Wined, dined, entertained and spoiled rotten!

We've been back less than two months and what an incredible welcome we've received!

We have definitely been spoiled.  It's been non-stop eating, drinking and making merry from the moment we returned; greeted with a myriad of invitations from old friends and family with the added advantage of just happening to time things extremely well to be included in various celebrations.  So much for the diet I'd been planning embarking on after all our Christmas/New Year activities.

Besides all the local friends, we have met with both our ex next door neighbours from Durban 30 years ago which has been amazing and have had numerous get-togethers with departing cruisers.  It's been an incredible period of time but now the diet MUST start!

Our wonderful cruising friends, Bronte and Helmke, invited us to stay with them a few times and took us for a fabulous drive around the peninsula just to remind us how absolutely beautiful this part of the world really is.  There is little in this world that can compare to the drive along Chapman's Peak or the stunning views over Ou Kaapse Weg dropping down into the southern suburbs.  The sight of Table Mountain never ceases to amaze nor does the entire range of the Twelve Apostles with the nearby brilliant white sandy beaches and turquoise waters with houses to rival anything California has to offer poking out of the steep mountain sides overlooking them.  Just WOW!

One by one, the remaining international cruisers have left us behind.  Little by little, we are leaving an amazing way of life in the past.  In some respects I want to cry, in others, we are enthusiastically looking forward to new places, new challenges and new adventures.

The winds until very recently have been horrendous.  This is supposedly the best time of the year; beautiful sunny summer days, light breezes, warm (well slightly warm) waters - you know, perfect conditions.  Nope, not happening!  It's freezing out here on the boat, the water temperatures should be around 18° - 20°C but can't seem to make it past 14°.  The winds are howling a hoolie more days than not e.g. 35 to 60 knots which makes it impossible to work on the deck and we're huddled under blankets with thick socks on our feet!  Weathermen? come on guys, get your act together!

We'd been trying to find a small car to allow us some means of getting about (Simon's Town is a bit out of the way when it comes to getting boaty things).  We eventually did find a cute old Smart car with a very high mileage on the clock but we simply weren't in a position to buy anything fancy.  Our original foray came up with nothing but utter rubbish, things that I certainly would have been very wary driving around on my own but we just weren't finding anything suitable.  Suitable in my eyes would be a nice looking zooty vehicle with an aircon, good music system, electric windows, cruise control, etc. etc.  To Paul it would just be anything with four wheels that doesn't leave us stranded on the side of the road every other day.  An old friend, Eric, had lent us his little car to help us look which was fantastic and we eventually found the little Smart car which even has aircon, electric windows and a radio!  We simply couldn't get over how expensive second-hand cars are here.  My last new car cost less than this one which is 10 years old!  However, we hope to be able to sell it for about the same price prior to leaving South Africa.

When the wind occasionally subsides, the work projects get a bit of a boost on board Calypso and we've now officially placed her on the market with two agents.   We don't know whether to laugh or cry; she's been our home and transport for 13 years, taken us around the world and kept us safe.  How does one give this up without major sentiment?  Worldwide, there's an absolute plethora of boats on the market so we've tried to price her for a rapid sale.  In our eyes, she's worth a lot more but we have to be realistic and just pray we can find someone who will love her the way we have.  The Rand had improved just a tiny bit recently but took a major dive this past weekend when Zuma pulled a fast one by firing the well-respected finance minister and his deputy.  When we look at how drastically it has dropped since our departure in 2004, it's absolutely frightening to think how little we'll clear in Dollar or Euro terms.  However, we have to respect that she has been such a huge part of our lives and given us the means to see the world; we cannot complain.

More on the woes of South African politics and finances later.

PS:  sorry, still no photos; I desperately need a new computer but....... let's just say the purse strings are a bit tight at the moment and I'm still trying to salvage my drowned hard drive.