So I returned from Durban early this morning, 4:45am (SA time) to be specific! The bus ride from Grahamstown to Durban was 12 hours and that was where the adventure began. The bus ride there alone was enough to warm us of the adventure that lay ahead of us. The driver was swerving and slamming on the brakes and driving like a maniac. But we made it, Whew!! We got to our hostel which was a stone's throw from the beach, the beach and nothing else. The employees were grouchy and very unwelcoming, but then we saw our "room" which we lovingly began to call the tool shed, which was an overstatement becasuse it was actually only half a tool shed! There was a padlock on the outside of the door so we could lock the room while we weren't in it. Of course the minds of 4 college girls goes automatically to all the horror movies we've seen and that someone could easily lock us into our room!! Needless to say the search for a new hostel began almost immediately, but we had to stay at this first one for the one night we had already booked. We, surprisingly, made it through the night and survived under the Styrofoam roof (not even an exaggeration!!) So we open the door to find the outdoor bathroom and what is waiting for us but a rather large troop of monkeys! Hanging from the trees outside the tool shed were monkeys of all shapes and sizes and they jumped from our roof to the trees and back! Terrifying at 8am! We then made it the half hour drive to our second hostel!
Much more chilled and friendly than our first hostel, the second backpacker lodge was much better, no monkeys or chilling horror stories. This hostel was about 15-20min from the beach but we were also located closer to town, which meant shopping and a grocery store! One of the days we spent at Ushaka Marine World and we got to snorkel with sharks. By far one of the coolest things I've ever done! That was definitely the highlight of the week vacation for me. We hung out at the beach went to the mall and just relaxed. It was very nice to be away from the very tiny town of Grahamstown and Rhodes. But by the end of the trip I was ready to get back to my little bed and my lovely home of Grahamstown. The bus trip back last night/this morning was much more uneventful, except for the movies they played which were so old and awful that they were actually funny! So today starts the first day of the 4th term here at Rhodes, and after finishing my first and only lecture of the day I have decided to take a snooze in my own bed instead of a bus seat!
Oh and the weather is getting very warm now!! It's almost starting to feel like late spring here :) I got a fantastic tan at the beach this week! See everyone soon :)
