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Tag: Short Prose
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The cork burst from the bottle, hitting the wall and leaving an indent on the yellow wallpaper. Fae poured the champagne into a slender flute, watching the bubbles snap to the surface and dance around the rim. She drained the glass in three gulps, feeling the bubbles gather in her gullet, causing her to hiccough. Replenishing her glass, she sipped slowly this time.
She reached into the ashtray for the half-smoked cigarette. Lighting the tip, she watched the smoked wander into the air before dissolving into nicotine stained cornices. The cigarette made her dizzy, so she closed her eyes.
From a pink paper bag, she pulled out matching underwear; white silk knickers trimmed with lace, and an angel bra. She removed the price tags and slipped the garments onto her soft pale skin. Standing in front of the mirror, she examined her body; tall and lean with curved hips and strong muscular thighs -the result of two months of hunger and anxious floor pacing. From a drawer in her dresser, she pulled out a lace garter, the same garter that her mother had worn when she had married her father. She smiled at she recalled her parent's recent silver anniversary celebration. From a red and brown gift box, the same one that had arrived in the post two days earlier, she pulled out the silver pendant. She laid the necklace in the palm of her hand and brushed her thumb over the engraving – Evermore. Fastening the thin chain around her neck, she felt a shiver of excitement when the cold metal dipped into the crease between her breasts.
Seated in front of the mirror, she wound her long hair into a fishtail braid and placed a 'baby's breath' flower crown on top. She applied her makeup, bronze shades to her eyes, cheeks, and lips that not only complimented her russet hair but also created a gorgeous monochromatic and glamorous effect. She liked this face. This was a face she had abhorred for many years until it had been touched so tenderly…
The sound of the letterbox roused her, and she heard a pile of letters hit the floor, it was most likely bills or perhaps the Betterware catalogue.
Stepping into the dress was like stepping into a daydream. The rush of excitement and the smell of a new start hugged her. She felt rich, expensive but most of all, worthy. The dress was all over white, with lace trim around the shoulders where the material stopped – allowing for bare-arms. Sequins swirled in waves around the tummy and spread out around the waist before tapering at the thigh. Then stitched neatly in the seam, was the Armani label beside a slim and slender and slightly battered security tag.
Adam paced the floor; the photographer was late. He dialled the saved number on his phone.
'I'm stuck in traffic.' The voice said.
'If you're not here at two, I'm fucked.' Adam snapped.
'I'll do my best mate. Bank holiday weekend and all that.'
'Just hurry up or my necks on the line.' He hung up and put the phone in his pocket. Seconds later it rang.
'Adam Scott.' He answered in a professional voice.
'It's me, Lucy.' A panicked voice sounded on the line. 'Is Patricia there? There's a security tag still attached to my dress.'
'Apparently they were all the same.' Adam said pushing the bar on the fire exit and stepping outside. 'Just tuck it into something.'
'But it's on my hip. Where's Patricia?'
'Wear a scarf around your waist.'
'Adam…'
'What? Patricia isn't here. Why have I got to organise everything?' He hung up. Taking a pre-rolled joint from his pocket, he held it between his teeth and lit the end.
There was a taxi waiting outside the flat. The driver had his window rolled down and his arm hung out.
'Bloody hell.' He said when she stepped out the front door. 'They never told me you ordered a wedding cab.'
'I didn't.' She replied, gathering her train into a big ball and stuffing it into the taxi before stepping in.
'Where to?'
'Stetford Gardens. 123a.'
'Another passenger?'
'Just one.'
He nodded, rolled up the window, straightened the collar of his shirt and started the engine.
'The bloody cake is melting with the heat.' Adam was on the phone again. He stared at the four-tier monstrosity with its frills and piping.
'Can you find a fridge?' A woman's voice said.
'It's an empty fucking building Patricia.'
'Put it beside the window then.' She said. 'Has Tony arrived?'
'Tony?'
'The photographer.'
'Stuck in traffic.'
'Shit. Are you ready though?'
'Just about.'
'You're a life saver. Thanks for doing this at short notice.'
'I'm doing it for the money. That's all.'
She laughed. 'I'll be there in an hour, don't get stoned. Love you.'
Pavel pulled the cab up close to the pavement. He looked in the rear-view mirror. The bride was rummaging in her bag.
'Should I beep the horn?' He said.
'No. I'll call.' She replied into her bag. She pulled out a bottle of perfume and sprayed it in a circle around her neck.
The smell wafted into the front of the car and he coughed.
'It's me.' She said into her phone. 'I'm outside.'
He looked at the flats. Posher at this side of town.
'Yes. A black cab.'
Her voice sounds nervous, he thought and caught her eye.
'Of course, I'm wearing the dress.' She held a mirror to her face and laughed. 'Come on, I'm dying to see how you look.'
He looked at his watch.
'What? Twenty minutes?' She pulled the phone from her ear. 'There's been a slight delay.'
'I have to keep the meter running.' He said.
'Fine.' She slumped in the back seat.
The rattle of the taxi's engine filled the silence.
Adam felt used. He'd only agreed to her stupid idea because he'd had three lines of coke and the promise of a blow job.
'It'll be over before you know it.' She'd said.
'But groom…' he'd sulked. '…I'd be a better best man, or an usher… hell, I'd even be a better priest!'
'For me darling.' She said and unzipped his fly. And that was that.
Lifting the collar of his white shirt, he clipped the bowtie into place. He was pulling on his trousers when the door buzzer went.
'Fuck.' He said and tucked his shirt into his trousers. He was still fiddling with the button when he opened the door.
A woman stood with arms loaded with flowers. 'I've got a carload of these.' She said thrusting them into his arms. 'Get a move on.'
He unloaded the flowers onto a trestle table and hurried back.
'So, which one are you.' The woman asked in a strong northern accent. She handed over a cardboard box filled with assorted bouquets.
'Groom.' He said looking into the box and counting out loud.
'I was told ten bouquets.' She said watching him. 'Is it ten?'
'As far as I know.'
'Greedy boy.' She laughed.
'Whatever.' He felt his face flush.
'If there isn't enough, they'll have to share. We only made what the boss lady asked for.'
He helped her carry the remaining flowers into the room then locked the door as she left. He ran back to the toilet, sat down and flicked cold water onto his face. On the back of the door a heavily lined tuxedo jacket hung in a clear plastic wrapper.
She'd had her eyes fixed on the front door of 123a for the last five minutes, and finally out came Clarissa. She was spectacular in a white silk dress that she'd folded perfectly onto her lap. Clarissa waved, blew a kiss towards the taxi and wheeled to the gate. Her long ebony hair was wound into a plait and trailed down her left shoulder, tiny blue flowers were woven through it. She wore a silver tiara and red lipstick.
As she approached, the driver got out of the taxi and opened the back door. 'I'm sorry I never expected a…'
'It's fine, I can transfer.' Clarissa said. 'If you wouldn't mind holding the bottom of my dress though, until I'm …'
'…And putting my chair in the boot.'
'Sure.'
Pavel watched bride number two slip into the back seat. He handed the silken material into the taxi and closed the door. He wheeled the chair to the back of the taxi and opened the boot. Both brides were locked in a passionate kiss.
Adam was terrible at small talk. As far as he could tell, the best man had arrived, an usher and three bridesmaids. There was a Paul and a Stacey, and maybe a Brenda, but he wasn't sure. He filled some glasses with champagne, smiled and checked his watch.
By the time Patricia arrived, so had Lucy and Grace and someone else in a white dress, but he didn't catch her name because she was busy chasing two boys and a silver balloon.
'Thank God.' Adam said following Patricia into an empty office. 'Where have you been?'
'I'm here now.' She said, putting down her briefcase and stepping back. She eyed Adam from head to toe. 'You look delicious darling.'
'You should've been here hours ago. I've had to organise everyone.' He put his hands on his hips. 'That's what you're paid to do.'
'And you're paid to look beautiful.' She tugged the lapels of his jacket .
'It's as well I love you.' He stepped forward and kissed her on the mouth.
The taxi pulled up outside the newly built hotel.
'Are you sure this is the place?' Pavel asked, having read in the evening Herald that the hotel wasn't due to open for another four months.
'It is.' Both brides said in unison.
Fae wheeled Clarissa up the ramp. They could hear music playing as they approached the double doors. Two boys stood at the entrance, both in black suits and shiny shoes. The one on the left looked up and smiled revealing a missing tooth. Fae paused and Clarissa took her hand.
'Nervous?' Clarissa asked.
'A bit.' Fae replied. 'It is my first time.'
The hall was decorated in silver balloons. Sprays of flowers hung on the wall and were stuffed in giant vases. A long navy carpet stretched from the door to a wooden archway.
On each side of the room identical wooden chairs were lined in rows. Some were already filled. Of course, neither bride knew anyone, except Adam. Everybody knew Adam.
Patricia was great at acting cool, but it was an act. She'd taken two Valium on the journey and had just finished a joint with the groom. She strutted into the middle of the hall and stood on a chair. There were two brides in the corner laughing with a half-naked minister, one inhaling helium from a balloon and singing Bohemian Rhapsody, a disabled lesbian bride with her tongue down the throat of a ginger bride, and four brides fighting over bouquets. Patricia clapped her hands together,
'Can I have everyone's attention please.' She began counting. 'I'm missing a bride.'
Just then a door burst open and out wandered a best man, a partially dressed bridesmaid and a dishevelled bride.
'Here.' The bride shouted and the three snorted with laughter.
'Groom.' Patricia turned around as Adam strode into the room, finally doing his job.
'If you could all make your way to the front now.' She said and jumped off the chair.
'Okay.' She said, satisfied that everyone was listening. 'We are all gathered here today…'
There was a roar of laughter and a round of applause.
She grinned '…I'll start again. We all are gathered here today…'
'Excuse me.' A voice echoed from the back of the hall. 'I'm here for the photoshoot. Is this Wedding Plus magazine?'
©EilidhGClark
Author EilidhGClarkPosted on January 8, 2021 Categories My ProseTags Betterwear, Bride, Groom, Lesbian wedding, Married, Short Prose, Short Story, vows, Wed, wedding, Wedding celebration, Wedding magazineLeave a comment on The Bride
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Pexels.com
Twenty minutes later than scheduled, the blinking seat belt signs suggests they are about to leave. Juliette watches silently as bullets of hail bounce on the airplane's wing. The early morning's offering of sunshine that she'd been so relieved to wake up to, is now hidden behind scribbles of charcoal clouds and a heavy sky. She grumbles obscenities under her breath, Meanwhile, Isobel sleeps silently.
There are murmurs around the cabin; clicking of belts and rustling of newspapers. Juliette turns her head toward Isobel, whose flickering eyelids border between sleep and awake. She shushes her back to sleep. Isobel shivers, and her pale hand slides from a gap in her tartan shawl and pulls the garment up to her neck; she purses her lips, frowns, then rests her head on the back of seat.
As soon as the airplane is in the sky, the cabin fills with chitter-chatter and the smell of fresh coffee. Juliette sucks on a mint imperial, clattering it around her dentures until her ears pop. The tea trolley rattles past with a chorus of, "Any hot drinks or snacks? Anything from the bar?"
A middle-aged woman in PVC trousers and a pink poncho leans across the aisle toward Juliette. "I think Sleeping Beauty there is needing a wee espresso."
"I'm sorry?" Juliette says.
"Well, it's such a short flight. We're hardly up before we're back down again." She flicks her hair over her shoulder. "Besides, the sun's splitting the trees down there in Dublin. You don't want your woman there to be missing out on a beautiful landing, now do you?"
"My woman?"
"Your friend, your sister, your missus, whatever, I'm just saying, there's a spectacle to behold down there in the autumn."
And doesn't Juliette know it. Autumn, as it happens, is a precious time of year. She rests her head on Isobel's shoulder and closes her eyes.
She'd met Isobel in autumn of 1989. Juliette was on a return flight from Glasgow following four days at a horticultural course in the botanic gardens. She felt tired and her muscles ached from digging and stretching. Isobel had been sitting across the aisle with a group of friends, some of which were being loud and obnoxious. Juliette had noticed the young woman immediately and thought she must have the celtic blood in her veins to be blessed with hair of the color of fire. She caught Red Head's eye and gave her an appreciative nod. The woman flashed her a quizzical look and turned back to her group. Juliette picked up her battered copy of Orlando and turned away from the hubbub.
Fifteen minutes before landing, her reading was disturbed by the sound of raised voices. She lowered her book and sat up straight to see what was going on. A man in a pinstriped suit four seats in front her was jabbing a finger toward the group of friends. His face was red and twisted in anger. From among the jumble of words being thrown back and forth across the aisle, she managed to pick out "queer" and "gay boys." Her shoulders tightened, and she dropped Orlando onto the empty seat. She unclipped her seat belt with trembling fingers and was about to rush to the boy's defense when two cabin crew swept down the aisle to defuse the situation. Juliette sat back in her seat, closed her eyes, and blew out a breath. Her heart was racing.
"Are you alright?" Red Head tapped Juliette on the shoulder.
"I will be," Juliette replied.
"Do you mind?" She nodded toward the empty seat.
Juliette lifted her book. "Be my guest."
The seat belt sign lit up, and both women fiddled with their straps until they were locked in.
"I can't believe people still act like that," Juliette said, still stiff with anger.
"I know. I'm so embarrassed," Red Head said. "I told them not to be so, you know, out there in front of other people." She shook her head.
"Oh no." Juliette blushed. "I was referring to him there," she said in a raised voice, pointing at the man in the suit, who was now arguing with his wife.
Red Head cowered into her seat. "I guess I'm just envious. I wish I had the courage to be so bold."
They sat in silence for the next ten minutes. Juliette fidgeted in her seat, while Red Head twirled a strand of hair around her finger and whistled under her breath.
"I'm Isobel, by the way." Red Head turned so that their faces were close; Juliette felt her warm breath.
"Juliette," she answered; the skin of their arms brushed slightly. "Are you Scottish?"
"Can't you tell?" Isobel smirked.
"You don't belong to Glasgow, that's for sure."
"As a matter of fact, I do."
"Student accent, I guess."
"I see. What are you studying, Isobel?"
"I was studying public health. Just finished."
"Doctor?"
The airplane dipped its left wing to turn and then begin its descent.
"Have you been to Dublin before?" Juliette asked.
"First time, but I've been told if the weather's clear it's a beautiful landing."
"That it is." She sat back. "Take a look."
Isobel leaned over Juliette's lap. A ringlet of red hair fell on Juliette's bottle-green blouse, and the contrast was striking.
"You'll be seeing Killiney Bay about now," Juliette said, "and beyond that, the glorious Wicklow Mountains."
"Wow. Would you look at the colors of those trees." Isobel turned to face Juliette with wild blue eyes. "Do you want to see?"
"I've seen them a hundred times."
"It's like the mountains have captured a rainbow."
"I like to imagine that every tree and every bush, and all the grass and flowers hold the entire summer inside of them, then in the autumn it all spills out."
For a second, their eyes locked. Juliette held her breath, and although the blood rushed through her veins, there was a feeling of familiarity, like she'd been reunited with a long-lost lover.
"Thank you for this." Isobel squeezed Juliette's hand gently before reaching forward one last time and filling the window with hair the color of fire.
Juliette could see in her mind's eye the Japanese larch, the pines and the spruce, stretched up to the sky and swaying from side to side, back and forth, sweeping brush strokes in the clouds. From up here, she could almost see the forest breathe.
"I hope you don't think I'm being too forward, but can I see you again?" Isobel asked as the airplane bumped to the ground. "I'm here for a week and I just thought, seeing as you're local . . . "
"What gave you the impression I'm local?"
"It's the accent, I just . . . "
"You're right, I'm just playing around with you."
"So, do you fancy . . . "
"I'm free on Wednesday evening if you are." Juliette laughed and felt giddy.
"I'll make myself free." Isobel grinned.
"Okay. Meet me in John Kavanagh's on Prospect Square. Is seven o'clock okay?"
Juliette wore a pair of pin tuck trousers and a black polo neck. She waited at the bar, sipping Malibu and pineapple through a straw and tapping her feet to "Never Too Late" by Kylie Minogue. A few minutes later, the young doctor arrived. She looked younger than Juliette remembered and dressed casually in double denim with green Doc Martens and matching earrings. The long red curls that had first caught Juliette's eye were tied into a ponytail. Juliette immediately felt her age. But later that night, as they stood in an alleyway to avoid the rain, Isobel leaned forward and kissed Juliette. It was the first time she'd been kissed like that.
Juliette pulls the inflight magazine from the seat pocket and flicks through its glossy pages; adverts, adverts, and more of the same.
"Excuse me, dear." A voice interrupts her thoughts. A heavily made-up face leans toward her with red lips pulled into a smile revealing straight white teeth.
Juliette raises her eyes.
"Would you like a hot beverage? Tea, coffee . . . "
"Someone was here just ten minutes ago," Juliette says. "No thank you."
"And for your daughter?" Juliette feels a stab in her chest.
"She's asleep."
"Yes. But . . . "
"Nothing for either of us. Thank you."
"If you change your mind, dear . . . " She points at a button above the seat. "Just press this one."
Juliette nods and raises the magazine to cover her flushed cheeks. If it isn't bad enough being insulted with the title of "dear," being mistaken for Isobel's mother is deplorable.
The age gap hadn't been so obvious at the start; Juliette had just turned forty and her premenopausal body was still trim with a flicker of youthfulness. Isobel on the other hand was twenty-one and glowed. Since their first encounter, they'd kept in contact with each other by telephone at least once a day, if not twice. Juliette was completely consumed with love, and according to Isobel, the feeling was mutual. Yet Juliette was reluctant to commit to a relationship, never mind that type of relationship. She assumed, as one would, that Isobel was just dipping her toes in the water and would soon get bored with the lifestyle of a middle-aged woman, never mind the gossip. But Isobel didn't refrain from trying. Nevertheless, Juliette kept her lover at a distance for ten whole years, meaning both women would travel between Glasgow and Dublin at the weekends, birthdays, and holidays.
"Do you remember that first flight?" Isobel asked her on one of those sleepless rainy nights as they lay in bed together.
"Of course, I do," Juliette said, stretching her tired limbs.
"I think about it every time I fly here," Isobel said. "I almost kissed you on that flight. I'd never felt so drawn to anyone like that before."
"I felt like I'd found you after years of looking," Juliette breathed into her ear.
"You old romantic." Isobel kissed her. "But isn't it about time we began making new memories? Besides, I'm exhausted."
The flights to and from Glasgow stopped in the first autumn of the millennium. And when Isobel moved in, not a word of gossip passed from the lips of the villagers. Assuming that unlucky-in-love Juliette was past her mothering years and was now a spinster, what else could the young Isobel be but the spinster's lodger. After all, she'd been visiting as a "friend" for ten years. This suited Isobel well, although it irritated Juliette, but Isobel's new career as a family practitioner and the sole female doctor in the practice meant absolute discretion. They set up separate bedrooms in Juliette's two-bed bungalow, in case, as Isobel pointed out, of a surprise visitor or people passing by the back window. But Juliette corrected her, saying that whenever they were in bed together, the curtains were firmly closed. And as for the people passing the back window, that would only be the village gardener, Juliette herself.
For most of the time, their fabricated life wasn't an issue; the back-room door stayed closed, the room gathering dust, and their relationship shone. Then one afternoon, Juliette was pruning Mrs. Candleberry's Arthur Bell roses, when the lady herself appeared in the garden with a tray carrying two glasses of Pimm's.
"So, tell me about your young doctor friend," Mrs. Candleberry said, putting the tray on the table. She pulled out a chair and patted it. "Join me for a refreshment."
"Isobel." Juliette took a handkerchief from the pocket of her shirt and mopped her brow. "What about her?"
"Well, what's she like to live with? Has she got a man-friend?" She put her hand to the side of her mouth and whispered, "I hear she's friendly with Doctor Luton."
"Doctor Luton?"
"He's new to the practice. A handsome young Australian man."
"She hasn't mentioned him." Juliette dug her fingernails into the palm of her hand, leaving a line of half-moons.
"Well, I'm sure two attractive doctors don't need any help from us old hens, but it wouldn't hurt to give your little friend a nudge?"
Juliette almost choked on an ice cube.
"Although," she continued, "I'm sure you don't want to lose a good lodger. It must be nice to have the company of a younger woman in the house."
"Nice. Yes."
"And the rent, of course. Such a shame to have to manage on your own without a . . . "
"I manage just fine, Mrs. Candleberry."
"I was just saying to Hilda and Betty at the church hall this morning that Isobel could almost be mistaken for your daughter."
"My . . . "
"There's such a likeness, dear," she went on, "over the mouth and . . . " Her voice was drowned out by the scraping of Juliette's chair on the concrete. She marched back to the roses.
"I've got to get on, Mrs. Candleberry," she shouted over her shoulder. "Mr. Dingle is expecting me in half an hour." But she raced home that afternoon, stripped off her grubby clothes, and stood in front of the mirror. Then she cried, all the feelings of doubt returning to her mind.
Isobel shrugged it off later that evening. "There's hardly a line on your face," she said, tucking a stand of brown hair behind Juliette's ear and brushing her lips over her earlobe. "And besides, I would be lucky to look anything like you. You're stunning."
"But one day soon I'm going to be an old lady and you, you'll be in your prime." Juliette shrugged. "And then you'll leave me."
"Why would I leave you?"
And for the next decade their flights remained grounded, and together they celebrated each new wrinkle, cried over ailments, and watched each other grow. But sometimes, on a dark and rainy night, Juliette would lie awake wondering when it would all end.
The plane judders and the seat belt sign lights up again. Juliette gently lifts Isobel's shawl and checks that her belt is firmly in place, then checks her own. She looks at her watch; they've been in the air for twenty minutes now, which means there are only thirty-seven minutes to go. She listens to Isobel breathe while all around her teacups rattle on saucers and a couple shout at a child. At the back of the airplane someone is crying. The cabin girl that earlier called her dear staggers from left to right as she makes her way to her own seat by the door. Juliette considers pushing the little button above her head, then scolds herself for thinking bad thoughts. Suddenly the airplane dips. There are wide eyes and a collective gasp, and someone screams for God. Juliette swings her arm toward Isobel, searching for her hand, and Isobel wakes. She struggles to free her arms from her shawl but, of course, she's held tightly by her seat belt.
"What the—"
The airplane settles, followed by an apology over the intercom.
"It's okay." Juliette twists to face Isobel, who is thrashing around, red-faced. She puts her two hands on Isobel's face and turns it toward her own. Isobel stops writhing and looks at Juliette. Their eyes lock. Juliette breathes sharply and holds her breath. She searches those familiar eyes, still as blue as the sky after a storm. Isobel smiles; a dimple that's grown deeper with age bends as her lips stretch.
"Hey, my love." Juliette's heart quickens. "It's me, Juliette." She reaches out and takes Isobel's hands.
Isobel clears her throat. "Do you have an appointment, dear?" She shakes Juliette's hands away and starts pulling things from the seat pocket and dropping them on the floor. "I can't seem to find my diary. What did you say your name was?"
Juliette feels a familiar gnawing of disappointment, but she blinks it away. "I'm not here to see a doctor, I'm here to see you."
Isobel frowns and sits back in her seat. "Are we on a bus?"
Juliette pulls the shade down. "We're on an airplane to Dublin."
"Where's Juliette? What have you done with Juliette?" She begins tugging on her seat belt.
"I'm here—"
"Stop this bus!" Isobel shouts at the top of her voice.
"Isobel . . . "
"Help! I'm being held hostage!"
Juliette unclips her seat belt and stands up. She holds Isobel by the shoulders.
"Is everything alright?" A bald head pops up from the seat in front.
"Ma'am." Juliette's favorite steward stands in the aisle. "Is everything alright?"
"Everything is fine." Juliette puts her arm out to warn the steward to stay back. "She's . . . "
"Are you here for an appointment, dear?" Isobel smiles at the steward.
"She's radio rental." A little blonde girl with pretend tattoos drapes her arms over Juliette's head rest.
"Don't be so rude," Juliette snaps, then turns to the steward. "She's just confused."
They thought it was fatigue at first, what with the extra shifts she'd been covering due to Dr. O'Brian's pregnancy.
"You can't just diagnose yourself with exhaustion, then go in to work on a Saturday," Juliette snapped after finding an egg bouncing in a dry saucepan on the kitchen hob. "You need to take time off."
"I can't. Deloris is as sick as a dog with this wee one, and besides, there's no one else to cover for her."
"Fair enough, but remember you'll have to finish early on Monday, you've got a hospital appointment to get that left leg looked at again."
"My left leg?" Isobel looked puzzled.
"The trapped nerve . . . "
"Aye, right enough," she said, limping out of the room.
But Isobel didn't finish early that Monday, or the following Monday, and as the weeks went by, Juliette lost count of the times she'd canceled and rearranged appointments. But it was six months later when things came to a head.
Juliette was in the kitchen organizing sandwiches onto serving trays. They were expecting a dozen friends over in the evening to celebrate their upcoming twentieth anniversary.
Isobel burst into the kitchen with arms full of shopping bags.
"Is the cake in the car?" Juliette asked.
"Cake?" Isobel dropped the bags at her feet.
"The anniversary . . . " Juliette began.
A tin of dog food rolled from one of the bags and landed near Juliette's feet. She picked it up and looked at Isobel. The confusion on her face sent shivers down Juliette's spine.
"We don't have a dog, do we?" Isobel said softly.
"We don't." Juliette pulled out a kitchen chair and took Isobel's hand. "Sit down, love."
Isobel was trembling.
After the diagnosis Isobel took sick leave from work and began reading prolifically. Being a doctor, she had access to the best medical books on early onset dementia. She collected them all and shut herself in the second bedroom and spent weeks poring over them. Then one day, out of the blue, she packed the books into a large cardboard box and took them to the office. Juliette waited in the car.
"Do you want to go on a road trip?" Isobel asked when she returned.
"Today?" Juliette asked.
"Why not. I want to make up for forgetting our . . . " She held her mouth open, as if waiting for the word to drop out.
"Anniversary?" Juliette lifted her eyebrows.
"Aye, that. I feel so disconnected from everything." Isobel blushed. "Shall we?"
"Wicklow Mountains."
So, approximately three weeks after their twentieth anniversary, they laid their sleeping bags on the ground on top of a thick bed of moss and fallen pine needles at the foot of Wicklow Mountains.
"Who needs a mattress?" Juliette said and breathed deeply. The forest smelled of damp mulch and burning firewood.
Isobel tucked a cushion under her head. "We should have done this years ago," she said, looking up at the trees swishing in the breeze. "Look"—she pointed—"Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers!"
Juliette looked up to see two Scots pines bent toward one another in a romantic embrace.
Isobel turned to Juliette. "Thank you for twenty years of good memories."
"And here's to making new ones," Juliette replied.
"Memory might not be my strong point though." Isobel sighed.
"I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think."
"Oh, Juliette. We need to talk."
Isobel sat up and crossed her legs.
"I know you're worried, my love. I am too." Juliette brushed the palm of her hand over Isobel's cheek. "But if things get difficult, I'll look after you."
Isobel turned to face Juliette. "Promise me you'll bring me here every year on our anniversary."
"Even if I forget you, I think this is the place that will bring it all back."
Juliette reached over and held her hand. She choked back her tears.
"Will you collect me from Glasgow." Isobel's blue eyes were heavy and full.
Juliette sat up. "What?"
"I'm going back to Scotland. Everything's arranged."
"No. You can't." Juliette felt her body trembling. That familiar feeling that had kept her awake for so many nights. "You're leaving?"
"I'm setting you free."
Juliette feels the pressure change in the cabin as the airplane begins its descent. There's the usual hustle and bustle before landing; bags being stowed in overhead lockers; seats being put back in upright positions; last minute queues at the toilets. Isobel fiddles with the air-conditioning above her head; it blows strands of red hair over her face and she laughs.
"Isobel." Juliette whispers so as not to alarm her. "Do you want look outside?" She pulls the window blind up fully.
Slowly, Isobel reaches over and looks out. "No, no, no!" she shouts. "I think we're falling!"
"Oh no, darling, I promise you we're not." Juliette takes her hand. "Look, we're flying over Killiney Bay."
Isobel edges closer, her eyes widening. Suddenly, she presses her finger on the window. "Aha!" she says. "Can you see that rainbow? That's where I'll find my Juliette."
Juliette smiles and nods.
The forest floor is dappled with sunlight. Long lingering licks of amber coat the leaves and branches. Isobel sits in the car while Juliette unpacks. She tries to ignore the ache in her heart while she sets about re-creating the past. She lays out two sleeping bags on the blanket of thick green moss, and two cushions. Beside each she places a bottle of water and a bag of mixed nuts. Even though they'd returned to this exact spot for the last ten years, she checks for their initials on the bark of the spruce that they'd carved five years ago.
"I'll never stop trying," she says, tracing her finger over the rough bark.
Before she fetches Isobel from the car, she stands for a moment and breathes the cool damp air. High above her, Fred and Ginger stand still, like strangers.
This short story is published by Casule Stories.
Author EilidhGClarkPosted on January 7, 2021 Categories My ProseTags Autumn, Botanic Gardens, Celtic, Closet love, Creative Writing, Doctor, Dublin, Early Onset Dementia, Ficion, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers, Gardening, Glasgow, Ireland, Killiney Bay, Lesbian, Lesbian short fiction, LGBTQI, Loss, love, Love story, memories, Orlando, rainbow, Same sex love, Scots pine, Short fiction, Short Prose, Short Story, Travelling, Wicklow MountainsLeave a comment on Leaving


In continued support of his 2017 album, Savage (Songs from a Broken World).
Gothic master's 22nd album follows 2013's Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind).
Forthcoming jaunt comes in support of Numan's new album, Savage.
Hear Tricky's contribution, a pulsating track called "Escape".
From the electronic outfit's first new album in over a decade, DAMA.


An opportunity has come my way to sell a couple of paintings at auction. This will be my first auction so it should be interesting and hopefully a way to sell some work. The listings will go up in November at the auction website, Paddle 8. It's difficult to tell what the paintings will do in the auction, but at least I get to set the starting price.
Unfortunately, this is strictly an online auction where quality photographs of the work will play the most important role in a potential sale. With that said, I went back and re-photographed one of the two paintings that I felt didn't accurately represent the piece. This painting is title "Red Ryder" and the first time I documented it, I must have overexposed the photo and poorly color corrected it. Take a look at what a couple fractions of a second can look like.
Okay, so the first image isn't terrible, but there is definitely a lack of contrast in areas such as the barrel. I feel much more confident submitting the second photo to the online auction. If you want to see how I photographed this painting, visit my Photographing Art page.
Just for fun, here are the rest of the images of the painting.


The technique is yet another form of resilience displayed by Gaza's 2 million residents, who are entering their 10th year under a blockade.
The above is the key sentence from an article and photo essay appearing in the Associated Press. It is a clear example of how the selection and use of words can reflect an agenda, even when the topic is something relatively mundane like getting a haircut.
What is the "technique" referenced? It is a method that a barber in Gaza has developed to dry customers' hair using fire. While mildly interesting, one might question why this story is considered newsworthy not only by the AP, but by papers such as the New York Times and dozens of others throughout the world. Is a haircutting technique in Gaza really news?
In other words, the reader is supposed to understand that the people of Gaza have a large range of techniques that they have created to survive the ten year blockade. But what are these techniques?
But no, millions of readers of dozens of publications around the world will now get the impression that Gazans are spending their time cutting hair with fire rather than preparing to launch another war with Israel.
And what do the Gazans need "resilience" techniques for?
Israel says it is meant to prevent Hamas from getting weapons. Critics condemn it as collective punishment.
There is certainly ample evidence of Hamas attempts to smuggle weapons into Gaza. Yet where is the evidence that backs up the contention of the "critics" that Israel imposed the blockade just to punish the Palestinian people?
Does Israel just not want the Palestinians to have access to decent haircuts?
Another story in the Associated Press tells the story of the Gaza women's baseball team. They have only one real glove, a piece of wood for a bat, and 20-30 players. They have no games and their "coach" knows how to play by watching YouTube videos.
Of course the article cites the lack of equipment has a result of the Israeli blockade imposed after Hamas took over the Strip. The reporter did not believe that a sentence or two could have been added to explain why Israel and Egypt set up this restriction, implying that preventing Gazan girls from playing sports was a main factor.
Despite the lack of equipment, players, and knowledge of the game, the Gazan "team" is used as an example of attempts to promote baseball in the Middle East.
While the article calls baseball a "fringe" sport in the region, it says that it is growing in popularity with games now being played in Iraq and Egypt.
The fact that Israel stunned the world by advancing undefeated through the preliminary round of the World Baseball Classic is not mentioned in the article.
Yet just as with the story about those flame wielding barbers of Gaza, this AP story was republished throughout the world, from USA Today to the VOA (Voice of America).
When there is no breaking news to report, the media uses the opportunity to promote human interest stories to give the public a sense of what life is really like when bombs are not dropping.
But the AP's Palestinian stringers are painting an unrealistic and misleading picture of life in Gaza by their choice of what to report and how to report it.
To draw attention to a barber or a few women tossing tennis balls in Gaza while ignoring the thousands of Palestinians working every day to prepare for war with Israel is to abuse their positions to mislead the public.
This article originally appeared on the Times of Israel.


Silverstein - Always And Never Chords - Ultimate. Vdeo insertadoSilverstein Always And Never (msica para ouvir e letra da msica com legenda)! Take it back to the streets, I'll start again I'll never look back. Descargar always and never silverstein.
Download La Biblia Latinoamericana for Android, PC / Mac / Windows 7,8,10 Welcome to AppNaz.com, where we provide you with information on discounted prices of all applications, including games, that you love on Android. With AppNaz.com, you can easily find the app/game you like to download or to follow its price changes even though you can't find that app on other store such as Google Play due to regional blocks or other reasons. With international access, you can also track price history of your favourite app in your local currency. To download La Biblia Latinoamericana from our website on mobile (Android) or on PC (Windows, Mac OS, Chromebooks or Ubuntu), follow these steps below: For Android mobile: Allow app installs from unknown sources (Settings ->Apps ->Unknown sources selected area) Download apk file of the app (e.g. La Biblia Latinoamericana) and save to your mobile Open apk file and install For PC: ***Note: it is required to have Android emulator for PC (Bluestacks, Nox, Memu,) Download apk file of the app (e.g. La Biblia Latinoamericana) and save to your PC Add apk file to application list of the Android emulator Install and start using the app Note: The steps above are for free apps from the developers. With all paid apps, we will redirect you to Android and you will have to pay to download the app to your mobile/PC.
A way of saving money is to follow the ups and downs of the prices of the apps you like on AppNaz. Dolby Digital Codec Not Found Premiere Elements Manual. Download Drivers Intel Desktop Board Dh55tc more. com in order to download for free or pay the least amount for your favourite apps.


text:
100 Years of Urban Housing Success
As cities around the world confront an affordability crisis, a few have spent a century perfecting the art of subsidized housing for the masses.
Credit: Dominik Dome/Flickr
Around the world, the cost of housing is destabilizing cities. In Europe, low interest rates meant to spur growth have caused an affordability crisis. American cities are sprouting the kinds of slums usually associated with the developing world. Some have even argued that Hong Kong's protests are, in reality, about a real estate market that has gotten so expensive young folks have essentially no chance of getting their own place.
What can be done? How can cities make sure that people other than the wealthy can find a foothold? A few places have shown that affordability is possible. One is Vienna, Austria.
A century of affordable housing
A hundred years ago, in 1919, Vienna decided to do something about its shortage of low-cost housing for blue-collar workers and creative types. It began constructing publicly financed housing under a model that, over the years, has evolved into a system that works incredibly well. Far from being "projects," "council houses," or "schemies," this is housing built by the best architects, where, over time, people of all income levels have come to live. It's not perfect, but it's pretty close.
Today, 62 percent of Vienna residents live in this "social housing." (In New York, where I live, about eight percent of residents call public housing home.) This is a city that has, for many years running, been voted one of the most livable large cities in the world. Clearly they're doing something right.
The Reumann-Hof, built in 1923 and named for Vienna's first Social Democratic mayor Jakob Reumann, was one of the city's early social housing endeavors. To this day, it's a sought-after place to live. Credit: Payton Chung/Flickr
The historical housing "problem"
Cities need a mix of residents and a fair amount of density for folks to energize and be inspired by one another… and for the city to function well. Yet many have struggled to provide the housing needed to achieve this. When people are priced out, as many are these days, cities become less livable, less innovative and over time, less productive.
My daughter's friends — mostly creative types, furniture makers, artists and the like — have been driven to the edges of Brooklyn, seeking places where they can work and live, and still have access to the resources of the city. Most of them, she now tells me, are giving up and looking for places upstate. Being an artist or creative type has often necessitated some hardships, but this trend is not just "it's tough for creatives" — it's the result of policy decisions.
The lobby of Cabrini Green, a dilapidated Chicago housing project that was torn down between 1995 and 2011. Credit: Milt Hill
The long history of white flight and of cities emptied out by suburban-oriented car-friendly policies has proven this. Famously, in places like the U.S., attempts to build quality low-income housing have fallen short when the political will to manage the details has failed to materialize. Affordable housing was viewed as a handout and not something critical to a city's lifeblood.
Pruitt-Igoe, a massive housing project in St. Louis, fell victim to poor maintenance and crime. It was demolished in the 1970s. Credit: Renato Saboya/Flickr
Cities seeking alternatives to their present predicament might want to look to Vienna, which has demonstrated a century of success with its subsidized social housing model. Below is a social housing complex by the artist and designer Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who famously hated straight lines. He once said, "The straight line is godless and immoral." That may be a bit extreme, but his other dictums — that windows must be within arm's reach, for example — are admirable.
Credit: Martin Abegglen
Hundertwasser's social housing complex has become a tourist attraction — some of the band and I went there while on tour in 2001. It's both wacky and wonderful. The floors and walls are as uneven as the exterior. Who wouldn't want to have an apartment there? It totally destroys our preconceived ideas about social housing — that it will inevitably be drab, cookie-cutter and somewhat degrading.
From the New York Times on January 8, 1987, just after this apartment building opened:
Many tenants, who were admitted on a first-come, first-served basis, are young people with families ("older people are a bit anxious about living like this," Mr. Roettinger [a city spokesman] explained). Tenants pay an initial $20,000 deposit, which is partly refundable, plus a monthly rent averaging around $100. Couples whose joint income exceeds $25,500 are not eligible.
Credit: R. Halfpaap
That was in 1987, but it shows one of Vienna's key social housing policies: low income folks are often the first tenants, but if their financial lot improves they are not kicked out. So they stay.
Vienna is still building social housing to this day. Despite the recent rise of politicians who might not be as inclined to support this system, it continues to thrive. My friend Stefan Sagmeister, an artist who recently had an exhibition in Vienna, said that these days a 1,000-square-foot apartment in social housing goes for about 190 euros a month. And public transportation is close by.
Credit: Einszueins Architektur
In fact, middle-class Viennese are now welcome to apply for subsidized social housing, and if their income rises they can stay in the same apartment, which helps create mixed-income buildings. You might think all these newly middle-class folks would eventually crowd out the low-income applicants, but because the city keeps building more of these there are plenty of new apartments to be had. The nearby public transportation that serves these communities is essential to their success, as well.
Although housing in the relatively small city center (inside the Ringstrasse) is mostly expensive luxury apartments, social housing projects are more or less scattered throughout the rest of Vienna. Within each neighborhood, and even within each building, one can find tenants from a wide range of economic circumstances. As the city's councilor for housing told the Huffington Post, "You can't tell how much someone earns simply by looking at their home address."
So, here are a couple of the major public housing issues solved: availability of apartments, and mixed incomes within the neighborhoods and often within the same building.
How did this happen? How does it work?
A century ago, Austria was catching up with the wave of industrialization that had swept Europe, and folks from all over the former Habsburg Empire were flocking to Vienna in search of work. After World War I, so many people were moving to Vienna that there wasn't enough housing for all of them. Some began building shanty settlements outside the city — squatters in the suburbs, basically. They built their own blocks and streets, and farmed the available land. In the city proper, folks were sleeping in shifts in crowded apartments. At that time, only wealthy men could vote, many of whom were landlords. So there were few safeguards, rights or options for tenants.
After the war, everyone was given the right to vote. This changed everything. Folks began demanding a right to housing, and the new voters supported the left-wing Social Democrats. The party got 54 percent of the vote, and once in power, they passed a rent control law that also gave the city the right to take over vacant property. Rent control can have the effect of reducing the availability of housing, as developers can't see a way to profit with rents suppressed, and that happened in Vienna, too. As available land went undeveloped and became cheaper, the city bought it up and began to build subsidized housing.
They solicited highly skilled, innovative architects, so the buildings were nice, and though the early apartments were small, there were lots of amenities that people had never had access to before: laundries, gardens, nurseries, playgrounds, libraries, counseling offices, rooms for political gathering and debate (!!), courtyards and even kindergartens.
Karl Marx-Hof is one of Vienna's best-known social housing complexes. At over half a mile long, it has four streetcar stops and is one of the longest residential buildings in the world. Credit: Diego BIS/Flickr
Although these projects began in the suburbs, the city ultimately bought parcels of land all over Vienna. As a result, social housing was not clustered in any one area. It became part of the fabric of the city.
How were these paid for?
"Red Vienna," as the city was known in the '20s for its pro-worker, socialist mindset, had no problem accepting tax schemes to pay for all this. Capital gains taxes, luxury taxes and a progressive housing tax that ranged from two percent for workers' housing up to 55 percent for luxury apartments provided plenty of funding for the city's social housing program.
All of this, though very successful, was put on hold from the mid-1930s until 1945 when the Social Democratic Party was banned under Nazi rule. When it started up again after World War II, the city partnered with banks and insurance companies to create what it called not-for-profit housing. After a period of 1960s cookie-cutter construction, the city refocused on design, and began helping developers not only build new apartments, but renovate the older buildings that were beginning to decay. Vienna instituted a process whereby development corporations compete to build housing that is aesthetically pleasing, environmentally sound, and of course, reasonably priced.
Credit: Lloyd Alter
Can we emulate the Viennese model?
Pretty damn tricky to copy the Viennese model, given all the historical contingencies! The above sequence of events and initiatives is fairly complex, and each seems to play a part in the success of the whole housing plan. The city stepping in to purchase land when rent control created opportunities — that takes a lot of political will.
Some things that have allowed this policy to persevere are clear, however. First, folks feel that the taxes they're paying for social housing are fair. It also helps that they know they can stay in their apartments even if their income rises, and their rents are about one-quarter what they might be in other large cities like Paris, so progressive taxation is not viewed as arduous. Land ownership is key, as well — cities might want to be very careful about selling off their land, often their most valuable asset. Voting rights were crucial, too — though this might seem unrelated, everything changed when everyone could vote. (1919 was the first year all women were allowed to vote in Vienna.) Lastly, it took a realization that the free market and social housing are not at odds. They can work together — there is a partnership here. There's a difference between social housing and socialist housing.
Can others copy some of what Vienna has achieved? I'd say that since much of the social housing in Vienna is the result of long-term policies and a fortuitous series of events, simply copying Vienna might not be possible. But one can still learn from what they have done, and copy parts of the Viennese model when opportunity arises. Most of all, I would offer that what we can learn here is that our housing problem is not unsolvable, that public housing does not have to mean dull and neglected projects (I would bet money that most Americans wouldn't guess the buildings pictured above are social housing), and that a city benefits in thousands of different ways from enlightened housing policies. We get back more than we give.
The next article in this series will be about Singapore, another city with an enlightened housing policy — but a VERY different story.
This Lake Belongs to Everyone
Daniel McGraw August 24, 2019 5 min read
A city on Lake Erie convinced its waterfront property owners to give the public their waterfronts for free. It's a case that could transform the Great Lakes forever.
Spain's Happy Little Carless City
Will Doig October 11, 2019 2 min read
Pontevedra, once choked with cars, is a laboratory for how smaller cities can implement a few simple tricks to reduce driving dramatically.
Putting Parks over Pavement
Urban neighborhoods that were severed decades ago by massive highways are finally being sewn back together by public spaces designed to reconnect and heal.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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A Hundred Elephants
(Monday 23rd December, 2019)
Landscape and a couple of elephants from Addo Elephant National Park.
In the morning we left leisurely by 8:00. Today would be a lot of driving prior to our game drive in Addo Elephant National Park, and it was promised to be a warm day with over 40 degrees – and it delivered that with a staggering 42 degrees. It was hot, hot!
Our first stop was at a farmstall in Jansenville, a quaint although expensive café/curio shop/book shop/wine cellar. Most people got their morning coffee here, surrounding by innovative recycled items.
Next was a shopping stop in Addo town where we were given an hour to sort out our own lunch and buy whatever necessities. I got a mediocre pasta salad and T got a mediocre sandwich; not the greatest lunch success. It was very warm waiting for everyone to finish their shopping, because even the wind blowing was very warm (think hair dryer) and in no way, shape or form refreshing.
On the drive between Addo and the Addo Elephant National Park there were many, many lemon farms. Otherwise, the landscape in the park had a lot of bushes with pink flowers, which looked very pretty as they were dotted in between the other foliage, adding a touch of colour. T and I managed to see some cranes on the fields beside the road while we were driving, which was cool.
We made a stop at the reception of the national park so our guides could take care of payment and permit. They have a waterhole there, plus an underground hide, and as I went there I already saw a group of 22-25 elephants (plus a kudu and some buffalo) hanging out. It's always cool to see.
The game drive itself brought about lots and lots of elephants, maybe over 100 in total. Both observed from further away and very close up, feeding, swimming and crossing roads. There were a fair amount of very small calves, too, hiding underneath the belly of their mother or older siblings. At one point, scattered across the landscape in different groups and different directions, there was probably 70 or so in sight at once. It was (still) really incredible to see, and this time we even got to observe a big group by a waterhole for many minutes. At another point there was also a parking place where you could get out and walk through the bush to watch a water hole from a hide. There, we could see the fantastic sight of elephants and zebras with thunder and lightning darting across the sky in the background.
Elephants playing in the foliage of Addo National Park.
The Elephant Gate in Addo National Park.
A sunbird feeding in Addo Elephant National Park.
Highlights were of course all the elephants, but we also saw Red Hartebeest, warthogs, zebras, kudus – and a sunbird. With that dense, thick shrubbery I think you'd have to be very lucky to see anything more. The park was all right, but we go there again tomorrow afternoon, so we'll see if we're bored of the elephants by then. But, at least there will be some new people in the group.
At 17:00 or so we arrived at our lodge for the night(s). They have 5 dogs here, English Pointers, who will bring you rocks, place them on your foot and then wait for you to throw them. It's kinda cute, but we were asked to not play with them as it can damage their teeth. Also, it sort of became less cute when the dogs started peeing on our tents..
A Merry Christmas
(Tuesday 24th December, 2019)
The beach in Port Elizabeth.
We had a leisurely morning here on the Danish/German Christmas. Breakfast was served at 7:45 and we departed for Port Elizabeth at 8:30. We were going to drop the two group members off and in return pick up 5 new ones.
The drive only took about 40 minutes, and we made our first stop by the mall, picking up water etc. T and I went to a coffee shop and got ourselves a smoothie and milkshake to kill time. My lemon/mint smoothie was very good. Afterwards, our driver guide dropped us off by the Beach Hotel in Port Elizabeth, and from here we had 2.5 hours on our own, also being responsible for getting our own lunch today.
T and I walked out on the pier and along the beach promenade. Port Elizabeth is an old town, established by the British back in the days. It is now both one of the most important/busiest ports in South Africa, and one of the tourist hot spots. The beaches are sandy and look nice with their clear water, and supposedly they are also nice for swimming.
We walked through a park filled with souvenir sellers/stalls (both local white and black people selling), and I ended up buying a cute stone hippo.
We then walked to the restaurant where we would meet at 13:00. Here we ran into two members of the group already having their drinks there, and we joined them for some nachos and drinks while waiting for everyone else to arrive.
By 13:00 we said our final goodbyes to the two leaving members, and we also got to greet our new ones. We have a couple from New Zealand (though of Indian origin), two separate Dutch people, and another German. The tour is now almost exclusively Dutch and German..
From then on we drove back towards Addo Elephant National Park for another half day game drive, this time starting from another gate. We didn't see as many elephants today, but there were some awesome sightings:
– very young hyena babies jumping out of their burrow to join their mother.
– a proud male lion crossing the road in front of us.
A very young hyena puppy peeking out of its burrow in Addo National Park.
The proud male lion on his way to crossing the road in Addo National Park.
It was well worth it.
We got back to the camp late because of the lion, which meant dinner would take place at 20:00. Again today the meal was not our cook's finest creation, although the curry taste was good. One of the ladies had bought some Christmas biscuits which she shared with us for dessert, and that was very nice of her. She'd also given us all a little Christmas card and a pin (for charity) this morning. A little touch of the Christmas spirit.
After dinner and our briefing for tomorrow, we sat around the bonfire in the boma, chatting for a while and enjoying the warmth of the fire. Overall, this was a good day.
Embarking on the Garden Route
(Wednesday 25th December, 2019)
Some of the ziplines in Tsitsikamma Adventure company.
By 7:00 this morning we had taken down our tents and we left at 7:30. Our first stop for the day was Jeffrey's Bay, which is a popular surf spot, hosting a large surf event or competition in July every year. We initially went to a mall to do some shopping, but it being Christmas here, the supermarket turned out to be closed. Upon learning that, we were driven to the beach where we dropped most people off, some of us still going to the shops in the truck.
Back from the shops we disembarked on the beach. I walked along it with two of the Dutch. The beach is nice but again not that overly special to me. We had an ice cream and it was quite nice. When we got back to Chuck, our cook had lunch ready for us.
Next stop, entering into the picturesque Garden Route, we went to Tsitsikamma Adventure-something company, which has different zip-lining options. Some people of the group went to do the 3 slides option, others to do the 8 slides one. T and I just went for a walk on a path along the small river, seeing two waterfalls and enjoying the forest, afterwards sitting by the café while waiting for the rest to finish up. It was actually getting pretty cold here at this time of day, the weather having changed from nice and sunny to cloudy and rainy.
We then had a short stop and a little walk by Storm's River Bridge, which I think our guide had told us was the highest stone bridge in South Africa. They have made a walk-way of wood so you can walk underneath and around the pillars to enjoy a nice view over the gorge.
Our last stop on this rather long day, which some group members seemed disappointed about as it isn't Christmassy enough, was at the site of Big Tree. The oldest tree in South Africa. It was a 500 metres walk through the forest (dense), which smelled really good. Had it not been for all the people, it would have been a wonderful serene and quiet experience, too. I enjoyed it quite a lot, even if Big Tree on its own didn't seem so special.
By 17:00 we arrived at our lodge for the two coming nights. Very nice place with a large camp fire by the bar, which we spent some time sitting around for drinks and talks. After dinner we came back to enjoy the warmth and the rest of the evening.
Hiking and Bungy Jumping
(Thursday 26th December, 2019)
Part of the Tsitsikamma coast line with jagged rock formations.
The morning started at 7:00 with breakfast. The weather this morning was more sunny and warm than yesterday, which was nice.
We were due for a hike in Tsitsikamma National Park this morning, so we drove for a short while to get to the parking lot. Tsitsikamma is a coastal/marine national park on the Garden Route, and so we would be walking along the coast line to a waterfall.
The place was very busy because of the holiday season, people coming here to camp, hike and do various day trips. It's a great place for hiking and has multiple trails, and supposedly the Otter Trail (which we walked a minor part of today, the full length can take 7 days) is in the top 10 of most scenic coastal hikes in the world.
At first we dropped the people off who wanted to do the shorter hike to the suspension bridge, then we went a little further down the road and set out on the walk to the waterfall. It was 6.4 kilometres and would take about 3.5 hours. It was a nice walk along the coast with the wild waves and the pretty shades of blue of the water and the sky, ocean on one side and forest on the other. The beginning of the trail was simple enough with a defined path and 'stairs', but eventually it turned into long parts where you have to climb around on a bunch of rocks and sort of find your own path. It was fun, though, and no super steep parts to conquer.
It wasn't unbearably warm, but it still felt nice to arrive at the waterfall after a sweaty hike. The waterfall itself was pretty cool; there's a natural pool beneath it that you can swim in, and the water naturally drains into the ocean. There were a fair amount of people there, most enjoying the pool to cool down. We sat there for a while, enjoying the sound of the waves in one ear, and the sound of falling water in the other, having our lunch.
At one point, going back, there was a little height difference between two rocks, and somehow I landed wrong on my left leg, sort of falling. It hurt, and it hurt worse after I'd had to walk 3/4 of the way back on it. I had to put ice on it when we got back and to keep it up/in rest – we'll see how it plays out. At least nothing is broken!
Beautiful colours of Tsitsikamma in nice weather.
After everyone had finished their hikes, we drove on back towards the lodge, most opting out of the 'Woodcutter's Journey' activity as we had been warned it was often a disappointment. It was to be removed from the itinerary from 2020 on because of continued bad reviews. A few still went, and later on it turned out that they had had a substitute guide (for the summer) who had actually done well, and the people who went did enjoy the experience.
For those people who wanted to do the world's highest bridge bungy jump (216 metres), the jump had been moved up to today's afternoon at 17:00. Tomorrow they had been fully booked. There are 4 people from the group doing it, including T – therefore I'm going with them so I can watch.
The weather, unfortunately, turned on a dime (literally took 10 minutes to turn from blue skies to pouring rain and chilly temperatures). None of us had closed our tents fully so we weren't too happy about that.. but I guess the people doing the jump had other things on their mind.
When we arrived at the bungy jump place, there was an issue with the reservation where the person taking the booking hadn't placed it correctly in their system.. after some correspondence with our cook/guide, they set it right and 'our' people got a spot to jump. They got in their harnesses, then went on the zip-line taking them out to the middle of the bridge (under the road where the cars pass), and then they had to stand there and wait for their turn. There were a lot of people out there still, even in the pouring rain and strongish winds.
Due to the bad weather, we stayed inside and watched the adrenaline seeking jumpers on the screen, showing live feed from each person's jump. It took a while before the first one from our group jumped, but it was fun to see. You almost felt frightened with them, seeing their terrified and nervous faces, and you almost got excited with them, too. People were cheering in the restaurant and it was cool.
It all went well and we got everyone of them back in one piece. They picked up their certificates and ordered their pictures and videos, and then we drove on back to the lodge. We were there at about 19:30, but due to the rain and lack of electricity, our scheduled 'Christmas' dinner was nowhere near ready. The rain meant we all had to squeeze into a small space to eat without getting soaked.
But a merciful soul had closed our tents for us, and therefore they were mostly dry inside, except for one unlucky person whose mattresses had suffered some water intake.
We eventually managed to have our dinner, which was held by candlelight due to no electricity. The food for this 'Christmas' dinner was chicken kebab, rice with saté sauce, hake and sweet potatoes, salad and then Australian rum balls for dessert. Group members had helped cook some of it. It was pretty good, especially the dessert, though it is not like the Danish 'romkugler'.
Grand Garden Route Scenery
(Friday 27th December, 2019)
View over Nature's Valley from the vista in the mountains.
This was the latest morning yet, having breakfast at 8:45. It was also the longest I've managed to stay asleep inside the tent (which meant it must've been a cool and overcast morning, keeping temperatures tolerable). The leg felt better and less painful, although it still hurts or feels wrong, to be fair.
I helped our cook out with breakfast, making the fruit salad. One of the other ladies has a tooth that broke, and she really needs to see a dentist, so some of the others were calling around to try and find a dentist who'd take her in as an emergency case. It was harder than you'd think to find someone in the area, and they called about 6 clinics before they could get an appointment. So she'd have to take a taxi to another town and then meet back up with us at our next accommodation.
After breakfast we drove up to the accommodated people's place (they stayed at a different lodge this time) and picked their things up.
The weather is very volatile today, one moment hot and sunny and the next cloudy, rainy and chilly. They say it's because of the coast, but even Danish coastal weather is not that ambivalent. It continued to be like this as we made our way to our first stop of the day, Nature's Valley. On the way, we had a brief photo stop at a vista overlooking the bay from above. Quite pretty.
At Nature's Valley we made a stop and had a few hours on our own. The ocean beach is a short walk away, pretty with mountains on the side. There's also a lake you can swim in, with the beautiful green mountains as a backdrop. It's also possible to hike around here, but the trails are long and we wouldn't have enough time to do them today. It is not raining here, although the grey clouds are lingering threateningly.
The beach at Nature's Valley.
I just walked down to the beach and back – to spare my leg a bit – and then sat on the shore of the lake, enjoying the view. I only wish it had been more quiet here but you can't have everything you ask for.
After lunch we drove a bit of the way towards our optional activities of the day. In the first place we could choose between going to Monkeyland or Birds of Eden (both animal sanctuaries that offer free-roaming space). They cost about 280 Rand each, which I thought was too expensive for 1 hour. Therefore, me and a few others spent an hour sitting in the restaurant area in Monkeyland, which honestly wasn't too bad as the monkeys could still be seen roaming around from there. It is a rather large, open area where 10 species of monkeys saved from poor conditions, can climb/run around to their heart's content. From our spot by the restaurant we saw about 4-5 different species, including Gibbons, Black-and-white-ruffed Lemurs, and some very curious Ring-tailed Lemurs close up.
Those who went to either place had enjoyed it.
Next we drove to a place called Tenikwa Wildlife Rehabilitation and Awareness Centre, where most people went to see the sanctuary for big cats. It was also an hour's guided tour and the price was 250 Rand, which I again thought too steep for seeing big cats in 'cages'. Those animals are so much more fun to spot in the wild.
Afterwards, we learned our hotel in Plettenberg Bay had been fully booked and so we had been moved to a hotel in the town curiously named Wilderness. This meant an extra 1-1,5 hours of driving today. The drive was quite scenic, however, with mountains on one side and ocean/lagoons on the other. Lots of water sports going on, and when we arrived in Wilderness, there were also many paragliders. Would be cool to try.
But on the way, it was disconcerting to see how the poor live in tin shacks on one side of the hill, and the other side – sometimes only divided by a road – would have large, ocean-facing houses with big glass façades, which looked like holiday homes for rich people. Obvious vulgar wealth disparity there, glaring you aggressively in the face. We also see many more white people around here than we did in the eastern parts of South Africa.
Our hotel for the night is halal, and therefore we had to stop by a liquor shop to get whatever alcohol we needed with our food tonight. We had been allowed to bring our own by the restaurant manager. By the time we got to check in, it was 19:10 and we had dinner scheduled for 19:45 so it was only a short time for showering and getting settled.
Dinner time rolled around, and initially the restaurant didn't seem to know of our dinner reservation for 21 people. Then they said they could only offer us fish'n'chips, and then they changed their mind on that, too, and gave us access to the whole menu. It was a bit of a mess, and so after our briefing for tomorrow, some people decided to go elsewhere and have their dinner. I stayed put and had a burger, which was okay. Afterwards it was an early night for most folks.
A Detour to the Cango Caves Inland
(Saturday 28th December, 2019)
The rail road bridge by the coast by Kaaiman's River Pass.
We started our day's driving very late today, having breakfast at our own leisure between 7:30 and 10:00. I woke up at about 8:30, longest and nicest I've slept for a while. Didn't even hear T come back from his fancy dinner last night, though he did say it wasn't very late (23:30). Guess I was just out cold! He said they'd gone to a restaurant where everyone else was wearing suits and nice dresses, and they had just shown up in their shorts and sneakers. Nice!
Anyway, I went down for breakfast, which was quite standard, although their choice of muzak was really bad – a lot of people actually commented on this.
We had to check out by 10:00, but for some reason we weren't due to depart the place before 11:00. Most of the people were ready by the truck at 10:00, but alas not everyone so we still had to sit around and wait.
We had a short photo stop by Kaaiman's River Pass, which offered a very nice view over Wilderness and the beach, and also over a railway pass crossing the sandy river banks below.
Our next stop was for shopping and took place in a mall in or near George. We had 40 minutes to get whatever we might need, but we were told there'd be no bar at the camp tonight so I guess wine and beer was high on the list. We also had to get our own lunch today, and T and I found some ostrich biltong which was also quite good.
Driving on, the mountainous landscape between George and Oudtshoorn was very beautiful. The road snaked along the mountainside, allowing some stunning views over the valleys. Oudtshoorn itself is located in the Small Karoo semi desert. This particular area is known for having a lot of ostrich farms.
We did, however, not stop in Oudtshoorn at first. We drove to Cango Caves, which is a famous attraction in South Africa. It is a very large cave system, not yet fully explored. You can do regular tours here to some of the first chambers, but they also offer adventure tours where you have to squeeze through claustrophobia-inducing spaces and narrow passages. Our scheduled tour was just a regular guided one.
We had an hour to spend at the centre before our tour. The visitor centre there really is very big (3 floors), and it obviously accommodates a lot of tourists yearly. They had an interpretation centre, an auditorium with a 20 minutes video about the caves and the exploration process, a candy shop, as well as a restaurant. The cave, curiously, was accessed through the top floor.
At 15:30 we got let into the cave area along with maybe 50-60 other people. It was a really huge group of people (probably also because of holidays and whatnot, it was very busy); it was to the point that the amount of people sort of felt detrimental to the overall experience. There was a lot of murmuring and screaming, and it wasn't easy to hear the guide amidst it all.
At least the first two chambers were very large, impressively so. Because of the acoustics, the first one has actually been used to host concerts (and could hold up to 1000 in audience). It stopped, however, when guests began vandalising the caves by bringing pieces home or by burning their names into the limestone walls. There were some beautiful, strange and intricate formations in there; sort of made me think of some of the more spectacular stone carvings on some human made churches. But the forces of nature are responsible for this, which is quite amazing to think about. Some of it really got my imagination going, as the formations could sort of look like carousels, small towns or really anything.
Within Cango Caves near Oudtshoorn.
The cave tour felt a little on the short side for me, and our 2nd guide (our group did split into 2, not that it helped much as the chambers got smaller and they still filled up) was not as informative. Overall, I did enjoy it and thought it was interesting how such large caves of "nothingness" can be inside/underneath a mountain. Some people found the experience a bit boring, however.
After the caves we drove back to Oudtshoorn and saw our accommodation. It's a very full holiday campsite for camper vans. Lots of kids around. Hell on earth. Though the facilities are clean, I think this is probably my least favourite spot so far. Camping in a tent is fine, but far away from other people is preferable, in relative peace and quiet. This was just chaos. This is the last night in a tent so I'll manage.
We had dinner at 19:45 but because we were doing a braai, it got delayed until 20:30. We had pork chops, chaka-chaka (yummy), veggies with a cheese sauce, garlic bread and then two different ice creams for dessert. It was the last dinner our cook would make for us so she made it a little special. We all gave her a round of applause and some appreciation.
The starry sky is also pretty impressive here, if again not for all the electrical lights that wash some of it out a bit. Not as bad as home but not as good as in the desert. After dinner and washing the dishes I went back to the tent for an early night.
Back to the Coast of Hermanus
(Sunday 29th December, 2019)
The church on the main street of Swellendam.
Breakfast started at 7:15 by which point we already had our tents packed away. Afterwards, everything got stored away in its proper place in Chuck The Truck, and then we drove along Route 62, which was very beautiful scenically at times. It was a rather long drive and we had a bushy-bushy/photo stop and a toilet stop by a gas station before our 'longer' first break of the day.
The first longish stop was at a place called Ronnie's Sex Shop. It is basically a café/bar/fast food place in the middle of nowhere in a mountain range. It was a quirky place, but also a bit of a tourist trap, and the 30 minutes we were there felt kind of long.
Some driving after the 'sex shop', we stopped in Swellendam for our lunch break. The drive into town was very pretty with the mountains as a picture-perfect backdrop. We had almost 2 hours here, and since it's Sunday, almost everything was closed and there weren't a lot of people around. We walked up and down the main street with a few of the other group members before we sat down in one of the few open restaurants. The food was good and we all enjoyed it.
At 13:30 we proceeded our drive towards Hermanus, some of it being very nice and some of it being lots of farm land. I saw another few pairs of cranes on the fields, which again was cool.
At around 15:15 we arrived in Hermanus, which is especially known for its coast-based whale watching. Whales (Southern Right Whales) come to the waters here to breed from July to end November, so unfortunately we are here a little bit too late for that activity.
We checked into our hotel which is cool enough, and then I went for a walk as I had spotted a few book stores in town. The town is nice and clean and safe, it seems. Also not too busy at the moment, though there are a lot of people around (mostly white). The book stores were unfortunately closed because it is Sunday, so I walked along the coast line back to the hotel. It's a pretty coast line, I like it a lot. If I went to Cape Town again, a day here for some whale watching might be well spent.
The coastline of Hermanus.
For dinner, our cook had booked us a table in a local restaurant. It served both seafood and meat so there should be something for everyone. We arrived by 19:25 and only got our main dishes by 22:00. To boot, it was on the expensive side for South Africa, so not everyone was entirely happy about it. Sadly, they had burned my hake to the point is was inedible because of dryness, so I was a little sad with the experience, too.
In any case, Hermanus is a beautiful little ending to this adventure, which I have quite enjoyed overall.
Final Ending of the Tour in Cape Town
(Monday 30th December, 2019)
Scenery by the road side on the way to Stellenbosch.
We had our breakfast at the hotel at 7:00 so that we could be ready to leave for our last drive with Chuck, departing at 8:00.
Our first stop was in Betty's Bay, a place with expensive looking houses, where we would be able to see the African Penguins. A narrow, wooden board walk took us along the rocky shore where penguins in moult (and other birds) were either resting or cozying up as couples. It was cute and nice to see.
After a bit of a scenic drive, we had a photo stop by the coast; really beautiful spot, but also cool because the dark shaded clouds were rolling in on the mountains on the right while the sea and coast line on the left was bathed in sun from a clear blue sky.
Next on the itinerary for today would be our wine and chocolate tasting at Hidden Valley near Stellenbosch. On the way we saw some strawberry farms, though the area is obviously mostly known for its wines.
We had 5 different wines (2 whites, 1 rosé, 2 red wines), each paired with a home made chocolate. So, none of the wines were good in my opinion, though the chocolates were delicious. The last red wine, however, went very well with the dark cherry chocolate and it kind of made it good.
Apparently, our driver wasn't feeling too well today, so we rather abruptly drove to Stellenbosch where we would have our lunch break – then he could get a couple of hours of rest. Those 2 hours felt kind of short in this city, as it seemed to be a cool place to explore. We had to just go to a restaurant. We found one which had a good lunch offer, 2 dishes for 130 Rand, and the food was delicious! However, we only just made it back to the truck by the designated time. In retrospect, I kind of thought it would have been nice to have lunch before the wine tasting, but this also worked out I suppose.
Now we were driving into Cape Town and rapidly approaching the time for our goodbyes. I didn't feel much about it, in fact I felt mostly happiness overall.
When we had arrived at the drop-off point and everyone had removed their things from the insides of Chuck, we said our goodbyes in the hotel lobby. Our cook said I had been such a nice, sweet and easy person to have with her, just going with the flow – I think our guides, too, had been challenged by this particular mix of people. We were not a family, just a bunch of strangers who happened to share some proximity for a while. There were no tears this time, and I didn't feel any sadness either.
Anyway, there appeared to be a bunch of refugees outside the drop-off hotel and by the church near Greenmarket Square where our hotel is located. We were told they were from countries such as Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, Ethiopia and even Pakistan. They were no danger to us, we were told. There was, however, some tension between them because of a conflict between to tribes/chiefs among them, so there was a police presence in the area. None the less, a porter escorted us across the square and to our hotel around the corner. He had only just dropped us off inside the door when there was a loud BANG(!) from outside, and when I turned around, I saw people running away.
I wondered if it was a shot and it was a bit of a "what the fuck…" moment. A security guard went out, then a bit later returned to reassure everyone that it was "just" a stun grenade that the police had thrown to disperse the fight. Exciting spot to be, huh?!
We relaxed for a short while in our surprisingly nice hotel (it was rather cheap, hence the surprise) before meeting some of the others at the foot of Lion's Head. We were planning to hike up there to enjoy the sunset.
With a not fully good leg (it's getting better and better, though), I made it through the steep parts and got to the top and it was nice. We enjoyed the view from up there for a while, but ultimately decided to go down to a lower plateau to enjoy the sunset so that we wouldn't have to descend the steep climbing parts in the dark.
Sunset at the top of Lion's Head in Cape Town.
It was a pretty sunset, and it was mesmerizing to watch the clouds spill over Table Mountains and the 12 Apostles and then dissipate suddenly in a weird, straight line. Especially from a height it looks curious.
The light was also wonderful, and we enjoyed the moment until the sun was gone, at which point we began our descent down the mountain. We had to use a torch in the end as it got dark, but Cape Town unveiling the beauty of all its lights at night was really cool and special. It sort of unfolded as we turned a corner.
At the bottom we got an Uber and all 4 of us went down to Waterfront to have dinner together. We settled on a brewery and each of us ordered a pizza and beer and we had a good time. We were done at around 23:00 and then we went back to our respective hotels, saying goodbye for good.
Happy New Year From the Plane!
(Tuesday 31st December, 2019)
An ara parrot up close in World of Birds.
Morning started lateish. I had set my alarm to 9:00 but I naturally woke up at 8:30 and couldn't get more rest. The refugee situation (observable through our window) looked more 'normal' today, with the touristic stalls being prepared for the day on the square. Still a lot of police around, though. Anyway, I got everything packed up in preparation for check-out at 11:00.
T wanted to do other things, but I wanted to go forth with my plan of visiting World of Birds. I had checked and found it cheaper to buy a day ticket for the CitySightseeing busses than taking an Uber alone. I thus went to the CitySightseeing office where they also sold me the entry ticket to World of Birds for a discount. I got on the first blue line bus and went on my merry way. The surroundings of Cape Town are really nice, though there is some gross apartheid history resulting in displacement, slums and poverty..
It took almost an hour to get to World of Birds, so I was there just before 12:00. There was quite a lot of people, mostly families. I started out by going for some lunch, not having even eaten breakfast. Next I began exploring the place, first going through a circular path through some aviaries.
There's a circular path going around the whole bunch of aviaries on the premises, but there are also paths allowing you to walk inside them among the birds, too, and I very much enjoyed the experience and watching the beautiful birds up close. There were parrots, storks, flamingoes, hornbills, ducks, peacocks, cranes, monkeys, snakes, ibis etc. A lot of pigeons. Many things to see.
A rather sad looking owl in World of Birds.
A beautiful golden pheasant going through a moult in World of Birds.
In the first aviary there was a smaller, red parrot, and when I stopped to watch it, it ran to the side near me and as I talked to it, it raised one foot and sort of opened and closed it in a 'wave' almost. So I waved back at it. Then it made a sound and repeated its gesture, and there we stood, doing that with each other for a good while. It was very sweet. I spent about 2.5 hours there, and afterwards exited to take the blue line back to Long Street.
It was a good thing I left that early, because it took a long time to get back into Cape Town. Traffic because of New Year's Eve was bad, and there were a lot of cars everywhere. It was a scenic drive, overlooking the different beaches that we also saw last year. I made it back at the hotel by 16:00 where I met with T at about 17:00. We decided to just go to the airport early.
We were at the airport much earlier than we were able to check in, having to wait for 2 hours. We met one of the Dutch couples while waiting, they had also opted to go to the airport earlier and were due to take the same flight to Amsterdam. We had a little chat and it was nice.
At 20:00 we were able to check in and go through security, at which point T wasn't feeling great. Stomach issues. I needed some food, however, so we went to the only restaurant there after you pass security. Got some nachos and some drinks.
After the meal we still had time to pass, and now we're sitting here at the gate waiting. The airport really is dull and small. I think I thought this last year, too, but then happily forgot.. Dang it. I kind of wish I could just take a sleeping pill and then wake up again once the plane lands at its destination. That'd be a merciful kind of magic.
In the plane they played a little 'Happy New Year!' song at 24:00, and we could observe some of the fireworks in Cape Town from the window – on land. A few people got mimosas but overall there was nothing special to this new year's flight whatsoever.
A Fresh Year Back in Denmark
(Wednesday 1st January, 2020)
The flight was okay, certainly less turbulence than on our way our to Joburg. I managed to get some light sleep and even an hour or two of deeper sleep. I did not feel very good though, my stomach acting up slightly as T's had yesterday (and apparently continues to do).
We landed in Schiphol a little delayed – due to weather conditions (it was extremely misty here) we had to circle around the airport up above for an additional 15 minutes. We have a lot of time before the next flight so for us the delay was okay.
We got something to eat and then went to sit by our gate until it opens. We sadly didn't have enough time to venture into Amsterdam, which we had otherwise thought might be a cool idea. The temperature difference was quite noticeable, there being 0 degrees and misty in Amsterdam. It also seemed they had no heating on in the bottom of terminal D where we had to wait; it was very cold to wait there.
Moreover, the plane got delayed because of an issue with a wheelchair (?), and then the crew was unable to open the electric door (?). We set off about 25 minutes later than planned, but after a nice and uneventful flight we touched ground in Copenhagen only 10 minutes later than we should have. We're eager to get home and out of transportation by now. Sadly, the train only leaves at 19:40 and we will be in Esbjerg at 23:23, so there is still a bit of the journey left for us. It has been a long, tiring day, spent not in tip-top health. Sleep will be welcome.
This trip has been very good and I have enjoyed it a lot. I have gotten a good impression of South Africa, from the poverty in the eastern part to the wealth in the south of the country. I have learned more about its history and I have travelled through many different landscapes: mountains, woodland, savannah, farm land, semi-desert and coast. I now have a real appreciation for the sheer size of this country, and an appreciation for the natural and cultural diversity found here. I have enjoyed game drives and wildlife, cultural experiences and encounters, beaches, and I've enjoyed and taken in every experience.
I have marvelled at the way of life in Eswatini and it's patriarchal society, and been amazed by how far we have come in our part of the world, I have tried to learn some Zulu and participated in a dance session, and I have met the friendly people of the beautiful Lesotho. I have thought about and been touched by the wealth disparity of this country, and felt appalled at living conditions of the poor, as well as pondered about some of the choices being taken.
I do think it's true when it's said that South Africa is 'Africa Light'. It does not come across as raw and unpolished in the same way as other African countries I've travelled through has. It is palatable in a different way, sort of more relatable and less shocking. On this trip, Lesotho came closest to the Africa I experienced on my previous trip; Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia. In this sense, I remain mostly fascinated with the countries of eastern Africa, dreaming now of visiting Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Kenya and Uganda – possibly Rwanda.
Lesotho and the Kruger game drives were the highlights of this trip for me. Lesotho with its sort of barren nature, fighting off a drought – friendly people trying to make an honest living. And of course my horseback ride along the mountains.
Kruger for its lush, green beauty, and for the special sightings we had the luck of seeing, and which really made me feel high at the end of the day.
Hermanus was a good place for our last day, and I enjoyed our revisit to Cape Town and Lion's Head, if only just for a brief moment. However, I think that this trip spells me finished with South Africa until further notice.
Last updated 7th February 2020.


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Q What does RYLA stand for?
Q Where is RYLA held?
Q When is RYLA held?
Q Is RYLA just for our District?
Q How many students can our club send?
A 6 Students maximum – More if spaces are available after September 31. Clubs will be notified if openings exist.
Q Who are the best candidates for RYLA?
A Interact Juniors have priority and then any other high school student whom your club deems to be a worthy ambassador. We want the students to return to their schools and utilize their new leadership skills.
Q What if the student has a conflict with their schedule? Can they leave RYLA early or for a portion of time?
A No! All students must attend the entire time. No exceptions. There is plenty of notice and plenty of people who want to attend that can stay the entire time. The event works best through continuity.
Q How much does it cost to send a student to RYLA?
A $375.00 per student. This includes all meals, a T-Shirt, housing and learning materials.
Q Can a student bring his or her own food to RYLA?
A No. This is a Kosher facility and our agreement is to honor their rules. The food provided is healthy and tastes great!
Q Can students drive themselves?
A No. Students must be driven to and from the facility. Any student who drives themselves will be turned away.
Q How much money should students bring?
AThere is nothing to buy and all of your needs are taken care of by your Rotary Club. If students are being transported a long distance then enough to cover a quick meal may be advised. Their club RYLA coordinator can notify them.
Q What should students wear?
A They should always dress respectfully during the event. Jeans and t-shirts are ok, so long as you are not exposed. There is a dance and a talent contest you students can dress up for these events.
Q Can parents come to the graduation ceremony?
A Absolutely. Please check the schedule for timing. We love for parents, teachers and friends to come and witness the culmination of the weekend!
Q Can students bring a cell phone?
A The policy is to not have cell phones. There are cases where we can grant permission to have them and use them at a predetermined time. However, any contact with the outside world should be based on family emergency only. Please read the RYLA cell phone policy carefully.
Q How Many students will be at RYLA?
A We limit the student body to 240.