April 30 Beer tasting!

Deb: I am down for the count today. The second time since travelling in Africa. This time, however, is not as bad as when I got ill at Emily Moon in Plettenberg Bay. I haven’t been myself for a couple of days and the hike yesterday took a lot out of me. Joe and the boys are taking great care of me bringing me medication, water, and tea. After putting me to bed the boys left for the afternoon – not sure where they went but I know that they’ll report back with their adventure.

After resting for a few hours, I got up and went to the food store next door. I was surprised to see the headline ‘Swine Flu Hits South Africa’. It reminds me of the time that my friend, Brenda Hunt, and I (we were in our twenties) went out after a day teaching for some mussels and black bean sauce – this was a tradition with us. I got home a hour later, with my belly full of plump mussels, and there was a message from my dad (who takes incredible care of us). “Deb, I know how much you like mussels. I just heard on the news that all mussels have been recalled due to possible food-poisoning.” I immediately called the hospital and they advised me to go to the closest emergency if I had any untoward symptoms. I then settled in with Deb Kehoe, my room-mate, to wait. Luckily the ones that I had eaten were not contaminated. In the meantime I called dad and thanked him for the heads up. I told him not to worry and that I would stay away from mussels for a long time – he had no idea how true that was!! Anyways, I think I’m ill due to the local water. It hasn’t affected Joe nor the boys, thankfully. Although I am drinking bottled water after my last illness, I am eating plenty of salads, fruit, etc. that could be giving me some problems.

Tanya, our hotel manager, arranged to have medication picked up for me in a nearby town (everywhere we have gone in South Africa we have been treated so well!). I am hoping so much to be up and back on my feet tomorrow – a big day on our trip that we have been looking forward to for quite some time. My wonderful, crazy, incredible, adventurous, childhood friend, Brenda, and her sister Diane are flying in to meet us at Montusi Mountain Lodge in the northern Drakensburg. We can’t wait!!! Brenda is ‘Auntie Brenda’ to the boys and they adore her. She has been so good to them over the years!! Brenda and Diane will be travelling with us for our remaining three weeks in Africa – Montusi, Hippo Hollow, Kapama River Lodge, St. Lucia, a few days in Swaziland, and then to Johannesburg. Afterwards they will be staying with Kyrt and RJ, who were our exceptional hosts in Capetown.

It is going to be so great to have Brenda and Diane with us. Brenda has a ‘joie de vivre’ like no other. I’ve travelled with her before and have laughed non-stop. Our hiking trip to Newfoundland together was a hoot. Travelling with Brenda ensures that you are going to meet the locals… and get into some fun situations. I’ll never forget going to the harbour with her. She had an long conversation with some of the local fishermen and arranged for a tour on their boat. I couldn’t understand a word of what the men were saying but Brenda and the weathered sailors babbled on and on. When I told her that I couldn’t make out a word she laughed and said, “I couldn’t either!!!”

One day driving up the coast of Newfoundland we spotted a turn-off for a museum about indigenous peoples. As it was only twenty kilometers, we drove off and visited it. On the way back down from St. Anthony’s, we spotted yet another open-air museum. “Let’s go see it!” Brenda enthusiastically suggested. Off we went down the road chatting and laughing away only to learn that we had just driven a half-hour off the highway to the exact same place that we had seen before!!! An hour later we were back where we started and were collapsed in fits of giggles about our sheer stupidity.

That trip we hiked for days through moose poop and ‘moose poop’ has been a running joke with us since the trip. I couldn’t believe it when I saw an advertisement shortly before Christmas last year for ‘moose poop’ keyrings that a colleagues father makes (despite only having one arm). He dries out the moose poop and shellacs it several times before mounting it on a ring. Needless to say, that is what Brendan got for her Christmas present from me last year. Brenda and I retire at the same time and, God willing, we hope to have more crazy outdoor adventures together in the years to come.

Joe: While Deb rested, the boys played football in the park until Ryan got badly tackled by a light post! We headed back to the hotel where once again they took care of us with some ice for his head and knee. Must have been 2 light posts ;) After, we went hiking in the hills around the town and emerged just in time for some thundershowers. Wouldn’t you know our luck – we emerged from the hills across from a sweets shop (the boys had a budget of ZAR12 each) and a local brewery offering free tastings. I never got the name of the brewery but Zelma, the barkeep, quickly had me to work helping with the “heavy” kegs that needed changing. Delicious beer ;) Then we went off for lunch and at another very friendly and accommodating place! Afterwards, the boys went to the park for a pickup game with locals of mini-rugby. That game ended when a couple of overzealous players banged heads on a tackle. Luckily it wasn’t our boys! Then back to check on Deb. (And thanks to the office for getting hold of me to let me know that the position that I was occupying back home before heading out on our around-the-world adventure was going up for competition – although interested, the timing isn’t right for me). Another great day in paradise.