10,200 Miles

Welp. We made it.

Approximately 28 hours and 35 minutes after leaving Seattle and after traveling more than 10,200 miles, we landed in Cape Town, South Africa to sunny skies and 82 degree bliss.

Once off the plane, we hopped on a quick bus ride to the downtown Civic Center where we then caught a cab to our new digs, the Zebra Lodge.

The lodge is pretty sweet, it’s about 90 percent outdoors with just the rooms inside. Tarynne and I have an eight person dorm room, but it’s big and everyone has lots of space. This crib has a kitchen, so Ms. Glu/lactard can actually eat and not be grumpy – pretty ideal for me. We can also make as much tea as we want, so Tarynne is definitely going to make it through the next two weeks.

Thirty hours of travel is quite a longtime (David), so with our bags unpacked next to our bunks and our valuables stored away in a safe, we crept out of the Zebra Lodge into the unknown to stretch our legs and to see what Cape Town has to offer on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Our place is just a block off Long Street, the central street downtown that is lined with restaurants and bars. The street is lively on a Saturday afternoon and I’m sure it’s just poppin’ off at night, but we’re yet to check out the crazy night scene and get boozy. Don’t you worry though, that time will come sooner rather than later.

As we headed down Long Street toward the waterfront, we made our way into the business district, which on a Saturday afternoon is eerily quiet. Meaning, completely deserted and if it wasn’t 2:30 in the afternoon I’m confident we would have been mugged, this blog post never would have been written and the African continent would have been prematurely relieved of James and Tarynne taking it by storm.

After surviving the barren business district, we emerged near the waterfront next to small canal that flows through a modern (expensive as hell) condo neighborhood. As we walked along the side of the canal a group of paddle-boarders paddled by us, and I’m not going to hear the end of it from Tarynne until we rent paddle boards, so stay tuned.

Finally, after about 45 minutes of walking from the Zebra Lodge, we cruised up to the waterfront. The area is essentially a mixture of the Portsmouth and Seattle waterfront, so if you have already been to both cities don’t bother coming to Cape Town, you’ve already seen it.

Just kidding. This place is sick. Dope. Legit. Awesome.

Speaking of the Seattle waterfront, it turns out we stole our Ferris Wheel…

Once we familiarized ourselves with the lay of the land, I decided to do the one thing everyone has to do when they first arrive in Africa – eat a cheeseburger in Scottish pub on the pier.

Yeah, that’s right…came to Africa, ate a cheeseburger.

Meanwhile, as usual, Tarynne ate nothing. Okay, let’s be honest. Tarynne drank two glasses of wine and six vodka diets with lime.

With our bellies full and our jet lag quickly kicking in, we hightailed it back through the deserted business district, back up Long Street to the safety of the Zebra Lodge where I passed out immediately on the couch in the common room.

Turns out the Zebra Lodge ain’t so safe. After about three minutes of snoozin’ on the couch Tarynne awoke me by lifting up my feet so Jürgen, the German cockroach could scurry underneath.

Click, click, click, click, click…

Yes, there’s a cockroach (just one) and according to the long-termers he’s German, which isn’t surprising because he has a striking resemblance to @Bert_McGirt.

Due to the German cockroach scare, we decided it was time to retreat to the dorm, bunk up and go to sleep.

Day one was in the books.

Sunday morning came fast. And by Sunday morning I basically mean Sunday afternoon, because we didn’t wake up until 11:30 a.m.

Since there’s a full kitchen in this joint and we’re ballin’ on a budget, the first stop was the grocery store for some basic breakfast supplies. Bread, rice cakes, peanut butter, fruit and tea. Now that’s some gourmet grub.

With no plans and no idea what to do, we made a game time decision, threw on our swimsuits, jumped in a taxi and whipped over Table Mountain and down into Camps Bay for the afternoon.

At this point, I’ll stop my rambling and just let the photos do the talking.

After playing on the beach, doing handstands (yes, @Bert_McGirt she works out), and swimming in the freezing cold Atlantic Ocean, we decided to do what we do best…eat and drink.

Well, James eats and Tarynne drinks. Now that’s teamwork.

After a solid food and booze session we cruised across the street to the beach for the sunset.

With the sundown, under the dark of night, we hailed a taxi and whipped back over Table Mountain to Cape Town and the Zebra Lodge.

Day two was in the books.

This morning we actually got our asses up at a decent time, just so I could spend the entire morning in front of my iPad writing this blog…an ideal way to spend a sunny morning in Africa.

Don’t worry though, we have a big day..er…I mean…afternoon ahead of us. We’re headed to Simon’s Town to see the penguins and Tarynne is grinning ear to ear about it despite her cold.

Get ready for tomorrow’s blog post, because it’s going to include our very own rendition of this Batcave and @CLCarter1 favorite…

Until next time, @JamesRMcIntosh

over and out.