Malaria Free, thank goodness.

Well, I had a slight break since I last wrote. The last post was abruptly stopped because I was feeling like crap. After 4 days in bed, one emergency room visit and refreshing lab results, I am feeling on top of my game again. After feeling flu symptoms for over 24hrs, I heeded the warning of every guidebook/medical journal and made a visit to the local emergency room. This is becoming a bad trend for me, because in Spain, I also made a visit to the emergency room, for what turned out to be hives secondary to bedbugs. One shot in the butt and a prescription for antihistamines and I was out into the real world. THis time it was purely out of the slight possibility that it could be malaria. May have already mentionned this, but essentially if you are in a malaria area and have any flulike symptoms for up to a year afterwards, it's time to get your butt into a doctor immediately for a check of malaria, because it progresses very quickly and without much forgiveness if you don't start treatment. THings like death are not uncommon. So like a good nurse, I put it off for over a day, hoping that it would get better. The ironic thing is, since it was a holiday weekend (easter), the "immediate" test took over 6 hours to get the results, so I went home and prayed that I would survive the night. I did and everything was negative. I then spent a total of 4 days watching South African soap operas (Isindore is my favorite for those who need to know) and a whole lot of bad commercials. I also have watched a ton of football (soccer) and am very enthusiastic about the coming of the World Cup. Ok, let me quickly return to the other part of the trip. I will fastforward a little to the 2nd to the last day of the tour which involved a ton of driving and a marathon game of "Shithead" which is a cardgame played by the aussies and brits. Very entertaining and too involved to describe right now, but after many rounds, I essentially was crowned King Shithead which as you can imagine is not a good thing. Apart from the constant taunts of "shithead" this, "shithead" that, I unfortunately gained this title on an eventful day. First of all, this campsite was a known stomping ground for my travel company so they had stored many props here which entailed rather radical feminine attire which I had to adorn myself with after dinner. Secondly, I was to take a shot which was either a "death" shot or "suicide" shot which after already having 2 glasses of wine didn't sound too bad. What's one shot, I said. I can do one shot of anything. Well, as they led me to the bar and I put on my "evening" wear (a nice ensemble of shiny pants, flowery shirts, a scarf and a pair of underwear on my head), I placed the ceremonial hard hat onto my head. Hmmm, so much ceremony for a little bitty shot. Well, that shot, was first of all in a pint glass and was a mixture of (I would find out after taking it) 8 shots of various alcohols (their shots are about 1/2 of American shots), various sauces like hot sauce, salsa, chutney and then topped off with a beer. Looking at it and smelling it was a challenge in itself, but drinking it, which in true American pride I did in one fail swoop, was indeed a challenge. Not only finishing it, but actually keeping it down which proudly I did and to the roar of the crowd. After finding out it's contents, I prepared myself for the worse and imagined an early trip to the tent. Meanwhile, with all the spirit that the entire trip represented, each of my cohorts dressed up in wacky attire, many of the men being the most enthusiastic, changing outfits several times throughout the night. We then all proceeded to drink more than humanly possible, and after determining that I was indeed not going to die, I joined in with more shots, and several beer bongs (ah!!!!, memories of college). My good buddy Patrick who is not a drinker proceed to do a double orange fanta bong, which is actually tougher than it looks, and many of the onlookers were sprayed with the orange goodness of Fanta. Not only did I not have an early night, I lasted til after 4 and then had to make it back to my tent without my headlamp which I had loaned to someone, and then proceed to pass out in all my clothes, only to be woken up at 7am by many of my compatriots. What a night!!!!! We then hopped in the truck and continued on to Capetown and beyond to the Cape of Good Hope, the most southern point in Africa where both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet in a clash of fury. It's truly beautiful and I always feel more alive when being present at such a monumental point in the world. I was truly on the other side of the world. We camped just a few miles away at a "campers only" site. At first it was difficult to determine why there was this designation, but soon after putting up our tents, we discovered why. Gale force winds punished our tents and we utilized the truck to be able to actually cook under such conditions. After moving several of the tents, we buckled down for the night. I actually decided to stay where I was. My survival mechanism, a sleeping tablet and ear plugs. Luckily both my tent and I, were there in the morning. After some logistics involving a complete scrub down of the truck we made our way to Capetown which in my opinion is the San Francisco of South Africa. They have weather quite similar to ours, fog included. It's truly a beautiful city, ecletic, colorful and positionned right on the water. And unlike some areas of South Africa is relatively safe. THat night we gathered together for one last feast and a helluva party. Many of us donned the color beige in honor of my wardrobe which these folks think I wear all the time at home. We had some tapas and then proceeded to go to a local club, pound many drinks, dance up a storm and rehash stories of what can only be described as an amazing adventure for all of us. We had spent 24hrs a day with each other for weeks, trading life stories, setting up tents, cooking meals, drinking beer, seeing the most incredible things, even surviving a brawl. It has been more than anything I could imagine, and these people shared it all with me. I will never forget them and hope to always know at least some of them. I know that life goes on, people move onto other things, families are formed, relationships change, but this was definitely something I will always cherish. Thanks for sharing the ride.