On Showers

One of my favorite parts of the day, especially when traveling
Makes you remember all of the things you experienced in this short period that caused (you to be so gross) the shower to feel so good and refreshing
Always run through my day as I shower it off; water washing away the not-so-nice byproducts/aspects of the day but thinking about the day as this happens cements the experiences in your mind

Saturday

Friday

Breakfast - for the first time, noticed the 'bacon' is actually made out of cow, not pig; cool
After breakfast, collected everything for Velares; as getting ice with Dieter, he talked to me about letting go of the past, all life coachy and stuff; what a great guy! also, we found out that SuYee's sister just got engaged so yay!
Sailed 40 mins to Pineapple Island; snorkeled for 2 hours! saw eagle rays and barracuda and tried to free dive for a while; got some cool pictures, swam a lot!
Afterwards, climbed back on boat; Michelle and I and Hambi were going to jump off the highest part of the boat into the water (the top deck); Michelle chickened out for so long so finally I decided "OKAY I'M GOING IN" and ran off the edge of the boat, leaping into the water; very cool! not as exhilarating as cliff diving in Nepal but still awesome! Dieter got photos
Jumped off again and cannonballing; then SuYee got over her fear a little and asked if I would jump with her once; we climbed to the top and she stood there for 20 minutes "OMG OMG OMG" before I finally said "I'm counting to 3 and if you haven't jumped by then, I'm tackling you in"; "okay okay I'll jump don't push me"
I counted to 3 and jumped; as I'm mid air, I hear "OH FUCK" behind me, coming from the top of the boat; thinking that she wimped out and didn't jump, I more than half expected to see her leaning over the edge of the boat when I surfaced but she bubbled up next to me just moments later; jumped in after me (hesitated but still did it)
Dieter took a photo but she was still on the boat in the picture, so obviously we had to jump again; this time D counted to 3; I jumped and she was a little late again but at least she was fully committed in the picture; good picture! lots of different kinds of blue, dhoni and pineapple island in background
Back to Rangali, ate lunch, SO MUCH FRUIT!!!
Afterwards, went to Ari Lounge to do some data; Ari Lounge on other side of connected island (connected to Rangali by a long bridge) called Honeymoon Island; afterwards, took our dhoni back to Mandhoo, 2 hours of free time; cleaned, journaled; while journaling, Xayn came up behind me and scared the shit out of me (just sitting there, minding my own business, peacefully scribbling down words and getting eaten by mosquitos when suddenly AHHH!!! a pair of hands forcefully landed on my shoulders as my entire body shot up several inches from the wooden bench where I was sitting; HOLY SHIT I screamed very loudly and everyone around started laughing; almost tackled Xayn into the ocean
Afterwards, watched sunset on other side of island
After sunset, had a barbecue/bonfire on a deserted beach on the far side of the island; lots of smoke; all of us sitting on the beach as the last fluffs of pink blew out of sight and the glow of the sky burned out like dying coals; the fire blowing in the salty breeze, behind the bush, the patch fenced in by the three largest logs we could drag out of the grasses in the sand aflame
Ate fresh from the tree coconut wedges as we rubbed spices on drumsticks and chicken sausages, stabbed and split open just-caught lobsters (when we got off the dhoni at Mandhoo, Ahmed and Rifa greeted us with 5 huge colorful lobsters that they caught earlier that afternoon; they were so big and vibrantly colored and alive)
Sat on logs and watched Ahmed and Rifa dance around the fire, using sticks and coconut shells as choice chef utensils; Ahmed used half a coconut shell to make garlic butter; sharpening sticks to spear sausages and other pieces of meat
Ate with our hands - tearing into drumsticks, chucking bones into the bushes behind in front of and next to us; cracked open lobster shells and sucked the white flesh out as garlic butter dripped onto our roti plates; ate bend and squatting over the grill in our makeshift fire pit; on the dark beach with the sky and stars and Venus and Jupiter above us; the tumble of waves over the crackling fire
Once we were done, threw the food leftovers into the ocean and sand on the embers; walked back to the bungalows using a shortcut through the shrubs, whistling Nirvana with Xayn, pushing the grill and other things back in a wheelbarrow
Going to the canteen with Xayn and SuYee and Dieter to get hot drinks and fruit; talking about Male (where Xayn's from) and joking around with SuYee and Dieter
After the canteen, Xayn asks me if I want to shoot some pool; we go to the recreation center and he's trying to teach me how to hold a cue properly and how to shoot; Hasan and Hambi are sitting in the chairs nearby the pool table, watching the news; Hasan asks us to play, I step out because I suck at pool; then Ahmed comes by and decided we were going to team up; me and Ahmed vs. Hasan and Xayn; Ahmed being very encouraging and Xayn being my cheerleader
Xayn moving my arms and hands and fingers around and teaching me the proper way of positioning everything; Ahmed and I lost but still a very good game, Xayn yelling encouragements after every shot I made (even if they were terrible)
Coming back from the pool game, Michelle asks if I want to go out for coffee in half an hour; I sit outside on the porch with SuYee and Xayn and write while we wait; we go to a cafe on the main street of the island (called Funyi or something like that) with Rifa, Ahmed, another guy (one of Rifa's friends), Hasan, Hambi, Michelle, Katie, and Dieter
At the cafe, we order Ye Ye's (the 'coffee'), which is mostly sugar, milk powder, and a little bit of coffee; we play the sausage game (Rifa: "I think Aobo would be very good and very cute for the sausage game"); Rifa picking on the Bangladeshi waiter (Bangladeshi considered the lowest people here in the Maldives; Hamim is Bangladeshi and it's very rare that there are Bangladeshi working on dhonis but Hasan doesn't care and really likes Hamim); Ahmed makes me a chewing roll out of some kind of leaf, coral cement, star anise, and spices; supposed to be a breath freshener
I chew it and mix it around in my mouth as everyone encouraged; kept asking if I'm being drugged, everyone laughs, no it's just a breath freshener; very strange taste - first tasting everything individually as teeth sink in and crack into the different components of the roll and their tastes burst in your mouth; then the mush of it all together creates a strange cacophony; feel the side of my mouth go numb
Finally, after what seems like ages of chewing, I spit it out into the bushes behind me and everyone laughs; supposedly, the leaf also has a lot of caffeine in it
We sit and talk about life; all but Rifa and Hambi are married, talking about dating, making stupid jokes, getting picked on (sitting between Hasan and Hambi)
Coming back to the bungalow, seeing the stars, telling dumb jokes again; Ahmed asks if Americans have a signature laugh; no not to my knowledge; he says all people have differences that separate them (culture, language, traditions, etc.) but laughter is recognizable everywhere and connects humankind
Saying goodnight to people as they disappear into their bungalows; Dieter and I walk back, picking up hermit crabs from the middle of the sand path and putting them closer to the bushes and ocean so people don't step on them
Writing outside when Ahmed walks by; sits down to talk to me when a rock flies over at us and hits the table; Rifa is in the hammock across the sand path and throws a coconut at us; he walks over, asks if I like him; nope sorry; are you sure; yeah sorry no; then asks me to be his business partner, buying stuff from US/UK (mostly things like phones) for resale in Maldives; wants me to find him a business partner
Then, a lizard/gecko from the ceiling falls onto my head and then onto my lap; scream from surprise, brush him off, laughs, bed

Thursday - Just Workin' on My Burn

Apparently, I like to sleep unendurably cold temperatures; my control of the AC has forced my mates to wear thermals to bed

Ok EXTREMELY sunburnt; grabbed a jacket so I wouldn't burn more, dry pack, walked to jetty, speed boat to Rangali, breakfast, getting stuff for the trip

This time, drove straight through the lagoon through Maamigili instead of starting at Mandhoo and working our way around the U shaped MPA

First shark!! at around noon, 8 meters!!! dove in, took footage/pictures; apparently, there was another even larger one nearby but no one was actually able to see it in the water

Climbed back on board, went to bow to rinse off goggles but large swell knocked into the boat and I half fell out of the boat; actually dangling horizontally off the boat, more than half off, clinging to the lip of the boat and pulled myself up; lots of cuts/bruises/blood everywhere; rinsed it off, whatevs all in a day's work

Sailed around for 5 minutes or so then SHARK!!! TWO OF THEM!!! jumped off the dhoni and went after the first one; the two sharks were circling each other when we first arrived on the scene; followed the first guy around for a while but then he dove down

Switched to following the other shark (3rd shark of the day); he was filter feeding, open mouth, gaping, pushing water through his gills; stayed for a long time but lots of tourists and scene; got very very very close to this guy! almost high fived him; followed a long ways until he dove down

Climbed back on boat, rinsed off, sat down to eat some trail mix, just poured a handful into my mouth when SHARK!!! our dhoni circling the Dhidoo area; fourth shark jeez alright dove in after it and got photos; can't remember much about this one but he wasn't in the reef area, was in the deep blue water

Got on boat again; at this point, should have known not to do anything else but prepare to jump off again, but rinsed off, bit into an apple (I'M SO HUNGRY PLEASE JUST LET ME EAT) when SHARK!!! fifth shark of the day, dove in after him, got pictures and footage; this one much more aggressive, tried to tail swipe me twice, then dove down, climbed down when he was out of sight

Saw a mobula ray when cruising around on dhoni! so cool!

Went through channel between Dhidoo and Ariyadoo on the way back; hat blew off again!!! and Hasan, Ibrahim (Hambi), and Amim turned the dhoni around again to get my hat AGAIN; joked about supergluing it to my head (also almost knocked Katie overboard when climbing on to top deck)

Got back to Rangali, cleaned dhoni, got more trail mix from tuck shop, back to pier to wait for boat to Mandhoo; talked to Hasan, Hambi, and Amim, lots of fun, complete jokesters; got on speed boat back to Mandhoo, watched sunset, ate dinner, did data

Hung out with Zayn while doing data on our porch, listening to music and playing guitar; singing Goo Goo Dolls and The Calling and pretending that life would always stay this simple and that we would never grow up

Wednesday

I write this with salty hair and smelling very strongly of aloe vera.

Got up as usual; back hurt a lot from the sun, had to peel the sheet off my back this morning; packed stuff in dry bag, went to jetty with everyone else, went to Rangali; breakfast, packing equipment/getting stuff for trip/boat; starting to understand the layout of the island better; saying bye to Jim on the boat, sailing off
Huge swells as passing through the channel, standing on top deck with Katie and SuYee, getting lots of sun; saw spinner dolphins, lots of hawksbill turtles, moved from Mandhoo all through the MPA
Lost my hat!!! climbed to top deck, strong wind knocked it off my head and into water; accepted fact that I probably won't see it again; however! Hasan (captain of Vilares, our dhoni) turned the boat around and fetched it for me (when I grappled for it with the boat hook and missed, he half hung out of the boat to try to retrieve it; came back with a rather sullen face, so I said "no worries, it's just a hat!" then his face broke into a cheeky grin as he threw my neon dayglo hat at me)
Continued going back through MPA; at Digurrah, turned into a small channel when SHARK!!! scrambled down the ladder, grabbed the gopro, sprinted to get to the shark
SHARK!!! first had to catch up with him, then swam alongside him for 10 mins or so; then all of the tourists arrived and scared him off; salt water pooling in my sinuses and eyes stinging as salt water plugged my vision; still awesome!!! 6.5 meter shark
Came back to the dhoni when Katie yelled SHARK again; could see his tail poking out from the shallow reef; jumped in with camera, sprinted a good 10 minutes in the water to find him but tourists scared him down so didn't actually get to see him in the water
Climbed back on boat, rinsed off, reapplying sunblock (one leg done, about to start the other leg) when SHARK!! this time, dove in from where I was immediately, no camera, sprinted after him, swam by his side (close to his head) the entire time, a 45 minute encounter!!! just our boat this time, no tourists; the other teammates got tired 10 minutes in and swam back to the dhoni (after taking the data) but I stayed with him, in very shallow reef area for a long time; then he started swimming off the reef and the past the divide of the sloping reef and the deep blue water; followed him until he disappeared completely
So cool!!! got back to the dhoni, did the data sheets, headed back into the lagoon and back to Rangali; took a nap lying on top deck, must be very burnt...
Back on Rangali, cleaned dhoni, put stuff back, went to tuck shop to get bags of trail mix and gummi bears and other snacks for tomorrow; got on speed boat back to Mandhoo
Salt hair whipping everywhere; hair tie broke, hair is extremely jank right now - salt water, sunblock, sweat, oil, birds probably, also probably fish poops; don't care that I look terrible, underneath all that crap in my hair, still smiling
Got back, watched sunset with Dieter and SuYee, found an itsy bitsy hermit crab! put him in a large half-broken shell filled with sand, put a tiny shell in there in case he wanted a different house, keep him as a pet! took him out and set him free on beach after the sunset
Dinner - had these really cool fruits shaped like a funny looking pear, tastes of pear/apple combination, really good and refreshing; called a jambrolu; people laughing about how much/often I eat
Local friend brought us freshly caught fish that he just plucked from the ocean; he barbecued this himself just outside - SO GOOD HOLY MACKEREL; a jax? jux? kind of fish, like a small baby tuna; probably the best piece of fish I've ever had - very meaty, salty, spicy, smoky; like eating a bonfire
Came back to bungalow, did data analysis; from spot/pattern recognition, saw this is whale shark 127, Woody; 1st and 3rd encounters were both him, 2nd one probably also him but no pictures so no proof
Showered, aloe vera'd my entire freaking body

Tuesday

Waking up at 6:30 was difficult; dreading going into the heat and not being in the comfort of the AC'd room; packed a knapsack with stuff needed for the day (camera, swimsuit, sunblock, etc.)
Caught the 7:00 ferry at the jetty (the dhoni, not the speed boat); going from Mandhoo to Rangali; sat in back of dhoni with Zayn and watched the captain catch a baby tuna as he steered the dhoni (Zayn - 20 years old, arrogant, etc.)
After breakfast (a lot more western), walked around Rangali for a bit, put our gear on our dhoni, boarded, changed into suits, departed; laid out the cameras and equipment; climbed to the top deck of the dhoni
Very pirates of the caribbean; took a while to get our sea legs so we'd stop falling/sliding from one side to the other at the top); standing and swaying with sunnies, cap worn backwards, etc.; very much a picture moment
Saw spinner dolphins and hawksbill turtles! collected data; drove around MPA for a while (couple of hours), didn't see any whale sharks; then, when on other side of atoll, Jim yells SHARK but there were lots of tourist boats in the area
Scrambled off the top, pulled all the gear on, plopped in the water, swam over
WHALE SHARK!!! so majestic and natural that it seemed perfectly normal for it to be there; about 6 meters long, probably around 5 meters below; then all of the tourists and boats came over, shark dove deep, out of sight; didn't have chance to get footage before he dove but so cool!!!
Climbed back on boat, top deck, ate sandwiches; hanging out, talking to Meaghan (another volunteer, 26 years old, Australian) about life and traveling, uni, boyfriend, everything!
Jim asked if anyone wanted to drag snorkel - hold on to a rope from the back of the dhoni while snorkeling and getting dragged along, looking for interesting things; me and Meaghan shot up at the opportunity, went in, saw cool fish, felt the temperatures of different currents as we were dragged through them, very cool, saw turtles, fish
Then had to get back on boat because we were coming in to port/harbor to pick up some supplies; on way back, stopped for a snorkel, tried free diving, really beautiful reef; saw black tip reef shark, turtles, interesting fish
Back on boat - so hot and careless and immune to everything I would normally find gross that I kept on applying sunblock, lathered it everywhere; the sticky salty seawater dribbling from my hair down my back, the oily skin glistening in the sun as pools of sweat beaded between my nose and sunglasses
Rinsed off, took nap laying on top of boat; came into harbor at around 6:00; did data, changed, talked to Meaghan; ate dinner (lots of curry - mix of Indian and other south east Asian foods)
Went to Manta Bar, lots of friends there for Jim's departure party; played pool with Dieter and Jim; lost but it was so fun!! played again with D, SuYee, and Meaghan; terrible game but lots of fun, lots of laughing, a bunch of guys sitting around and having a good time just watching us
Sitting at the bar with Meaghan and SuYee, random guys coming up and introducing themselves to us; Zayn brings out a cake he baked for Jim! really good - not like the chocolate cakes at home, different texture, more layers
Played killer - a pool game where everyone takes turns trying to make a shot; 3 lives and then you're out; heading back on the dhoni; talking to Meaghan about traveling and backpacking, travel girls!!!
Coming back, strip down, very extremely tan/burnt; rubbing aloe everywhere; going back out on the jetty with Zayn to look at stars, tell scary stories

Mandhoo - Monday (Day 1)

Writing this with bandaids everywhere and profusely bleeding cuts

Dhivehi is the native language here
waking up, going to breakfast but first covering ourselves in SPF 50+ sport waterproof titanium plutonium kryptonite sunscreen and 40% DEET YUM!!!
Breakfast - not at all like breakfast that we're used to; lots of tuna, curry, chicken; all very good, just not "normal" breakfast food
Walking around the island - crossing the gate into the Muslim native parts; have to wear sarongs/gypsy pants and shoulder-covering tops; island was beautiful - water is amazing, lots of rocky droppings, crabs and little fish; saw a baby barracuda very very very very close to shore (swimming in about 1 foot of water)
Hopping around on rocks, seeing a dead black tip reef shark!!!! very close to shore, walked over to it, about 1 meter long; saw its right pectoral fin jutting out of the water
Continued walking around, learned about the atolls, the island, and the surrounding area; talking about shark biology/anatomy; walking through the main street - shops open at night, after the sun sets; little convenience stores, a souvenir shop, cafes, eateries
Getting back from the walk, reading the paper on whale shark behavior in the Marine Protected Area (MPA) and Maldives in general; learned about whale sharks from Jim and Katie
Lunch at the canteen - holy crap tuna everywhere; every combination of tuna, chilis, and coconut in every form; blocks of tuna cooked with chilis in coconut water, coconut-chili tuna rice, chili curried tuna balls, tuna stews, etc.; other foods too (must remember to take a picture)
After lunch, suited up and went snorkeling; had no fins so thought it would be harder but had no trouble keeping up; was smashed upon the rocks quite a bit though - lots of cuts and scrapes to show for it; aside from the bloodshed, perfectly fine!
Saw a moral eel! lots of fish (duh) and four baby black tip reef sharks!!! about a foot long, darting around the mangroves for protection; also saw some eagle rays
Climbed out, rinsed off, went to canteen for a snack; crackers, eggy bread (like thin pieces of french toast) and two kinds of tuna balls (chunky tuna balls and curry tuna balls) yum
Went back to bungalows, given demonstrations on how to use camera equipment, data collection, etc.; had rest of time off, walked to far side of island to watch sunset, so many hermit crabs everywhere!!! took some pictures
Dinner - tuna, chicken curry, rice; most meals have the same gist; after dinner, wrapped a sarong around and went star gazing at the jetty; saw lots of crabs/hermit crabs scuttling about on the sand; saw batfish, trumpetfish, and squid floating about the jetty! very cool
Stars very clear and bright but patches of cloud started rolling in; could easily see big dipper; walked back, had an AWESOME shower, went to bed

Not Real Life

Seaplane from Male to Rangali

Can't tell where the blue of the sky ends and where the blue of the ocean begins (where oceans bleed into the sky)

First seaplane experience! seeing the peacock feathers from the boatplane, seeing Mandhoo

Meeting Jim; grabbing food at the canteen, learning that most food here is made with a combination of tuna, chilis, and coconut; talking about traveling and his life over Tiger beers at Manta Bar; talking about how I should be more aware of my outgoingness here; talking about Maldives as a Muslim country
Speedboat from Rangali to Mandhoo; walking to the house where we are staying; meeting the team; going over the daily plans - 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM days
Unpacking, talking to Meaghan, Megan, and SuYee; no internet, going to bed

Must Love Airports

Flight 1: Cape Town to Joburg
Writing from seat in gate A24
Love airports
Probably highest concentration of cool people; people coming back with stories and others embarking for adventures
Looking around at people with backpacks, unusual clothing, etc. wondering what their stories are

Flight 2: Joburg to Abu Dhabi
Sat next to/behind three South African guys (mid-late 20s) who are divers; going to Abu Dhabi for various amounts of time (3-6 months) to dive, teach diving, etc.

Flight 3: Abu Dhabi to Male
Etihad Flight 278, Row 24 (Seats ABCDEF)
Flying out of UAE (Abu Dhabi); warm humid air of 6 AM when landed; seeing different passports, trying to identify them by color and emblem

Moved to have an entire row - pretty sparse flight; can look to my right and see out the window (unblocked - empty chairs) and same when looking left
SO MUCH SPACE!!!

Conrad Lounge, TransMaldivian Resort Building

The space around me smells faintly of lavender and refreshing moist hand towels. I sit on a white lounge sofa bed in front of wall of windows.
Flying to Maldives - the peacock feather islands popping out from the ocean; getting to the wait station, absolutely spectacular - spa in background, spread of fresh fruits and cakes and snacks

Jetting Out

Cape Town Airport, Gate A7

Buckcherry - Don't Go Away

This morning, I woke up earlier than the crack of dawn from my bottom bunk bed in the side bedroom of the house five down from the lodge in Gansbaai, South Africa, to the sounds of the ocean and sights of the redblue clouded sky, for the last time.
Getting up early; standard morning procedure for the last time; everyone else still asleep
Getting the wetsuits, cleaning the boat, cutting up the fish for chum
Early launch due to tides; full box of weet bix and ingredients for full meals in the fridge reminds me that everyone else will still be there, life continues when I leave WHYYYEEE
Getting to the boat, sea is eerily quiet and calm; supposed to storm tomorrow and Monday
The sky!!! beautiful. can't describe it. gradient of pink and orange in the background of painted on pulled-apart-cotton-fluff clouds; like a scene that you would expect to see painted on the ceiling of a cathedral, the sunrise that dawns upon everything
Grant as skipper, Ally as biologist, Mandla, Jerome, and Bee as crew; getting out early
Somewhat of a slower day; not nearly as many sharks as we usually see; probably will be moving from the dam to the island soon
Feeling really like part of the team; having a better idea of when to do what, how to help with different things, being yelled at to do certain things but that's okay because it means that they know they can rely on me to get things done
Saw a couple of partial breaches, rolling; a couple got really close to the cage, one rammed his nose in
Hanging out with Ally on the port side of the boat; "Won't you be sad when I leave?!" "I'll be a little sad. Paul's going to miss you" "Paul doesn't like me" "He does. You're the right size for him." "Well not my type. I don't understand like 80% of what he says; I just stand there and nod most of the time, which is probably why he likes me"
"When are you coming back?" "Hopefully November. Do you guys have Thanksgiving here?" "We will if you come"
Helping pull the anchor; hanging out at the bow, trying to catch one of the gulls that keeps landing on the same corner of the chrome railing
Jetting back into harbor; feeling sad, birds circling around
Getting off the boat, the crew still on board, preparing for the next launch; life goes on wahaha sad; saying bye to Ally and the crew
See the guys walking to the boat, with supplies for the next launch; round one of goodbyes
Going back up to the house to shower, finish packing, go back down to the lodge; give last hugs to people at the lodge
Ride from Kleinbaai to Cape Town - beautiful but passed out most of the time
Sitting, looking outside at the planes and skies of Cape Town before boarding

Travel People

The Beatles - I've Got a Feeling

People traveling alone with short nails, easy hair, no make up, internal frame packs

[ ] Over

A-ha - Take On Me

Getting up at 8:30 this morning because of last night...
Getting ready, everyone looking like death (also because of last night); Paul: you look the way I feel
Jerome picking us up in van; everyone looking/feeling miserable; sunglasses everywhere, people eating bags of potato chips at 9:00 in the morning, drinking lots of water, speaking very softly
Getting to reserve; beautiful place - coast, sand, trees, greenery, mountains in the background, ocean in your ear, sand in your face; sunny
Guide (marine biologist and ecologist) takes us around, climbing jagged protruding rocks, pointing out interesting plants/facts along the way
Everything is absolutely beautiful; we are still feeling like shit however and walking is not really helping
Climb down rock face onto a really nice beach; walk around, collecting shells and looking for life
Pass by a little freshwater stream on the beach - pretty cool
Walking around some more, going to the first cave (3 caves today)
Caves
First cave - dry cave, cool pictures taken, pottery shard was found there; pictures in the window thingy, hit head when jumping up; walking down steep mountain face, jagged rocks
Second cave - wet cave, called "Devil's Cave" because had massive hole in the ceiling that things could fall into; had to go through lots of tide pools to get there; lots of marine life - volcano barnacle has largest penis of any animal in the world compared to its body size, would be 40 meters if it were the size of a human; seeing starfish and anemones and lots of other things; skipping around on protruding rocks to get to the cave, whose mouth was in the water, part of the rushing water system; it was awesome - lots of cool rocks, the water was so clear, many smaller caves/alcoves all the way up along the walls; wanted to explore some more but had to get out before the tide trapped us in
Walking to third cave - passed by an awesome natural pool, where otters live (Otter Pool); also lots of great whale watching sights; learned about the 3,000 year long process of the milkwood (1000 years to grow, 1000 years to live, 1000 years to decompose); leaping around on rocks was very dangerous and incredibly fun
Third cave - stalactites and stalagmites, bats, natural freshwater swimming pools, drank some of the water then found out that the bats bathe in them...........; horror movie!!! bats flying in front of our faces, so much darkness; very interesting
Walking back, getting lunch at Coffee on the Rocks - good food, bacon and banana toasties, Greek salads, chocolate cake, pear almond torts, naartjie (something of an easy to peel orange) and passionfruit meringue pies; really cute bathroom path, awesome view of the ocean
Walking to coast again, getting on the rocks and waterfalls; changing into bathing suits in the middle of the rocks, going for a swim; getting lots of sun, climbing high dangerous points like it was a competition; Jerome picking us up again, going back to the house
Feeling a lot better - sweated all of the alcohol out of our systems but feeling really tired
Coming back, working out in the lecture room, Matt and Ally and Johan and Paul all laughing at me
Shower, doing some work, cleaning, getting ready for dinner
Everyone dressing up since it's for Julia's birthday - Dani: "Aobo walked out and I didn't even recognize her"; talking about horror movies/plots/books while waiting for taxis
Getting to party at Lighthouse Tavern, seeing Grant: "you lot clean up nice"; sit down at table with the guys, people drinking sodas and water lol still can't look at beers after last night
Eat a ton - salad, 500g steak, part of Matt's ribs, chocolate cake; sipping on port and coke and rums and tequila sunrises; being ridiculed for the amount of food I eat (again)
Meeting Julia's husband and Grant's girlfriend; talking to Paul and Matt and Jesse and Becca and Zoe
Doggies! three German shepherds, belong to restaurant owners, came around to us, we fed them parts of our food
Getting taxis back, Matt waited up to say bye; packing stuff while people getting ready for bed, transferring pictures to the group computer
Going to bed after packing, showering, etc.

Rounds

Thursday - meant to write this on Thursday but forgot, actually on the 23rd
2 trips
First one had a few people who are friends with the skipper/crew, so they came on board with us; one guy going through law school in St. Louis; another couple working in Congo, guy working for US government; lived in Seattle, grew up in New Haven; saw I was from Yale, talked about pizza and plans and all of that stuff
Being best friends with Grant!!! Anchoring, data, etc.
Full breach at bow as we were dropping the cage and preparing to return to the house; Grant was the only one who saw it
Second trip exclusive; getting shaken into my suit again, this time by Paul (Jan was filming it all); diving into the cold water; Jan filming in cage, saw lots of jellyfish, sharks, I touched one!!! on the fin, when he rammed into the cage it was awesome
Having the cage to myself; seeing lots of sharks, filming with Matt's go-pro
Coming out, realizing that we only had 1:17 of footage... Oh jeez.
Jetting out to Dyer Island and Geezer Rock and Shark Alley; seeing lots of seals and smelling them and penguins and birds and etc.; Hospital Rock, where all of the (injured) seals go to die; meeting Grant's girlfriend, Allison, who does tissue sampling research and stuff
Getting back, Jan skipping for Gerald; no Ally, which was sad
Going to Great White House for 'lunch' with a bunch of the guys, getting sticky ribs and chips which were SO GOOD; everyone impressed by how much I eat...
Ally and Jan walking in and sitting in the armchairs by the fireplace and drinking Black Labels, while the rest of us are at the table; one of Ally's friends coming in and sitting with them (Ally and Jan); good looking guy, probably in his mid-20s; occasionally looking over at us
The rest of us finish eating, getting up to pay; as we're paying, Ally calls me over to where he, Jan, and his friend (Oliver - Ollie) were sitting; introduces me to "one of my friends. He's one of the best white shark biologists; does really amazing research" I say hi, he says hi, I ask Ally why I'm being introduced; "Well because he's here and you're here, you're both here so I figured I would", "...are you trying to set me up?!"; Ollie is the head biologist and skipper of another vessel in the harbor
Jan is just watching this interaction unfold and laughing; I ask Jan and Ally if they're going to play rugby with us later (which we decided to do while on the boat); Ally says maybe we should play cricket instead; too scared to play me in rugby? Ally tells Ollie "you should come out with us. we're celebrating her last night at Taphuis" I say "nice to meet you" to Ollie and leave with the rest of the guys; try to tackle Matt but he picks me up and spins me around and slings me over his shoulder; so maybe we won't play rugby...
Go to the little store to get a six pack; Ally walks in; "what was that about?! are you trying to set me up?!" "he's very attractive right?" "Ally, I'm here for 2 more days. Also he's your friend, which means he's like 30" "no, he's quite a bit younger than me. great guy. also, all you need is one night" leave, shaking my head
going back to the house; getting tackled by Matt and picked up and swung around again; definitely not playing rugby; get the cricket stuff instead
everyone grabs a beer, walk to a really pretty park right by the coast; playing cricket with the guys, drinking beers while doing it
really pretty dusk/night; playing cricket by moonlight
coming back, everyone showering, asking me if I want to stay in for dinner or go out; we end up going to De Seemans Taphuis (pub and restaurant); all get burgers, beers, shoot some pool, eat
Go to the bar; the guys getting me a Picasso, which is an artist's palette with 6 different colored shots on the edge of the circle and one large mixed one in the middle; suck it all up with a straw, do it in record time; Matt buying a round of beers for everyone, then a round of shots on the house, then everyone getting rounds of beers, many many rounds of shots (springboks, gummy shots, working our way down the shooters list, have no idea how many we got through - at least 10 or so); doing 'blow job' shooters, no hands, we all failed, it was terribly messy
Playing music on the jukebox, which apparently hasn't worked for years until I tried it; huge loud blast at first, scared the crap out of me and Matt, who bolted out of the room because it was so loud; dancing around with everyone, everyone in a good place; talking and laughing with all of the guys, Matt calling me "princess"from now on
Talking about boobs with Jan; his girlfriend is shorter than me but apparently has bigger boobs - cool.
All drinking a lot; guy named Harry, friends with Jan and Ally and a bunch of the crew, arrives; does research on a different boat, which is why he knows everyone; we sit and talk about life, traveling, plans, he was a lawyer for a while but then decided it was too boring, travelled around to South Africa (originally English) and got into marine biology; I asked if he was planning on doing this for the rest of his life, he said no way, just until it stops being interesting to him; lots of bonding
Playing more songs on the jukebox, dancing around, talking about rugby with Jan; somehow, it turns into me and Jan tackling each other in the middle of the pub, which was fine with everyone... getting picked up a lot and tossed around and slug over shoulders
Lots of shooters and beers happening in the meantime; can't remember how much anyone drank
Lots of loud talking and such
Staying until 3 AM, when it closes; walking out, Jan driving me home; talking about his car and being really loud and laughing a lot and having too much fun
Passenger seat vs. back seat; what's that?!!? holy crap! pulling a package of them out of a box in his glovebox ahaha
Showering

One of Those People Who Makes Other People Look Forward to Tomorrow

Two trips

Waking up later (at 6:30) for an exclusive

Stormy weather - thunderstorms, lots of rain; many other boats cancelled their morning trip

Preparing everything as usual, boating out

Weather now letting up a little, just raining

No swimsuit, bra and compression shorts, getting into a small wetsuit, having Jan shake me into it, not being able to move

Jumping into the cage

Water was really cold - about 11 degrees

Seeing a lot of sharks

Started raining again, then thunderstorming; still in the cage like nbd
Seal! all wanted her to get nailed by a shark but she was really smart; swimming by their tails, just playing and spinning around; following three sharks around, lots of big ones
Boating back, not fully dressed, don't think I've ever felt colder before
Going up to the house in all of my wet clothes
About to do data but then being told there is another trip
Getting ready to go out again
Seeing some sharks again; a couple of close encounters by the stern while chumming
Riding back at the bow with Grant and Ally and B; joking around, feeling like part of the team, also realizing how quickly I will be leaving
Coming back, cleaning the boat, unloading wetsuits
Throwing towels at Jan, him not appreciating it teehee
Becoming best friends with Grant!!! whoohoo learning how to fuel the boat
Cleaning the deck, etc.; when getting down from the boat, Mandla asked me to remove the hose; no problem right? Describe the hose arrangement. I turn the hose left, as Mandla told me, and remove it from the faucet; bam! lots and lots of water to the face; can't figure out how to shut off the water supply, screaming for Mandla to help; Grant walks by laughing "are you making everyone wet?"
Walking back to the house drenched; Paul laughing at me when I walk in
Showering, not being able to find my stuff because Cindy came and cleaned
Lecture on shark attacks; finding out about Julia knowing only one case where there was predation/consumption
Eating D's breakfast fry up - scrambled eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon, peppers, lots and lots of butter
Walking to the 'curios' shop
Coming back, sitting, watching Dani make green curry

Can't Get Rid of A Good Thing, Mate

Tuesday
Waking up early to prepare the boat even though not going on, since going to shark conservancy
Climbed back of boat instead of up ladder; swabbed the boat
Got back, had breakfast; weet bix, bran flakes, PB, milk, green tea
putting on chumwear for the morning; getting back, taking it off, putting on sweatshirt and shorts for breakfast
Sitting in the quiet of the kitchen for an hour, before anyone else got up; having breakfast, the birds starting to wake up, watching the sun rise through the kitchen window, writing on my computer
Drive to shark conservancy - talking to Jerome; learning that some names are created by taking bits of parents/grandparents names to create names for the kids; talking about his past and history
Being at shark conservancy - biology, then about shark finning, watching the really sad video on shark finning; learning about different tagging techniques
Getting three scoops of gelato at store in Old Harbour; walking around the market and looking at the crafts
Lunch at Wimpy - fast food place; double bacon hashbrown burger with 'spicy avocado' (guacamole)
Going to township Masakhane (ma-sa-ka-ni), doing Swop Shop with the kids where they trade in bags of recyclable materials for points, then they can use the points to go into the shop and buy things like bouncy balls and school supplies and clothes
Speaking in Afrikaans and Xhosa; "dankie" and "enkosi"
It's incredible to see how happy, excited, and positive the kids are; and how responsible they are - spending their points on things such as school supplies and clothes for their younger siblings instead of the little earrings and toy cars
After swop shop, coming back; eating Z's chicken italiano and noodles and salad SO GOOD
Hanging out in the living room couches, almost falling asleep, drinking, playing games, tying people up and practicing things with ropes
Going to bed

Howsit Bru

Monday
Getting much better oriented; instead of looking for orion's belt in the sky, looking for the Southern Cross
One trip
Climbing onto boat from back instead of using ladder
Huge swells, seeing a partial breach
Up at the bow helping with anchor
Ally fireman carrying me
Driving to paintball; absolutely beautiful landscape
Paintball - multiple courses, first one in very wooded area, second is more of an obstacle course; winning each time, playing sniper, then zombie, end was a submission thing, where you just fire until there is only one person left
Not getting hit! But then getting hit in the ass/back
Going to Old Harbour, Hermanus for dinner at Coco's
Doing a beer tasting! and getting the mixed grill and bubblegum milkshake yum
Coming back
Watching National Geographic, as usual; tired, bed

On Abalones

Overboard

Getting used to the routine and waking up early now - rolling out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off, brushing and washing, pulling on the outfit, walking out to the garage, packing stuff, walking down to the harbor, pulling myself the stern of the boat instead of using the rocking ladder, cleaning and prepping the boat, the whole shebang
Pride in always being the first boat out of the harbor; probably one of the smaller vessels in the harbor, but no doubt one of the best
Breakfast - weet bix, bran flakes, peanut butter, milk; tea
Ally giving me a noogie; calling me his "little mate"
Two trips:
Two guys from Animal Planet
Doing data up top, talking to Gerald
Phone fell in
19 sharks! - very active day; lots of big ones, deformed ones, thrashers, jumpers, swam right into the cage, rammed nose in; all because my phone fell in, obviously
Second trip
Only volunteer on boat
Chumming with Jan
Ally hanging me off side of the boat

Coming back, eating lunch; Ally sees me eating an apple, which is actually his; apparently, I've been stealing his fruit ever since I've been here, and now he's got no fruit ("I thought it was disappearing quicker than I've been eating it")
Shark behavior lecture - learning about things such as 

Chum Awesome

Getting used to waking up early - a lot easier than expected, now that I'm getting used to it
Better at packing stuff, organizing for the trips, etc.
Being able to better orient myself when walking outside by the sky and stars; Paul pointed out orion's belt as we were walking back to the house, which was in a very different orientation and location in the sky
Breakfast, eating bran flakes and muesli with yoghurt; plums and clementines
Walking to the shore; feeling colder than usual, cloudless sky
Talk about how this is not ideal weather; discuss the ideal conditions
Waiting for the tractor - realizing that the wheel is larger than I am
Two trips

Learned how to chum from Paul
Discuss the chumming process; why it's important and stuff
Talking to Ally and Jan and Maole and Mandla and Grant - learning about them, having an awesome time, joking around, feeling a lot more comfortable with the crew

Second trip - only me

Chumming in the back

There is an unspoken rule that those with unsullied hands (or less sullied hands) must feed the chummers; getting fed lollipops
Joking around with Jan and Ally in the back; finally feeling like part of the team; joking around like chums/brus

Going horseback riding after getting back

Riding shotgun on the wrong side with Paul driving stick on the way to the horse place; old Volkswagen, almost like jeeping down; lots of rough terrain, passing an ostrich farm

Wild horses!!! Awesomely beautiful!!! 

Coming back, cooking tarragon chicken, sautéed green beans, rice, salad, baked potato wedges

Feeling extremely tired
Showering - DEFINITELY one of the best showers I've had
Sitting, drinking, feeling really content

Bright and Early

Just returned from a braai at Krom and Skeef, had a little bit too much fun. Had lunch earlier at the Great White House (think we're actually in Kleinbaai... Whatever, somewhere in the Western Cape). Pretty into the 5 hours of sleep a night thing, actually. But feeling quite worn now, will update this tomorrow. Later bru.

We woke at 5:30 this morning.

First real day
Getting up earlier than the asscrack of dawn
Preparing for the trip out - putting on clothes (under armour, volunteer t-shirt, rainboots, neon K-Way, volunteer jacket), meeting everyone in the kitchen, heading to the garage to pack wet suits, bait and chum, loading up the truck, going to the boat, cleaning around the boat; feeling quite useless really, mostly just standing around on the boat, not knowing where anything is and trying not to get in anyone's way
Climbing up the unstable ladder
Describe the morning routine on the boat - the cleaning, the tying, the wiping, the preparation of wetsuits, the food, the bait, the cage, etc.
Walking back to the house; without recognizable constellations giving me an indication, sky is still as if it were midnight
Walking out of the house - can see all of the stars, although they are extremely unfamiliar
Breakfast - weet bix and Milo
Heading back to the boat, launching out of the harbor, sun rising
Ally holding up a tuna head, luring the birds to the boat, the birds pecking at it
Anchoring in Jouberts
Talk about boat process - luring sharks in with chum line ("About five minutes after the chum line, we spotted our first shark", "lowering in cage from starboard side", technical thingies (starboard, port, bow, stern), over 140 species of shark in this part of South Africa, every shark we see will be a great white because they are curious, come to the surface, etc.
Describe the different jobs/duties on board
Taking pictures at main deck and top
Watching from above is much clearer than in the water; can see a lot more
Talking to Grant - years as skipper, why certain weather conditions are better than others for shark sighting, being a paramedic, how one month can change lives (supposed to be in UK as paramedic, did this for a month, never left)
Learning about the shark licenses - 8 here in Kleinbaai, 3 in False Bay, 1 in Mossel Bay
Telling him how I've always wanted to learn how to drive (sail) a boat and how to tie knots and swing around and climb parts of the boat that make others feel will be dangerous but will become second nature and as sure-footed as being on land with a few practices; learning that Ally actually sails a lot and is pretty awesome to talk to for all of this; Grant mentioning that Ally could teach me a few knots and such
Seeing lots of sharks, collisions with cage, thrashing around, getting some cool pictures
Sailing back into the bay
Cleaning the boat - hosing down and scrubbing the deck, putting wetsuits away, lowering stuff to the crew on the bakkie (bucky)

Knot lesson from Ally; tying fenders

Clove hitch

Round knot and two half hitches

Bowline

Reef knot

Sheepshank

Coming back
Taking a break

Dinner - Danielle's chicken caesar pasta
Braai with the whale crew
Drinking games with the whale crew

The Part of the Zungeza where I Get Punched in the Face by a Great White

Gansbaai, White Shark Projects, Bottom Bunk

I dragged my bags and body out of my room and into the van taking me to Gansbaai (pronounced Hans-bai) at 4:30 this morning. Got roughly an hour of sleep last night, woke up to hug and send off Sara, hauled my stuff to the lobby, and was soon riding in the front row of a medium-sized van from what had become lightly familiar into the 5 AM darkness. 

As I meandered around the hostel between trips of transporting bags and brushing the kudu and biltong out of my teeth, I picked up a few pocket travel guides. "The Zulu people love to visit, or vakasha, and when they do travel around from one place to another, they call it 'to zungeza'".

Zungeza-ing to Gansbaai was incredible, probably due to the combination of my sleep deprivation and its truly majestic beauty. Couldn't sleep on the two hour drive. Not sure whether to attribute it to dehydration from last night, spillover adrenaline from the rhythms and beats just a few hours earlier, or the innate desire to actively experience every aspect of my journey, but somehow, sprawling out across two seats and shutting my eyes didn't have the soporific effect I've come to expect. 

The landscape is beautiful. The freeway from Cape Town to Gansbaai appeared to be the only path between the two, situated between tall bushes along the ocean side. On one side, beyond stretches of green, nameless mountains; on the other, across the water, the washed-out lights of Hermanus. Both giants looming in the distance and

AHHH COMPUTER RUNNING OUT OF BATTERY ALSO MUST WAKE UP IN 6 HOURS WILL FINISH THIS TOMORROW!!!

Alright, sorry, back now.

Both giants looming in the distance and unmoving as all of the foliage seemed to push past us. I tried to take pictures of the charcoal blue sky from the van but sometimes I don't know what a camera is, so that didn't work too well. Thought I saw the Corona Australis but I can't even recall if it's the right season for it down here. It's discomforting how strange the stars seem now. Reminds me of Nepal. I keep on looking for familiar light patterns in the sky, but they only return my quizzical stare. The sun was rising as we neared Gansbaai, at about 7:00 or so, and still hidden behind shelves of mountains when the van turned into a dimly lit harbor.

The scattering of chattering gulls and cormorants heralded our arrival. The sleepy towns we passed along the way starkly contrasted to the commotion in port. The back-up beeps of massive John Deeres and South African F-150s. The quick commands and points and purposeful strides of polarized-lensed, wet-geared, beanie-capped crew members identified by their vessel sigils and Afrikaans English and already on their second hour of alertness. The unmistakeable smell of cold salt air and anchovy-oiled whole tuna and burning diesel and the third -- maybe fourth -- Lucky Strike hanging from the lips of weather-beaten mouths. Nothing like a breath of all of this against the autumn palate dusk to make you feel alive. I want to bottle it up and give it to everyone; it is what life should smell like.

The scene unfolding was life-giving. One of those moments that you want to capture as an unsullied film in your mind and then project to everyone you meet so that they too might experience the display and maybe then, little by little, the world becomes a better place. There is no describing the way the waves broke against the jagged rock strategically protruding through the surface, the sporadic lines of white that cut through like rough crooked why so serious? smiles, the sun surging through the mother of pearl sky.

The first member of the shark team I met was Jan. Tall, tanned, tawny. Tumultuous. Trouble-making. Twenty-three. In his broken-in Shova Wellingtons, charcoal blue sky "Crew" windbreaker, windswept curly golden brown hair poking up beneath his fleece-lined black beanie. His eyes like a shark's - dark and serious and hard when veiled by his black polarized wrap sunglasses, at first glance and as broadcasted, but bright and playful and feeling, upon further inspection.

He introduced himself as one of the volunteer coordinators. What. Sunglasses off and resting above the lip of his hat. You mean I get to see you more often? Black eyes scrutinizing but blue ones full of curiosity. Oh god.

He gave a quick introduction to great whites, the research, and other things that I probably should have paid attention to. I met other members of the team, and we boarded The Shark Team. Caught some serious air as we jettisoned out into Jouberts (Jobaeis) Dam. The water was beautiful. The sky was beautiful. The crew was beautiful. This is not real life.

As the boat came to a stop and we dropped anchor, I got into a damp wetsuit and geared up. Spat in my goggles and wiped it around, slung a weight belt carbine over my shoulder, and slid into the cage. The 11 degree water was penetrating, and if they hadn't been so tightly squeezed against my skin by my wetsuit, the hairs all over my body would have stood on end. The instructions while in the cage were simple: do NOT stick your body parts outside of the cage if you want to live (alright, so maybe not quite so dramatic). Arms, legs, and/or other miscellaneous limbs are not to be flailed through the open spaces separated by the metal bars of our cage, so please do your best to squelch your desire to wave down the next incoming great white. Visibility today was decent - not great, but good enough to the point where if a shark decided to come up to the cage to bump noses with you, you would definitely know.

I could feel the layer of trapped water sloshing around even the smallest voids and barely-existent crevices between the suit and me. It was one of those moments where your body is more prepared for protocol than you could have ever imagined, and BAM! just like that, your brain takes a backseat and before you know it, in a last ditch effort for survival, you produce gallons and gallons of balmy body-temp and, as I've had to reassure many many many people, delectably sterile body fluids to excrete in order to revive those body parts vital enough to be within a peetastic radius. It's a great day to be alive.

Diving experience in tank
Getting punched in the face by a great white
Wishing I had a go pro to film all of this
Meeting Ally - smoking a cigarette, still dazed, wearing his PJs
Showering - great shower!
Going shopping for food, talking to Jan
Coming back
White shark biology lecture
Taking a nap
Eating chicken tacos
Drinking Black Labels and Windhoek - not for sale to persons under 18

Cape Town

Patio Lounge of The Backpack

The Naked and Famous - Young Blood

This trip has so far been terrible because it has in no way discouraged me from continuing on this path of reckless last-minuteness. 

Right now, sitting under the open wooden roof that canopies over the front lounge area of The Backpack, watching people shoot pool. The guy in a red sweatshirt has his hand down the mouth of a can of sour cream and onion Pringles. Pretty sick place to chill. Lots of young people from all over, AC/DC blasting from the flat screen, bottles and bottles of local and imported beers on demand. And free wi-fi. 

Today was chilly by South African, Brazilian, and Colombian standards, but the Swiss and I felt more than comfortable in the 19 Celsius. After arriving in Cape Town at noon, I found a taxi and was shuttled to my hostel. During the ride, the driver and I shared stories. He said that many people will find my 'American accent' interesting. He's lived in Cape Town for eight years but hails from Nigeria originally. He doesn't travel back too often because it is a six hour flight and can be quite exorbitant. The Nigerian prime minister visited Cape Town last week, and the Canadian prime minister must be visiting this week, since the poles lining the freeway from the airport to Nelson Mandela Avenue (welcome to South Africa) were decorated with the Canadian flag as well as the South African one. His favorite food is a kind of semolina soup that is very South African, although he also really enjoys seafood (he recommends Ocean Basket). He was a personal trainer for a while and will probably be working on oil rigs in the near future. We drove by communities of shacks called townships, including Langa Township, the one that Denzel Washington's character was sent to and featured in "Safe House". I can't recall the other things we talked about, but he was extremely friendly. 

The hostel is fantastic. Upon walking through the gate, you are greeted by an open lounge space with a worn pool table, wicker dining tables and mismatched chairs, a red-pillowed set of couches, and a sliding door to an indoor bar, decorated similarly. The lobby has its own gift shop, where local free-trade crafts are sold, and theres nothing like the condom dispensers in the bathrooms and common areas to make it feel even more like home (Yale-home obviously, not home-home). 

Get your Warhol-ed Nelson Mandelas here! 

All of this was really exciting, but the most exciting part of my morning was showering!!! HOLY CRAP. As soon as I got up to my room, said a few quick greetings to the girl occupying the corner bed, and set down my luggage, I dashed for the showers. It was awesome. Probably the third best shower I've had, runner-up to the one in Yeti Guest House after the 30-hour JFK -> Delhi -> Kathmandu flight, which takes the cake, and the one in Ldub E21 after a weeklong hike through the White Mountains. 

I'm rooming with a girl named Sara, a third-generation Brazilian who has spent the last three months in South Africa studying English and leaves to go home tomorrow. Her family owns a farm in Brazil, but she mostly attended German schools, and she has one sister. She lived in a homestay for the greater part of her time here and recently returned from a trip to Port Elizabeth. After my shower, we went to lunch with two of her friends. Angela, who is Colombian, is a lawyer and shares my love for underrated countries and living locally. Nicole, who is Swiss, is an optician and has some of the most craziest drunk stories (like being robbed and knifed when leaving a club several weeks ago). Entirely different personalities, all absolutely awesome and inspiring. Can't wait to be a member of the travel girls club. We talked leisurely about our lives, experiences, and plans over gnocci, caprese salads, and smoked mozzarella. Inhaled Peroni and second-handed Nicole's Winstons on the outdoor patio of a restaurant on Long Street. 

Self explanatory

The sun peaking out behind a building across from where we ate

After splitting a chocolate fondant and downing cups of coffee and tea, we walked around town, stopped by various stores, and bought everything ranging from ostrich dog treats and biltong to metal wall hangings and love-quoted scarves. Sara and I then took a taxi to Waterfront, a touristy harbor, where we overpaid for ornately decorated ostrich eggs and carved-elephant lighters. It's usually packed during the summer, but winter is coming, and the restaurants and walkways are noticeably less crowded. 

Part of Lion's Head Mountain from a moving taxi

The harbor at Waterfront

Table mountain in the background

The ferris wheel! And Sara!

All of the lights all of the lights

Got back just now. Party later tonight at some club that's a 10 minute taxi ride away. Departing at 4:40 AM for Gansbaai. Nursing a beer currently. It's gonna be a good two weeks. 

Art of Flight

Fly Emirates

M83 - We Own the Sky

Flying out of Dubai

...and into Cape Town

A Two-Day Journey

Dubai Airport, Gate A10

Rusted Root - Send Me on My Way

Currently sitting across from the Heineken Lounge, eating أصلي-flavored Pringles and wondering where in this God-forsaken terminal I can find a familiar looking outlet. Laptop is running on 36% battery, with a 22% charged phone plugged in. It is 11:49 PM Dubai time, and although Emirates 772 isn't scheduled to board until 3:05, many people have already wound through the red-ribboned makeshift line holders and (I assume) found their seats in our giant metal can. 

I suppose I too would be eager to trade this free range and overpriced Shake Shack for an early departure if I had any idea where I was arriving. Landing in Cape Town at 11:40 AM. Probably earlier, now that it seems half of the passengers have boarded three hours in advance. Then... what. Airport? Airport. Airport airport airport. 

Haven't quite figured out the travel arrangements that will get me from the Cape Town airport to my hostel, though given the nature of the rest of this trip, it seems like it will probably come together at the last minute. I finally officially registered for the South African research program, which is good since I'm set to arrive in twelve hours......... Still have to figure out some logistics for the Maldives, but it's far too far in advance for me to expect it to work out now. 

I actually have no perception of time after traveling this first leg, BUT! if I did, I would sense that the last twelve hours or so have been proof that entropy is simultaneously the most terrifying and the most rewarding element of traveling. We all plan the hell out of trips so that we know what exactly will happen at any given minute -- where we will be, who we will be with, when our bus will arrive with what sign with how many other people wearing what color clothes who are going where -- because going to a foreign place is frightening. That was how I planned Nepal. Every detail was meticulously plotted out because I was not going to roam across the Himalayas with 11 dependents and no plan, so help me God. Not about that life. 

The opposite has been true for this summer. It's been minimal planning at best, most of it decided within days and upon sudden impetuosity for recklessness and adventure. My flights were finalized about a week ago, and many other integral logistics of the trip are far from that. I'm filled with this sense of excitement and undeserved maturity, this overwhelming backpacker-ness characterized by a glaringly underrated approach to travel. It's internal framed backpacks instead of hard-shell suitcases, cracked folded maps instead of iPhone GPSs, open-skyed lobby areas in cheap hostels instead of marble tiles and chandeliers. 

On my flight over from Seattle, I sat next to a 70-something year old physicist from Portland on his way to Bangalore. As we flew over the east coast, the melting Arctic, and the arid deserts before landing in the Middle East, we added our own stamps to each other's adventurer bios. He spent about five years backpacking the world, starting with east Asia and Oceania right out of college and then progressing through various parts of Europe after working in a yacht factory in Minnesota for two years. We discovered our mutual love for paragliding, and although most of his flights have taken place on the west coast, he admires my paradventures in Nepal. Once caught in a pretty intense volcanic suck, when St. Helen started fuming one afternoon, he recounted the story of how he plunged from the sky without a parachute (though luckily, he was able to regain control and not collapse his paraglider entirely). After the birth of his daughter, he and his wife made the move from paragliding to scuba diving, and apparently, Puget Sound is a must-dive (also Jacques Cousteau's fave). Now, he works in microprocessing and related applied physics environments, oftentimes collaborating with other members of the physics community in Stanford or Berkeley. We shared our attachments to our parents and our fears for their health; his mom, the only connection he has left to his family, is over 100 and must always be resuscitated. I would want the same. We exchanged emails and handshakes as our dew-tipped 747 touched down in the humidity of 6:00 AM Dubai and vowed that we would continue our million-stars over five-stars adventures. 

After arriving in Dubai, I met a 60-something year old social worker from Seattle in the Starbucks in Terminal 3. Over bottles of Perrier and cups of chopped up fruit, I discovered that she is en route to Mumbai to do a 12-day trek of the Himalayas and to visit family. Her daughter lives in San Francisco, and her son, who has muscular dystrophy, lives with her. She enjoys being alone, and she speaks of her husband using 'was'. She practices Jainism, but her children aren't religious at all and eat all kinds of meat, since her husband was a "bad Hindu". She moved from India to St. Louis, where she earned her degree, and from St. Louis to New Jersey, where she was dirt poor and met her husband. They then moved to Seattle, where she has lived since. 

As we parted ways and I searched for an area to wait out the next 11 hours, I walked past a Moet store. It was insane. Immediately sent a photo of it to my dad and continued wandering.

Nothing like sitting in a jank seat and not having showered in 30 hours to get you in the mood for some bubbly

I spotted a girl wearing a Yale sweatshirt as I passed another gate. She is on her way to Thailand, where she will be living alone in a family friend's house and completing an internship at a small non-profit working to end human trafficking. She's vegetarian but plans on breaking the habit for the next three months. She's nervous about figuring out how she will get from the house to her internship. It's always comforting to realize someone else is in the same boat. Her favorite classes have been on the history of political philosophy and Greek philosophy. She is a Stilesian, a humanities major, and quite likes Dean Fabbri, despite my disbelief. Last summer, she spent two months in Indonesia doing language study and another few weeks in Japan, teaching English to Japanese kids. We sat together for a few hours, talking Yale and catching up on our emails, until her flight and adventure took off.

My computer is now at 4% battery, and I am far too disoriented to make anything half-decent out of the  rest of the jumbled thoughts I've collected. My flight is to board in an hour or so, but I'm now starting to doubt I am at the correct gate. Signing off for now, but hoping the adventures remain continuous. Or at least resume when I wake up, some way between Dubai and South Africa.