Rotary District 9350 Conference- Mosselbaai, South Africa

This past weekend I went to Mosselbaai in the Western Cape for the Rotary District 9350 conference. We took the highway, with gorgeous views, for about 7 hours. We passed baboons all over the road, and odd sheep that were bald and blended into the color of the wheat they were grazing on... finally to this magnificent beach town. We drove past the southernmost point on the African continent, an aloe factory (they are known for an abundance of many species of aloe), and the highest commercial bungee jumping bridge in the world! My host Rotarians checked into a quaint little bed and breakfast in town, but as a student on a budget and up for an adventure, I stayed at the Santos Express Train lodge. A once functioning train, this lodge is stationed on the sea next to an up and running train track, with all of the cabins/ bed compartments facing the sea. The compartment contained 2 beds with an additional 2 beds that folded down above them. The train is situated so close to the water and the walls and windows were so thin that I could hear the waves loudly crashing on the shore. The hall in the train was so narrow I had to squeeze against the wall to let people pass. Each compartment is in a box car, which is connected to additional boxcars. Each boxcar had one toilet and one shower. I stayed the first night with a fellow scholar, Lauren, and some strangers down the hall. The second night was fun because the other scholars joined us and stayed in the train, and we socialized in a room that I think would have been the small dining area for the passengers.
Accommodation: http://www.santosexpress.co.za/

The first full day of the conference was fun. It was held at the Diaz hotel right on the beach. The hotel was named after Bartolomeu Diaz, the first European Explorer to land in South Africa. I enjoyed watching a presentation from an author/journalist named Tim Butcher who trekked through the Congo on the path that was taken by the first European, Dutch explorer through the center of  equatorial Africa, that not many survive. I bought a signed copy of his book because he inspired me to write more on my adventures. When I finish reading it I will be certain to post my thoughts in a blog.

That night the other scholars and I went to a restaurant called Kaai 4. It was an entirely outdoor restaurant with authentic South African food. It had a fisherman type feel. When we arrived they were closing because they had no customers and the weather was bad, but they saw us said they'd stay open. The man that managed the restaurant and served us was extremely friendly and personable. He gave us a rundown of the menu, since everything was in Afrikaans.I ordered the mussel pot and it was the best meal I've had in South Africa. The server sat down with us and told us stories. He also brought out coffee and home made bread and hot sandwiches after we were finished because he took so much pride in their food and he wanted us to try everything. Most Americans would be extremely confused by their menu but I'm learning quickly about braai, potjie, mielie, biltong, Boerewors,mince, potbrood....... The food was "braaied" outside even though it had recently rained. Everything was absolutely delicious. After the server and manager of the restaurant told us stories and served us samples of more and more food, he offered to give us a ride back to the train in the back of his truck.
restaurant: http://www.kaai4.co.za/index.html

On the last day of the conference the scholars and I had to do our final run throughs for the skit we were performing to all attending the conference. The theme of our skit was the Amazing Race and we had one of the scholar's husbands perform as the contestant and travel through the United States and Canada to see where each of the scholars is from. When he "arrived in Florida" I thought him about the American Alligator and Crocodile. We got great feedback on our performance and I am so glad it is over. We worked really hard on it!

On our drive back we took the garden route for different scenery.We stopped in a tiny town and ate at a little restaurant based out of a home that sold trinkets and homemade jams. We drove up and down through and around mountains under a clear sky where the clouds were low enough to touch. On the sides of the roads we passed vervet monkeys, donkeys, springbok, ostrich, pigs, cows, sheep, and a rabbit farm. We passed the "little Karoo" desert where we saw cacti, protea, fynbos, and aloe plants and the vegetation changed drastically from lush to dry. It became dark when we got closer to home, passing our rock climbing site in Montagu. After the tiring weekend, I was back to class on Monday.