I need a Thesaurus

How many ways to say, “another great day”?  This one was just a little cloudy, but still lovely and blue enough as we drove back down around Albertinia to explore whatever Stilbaai had to offer.  Laird and I had gone to Boggomsbaai, Vleisbaai (what a rip-off that was, just a damn gated community!) and Goritsmond [handing off to Laird, Marita is going to cut my hair](or “Goritzmond” on a few road signs — confusing). Goritsmond was kind of cute, but the sidewalks had been rolled up at noon. We saw one open window and five workmen. The 2-pump gas station was open and the country store. So we were not particularly excited by the visits. However, we then discovered “Rein’s Private Nature Reserve”. You can look this up on the net. 2,600 hectares (6,600 acres) with 20 houses built and 20 more approved. The German owner wants to find a lessee with enough working capital to develop a marketing plan and make a success of the place. The nature reserve has a herd of 100 eland and 20 mountain zebra, along with a lot a bird varieties. Any takers? Leaving Rein’s, we managed to put a hole in the muffler of the old Corolla we’re driving. It now sounds like the motorcycles that race up and down outside our flat at all hours. Literally. Last night, I was awakened at 3:41 am by a motorcycle. But then, we stumbled into Albertinia and found the Albertinia Hotel. This is a 116 year old establishment, with a restaurant. For 189 rand, you can get an 11-course meal. J & L were wimps and elected a small sample of dishes. J had roast chicken. L had greek salad and pork schnitzel. But the ambiance was wonderful. There was a fire in the fireplace and the wall decorations were old photos and event posters. Finding this place erased the disappointments of the day — even though we now have to figure out how to repair the muffler.

That was Thursday.

Friday, we stayed in Mossel Baai, visited the tourism bureau for brochures of things to do in the area. We had lunch at the Cafe Barnett. Jonelle got a dozen small wild oysters and I got a dragon roll sushi — least you think we’re roughing it in SA. We then toured the Dias Museum. The maritime museum houses the 1988 reproduction caravel built in Portugal from the original notes. (Plans, apparently, had been lost). The caravel originally took 6 months and a crew of 30 to make the voyage around the horn to Mossel Baai. The reproduction took 3 months with a crew of 17. A major difference, apparently, was the reproduction housed a diesel engine under the poop deck. No one indicated whether the engine was used, or was just for emergencies. We’ll return to the museum later to visit the shell museum with the largest collection of shells in South Africa (or so the tourist brochure says).

Friday, late, Noekie and Marita returned from a trip to Bloemfontein.

Saturday was pretty quiet. I solved my camera problem — having forgotten to bring along the charger for the Canon. I bought a new Canon bridge camera, with a charger, battery and SD card that are interchangeable with the underwater camera. The new camera has a 18x  optical zoom and 20.2 megapixels. This is more than twice the stats of the underwater Canon. Price was only $60 more than buying a replacement battery and charger for the underwater camera.

Today is Sunday. Jonelle is back at the keyboard.

Laird forgot to say we fixed dinner for Noekie, Johan and Mattie last night, so Marita and I did plenty, while Laird read or played with his new camera.  I made Morrocan lamb and chickpea stew and Marita made everything else: bread, roasted veggies fresh from the flower farm, rice and dessert.  Actually, Laird did do something — he had to go to the OK mini-mark three times.  It’s only a short way away from our apartment, luckily.  The people in there must think he’s strange, though.  Dinner was excellent  and we all had laughs and wine, which is the summation of what I think about when I think South Africa.

So as I was saying before I got Marita to cut my hair, we went to Stiilbaai today, a lovely little town, bigger than Dana Baai, we think, on the river as it feeds into the ocean.  Gorgeous beach, but not much in the way of sea shells.  Or not that we saw.  When we drove around, there was another beach, very rocky, but many families out, cooking on the braais, jumping around on the rocks, happy on a nice day.  There were fisherpeople at the harbor, but we didn’t notice how happy they were.

We took Marita to the Albertinia hotel and we all had yummy bobotie and she and I had wine.  Very good wine when we thought it was a pinotage/merlot blend; surprisingly delicious when we learned it was a shiraz!  The do a wonderfully heavy pour there, but then all you can do is go to sleep, which we (well, at least I) did promptly upon arrival back home.  Now it is almost time for bed again and my hair looks swell.  See, small pleasures, big grins.