most expensive place we have stayed.  WOW!  It’s gorgeous.  Friendly security guards are everywhere, with a wall and electrical fence lining the hotel.  The staff (which is 3 to each hotel guest) has told us that Oprah stayed here with many famous actors like Chris Rock and Will Smith – they really liked Will Smith.  Just a note, we are here in the off-season, so prices are slightly better.  The question is; has what we have been told about Johannesburg true – it’s so hard to say.  We came from Croatia where the entire country had a population of about 4.5 million.  The city of Johannesburg has a population of 8 -9 million, many of which are refugees from other nearby countries.  It’s been such a sad lesson to teach – the power struggle and war in every area we have gone to.  The big wars in Germany, the battles in Croatia and now the countries at war in Africa.  The other war we see here very clearly is the wealthy vs. the poor.  There are two extremes here and that causes violence and paranoia and is such an unhealthy way to live.  The people that we have met all have jobs and are extremely helpful and happy toward us.  The kindness glows in their eyes.  On the way to the hotel there was an accident on the freeway so we got off and took the city roads, at a stop sign we saw some police filling their van with people, beating them with a stick to get them in, about 2 feet from our window.  You could see the sadness and embarrassment in our driver’s eyes.  Steffi, who we visited in Berlin spent time here last year doing volunteer work and told us “don’t stay locked up in your hotel, there are beautiful places to see, just travel smart”.  We did take a trip to a mall square and saw a new statue of Nelson Mandela.  Being there you would believe you were in New York or Chicago – (it’s winter here).  There were so many high-end shops.  It was packed with people shopping and buying.  Everyone was dressed beautifully – name brand everything and cool boots for the ladies.  Kendal and I loved checking out the fashion.  We will go back to Joburg (as they call it) for two more nights after we leave Zambia and the Victoria Falls area.  We plan to see the apartheid museum and other sites.  I am sad for those that live here and that it has such a bad reputation.  It is such a beautiful place.  Years of turmoil have made it what it is and I guess it just becomes your way of life.

Nelson Mandela Square Mall - Johannesburg, South Arica