The Crags, South Africa

Aslan the cat, at the Wild Spirit

I made it into the mountainous region of the Crags in South Africa. There was a really cool hostel, maybe one of the best. It's called the Wild Spirit. Highly recommended. Jenny, the owner, is amazing; she's an activist too that bankrupted four developers from developing on South Africa's coast.

There, I didn't do much. I met a lot of cool people, including a French couple named Karen and Fabian. We spent time together and ate together and drank wine together. Fabian and I took a walk to a waterfall and saw a family of baboons in the distance.

It was a wonderful time there, even though

Karen, Fabian, and me.

there wasn't much to do, except read and enjoy nature and all the people there. 

One night, Jenny gave a lively talk about her life and why she came to make the farm and all the challenges of having a spiritual hostel like hers. All of us in Baldwin Park should go one day to South Africa just to visit Jenny and her family and Aslan the cat - who was a wonderful cat indeed.

I was sad again to see Fabian and Karen go. I had to finish up my briefing in the Crags, and from there, I sent it off to the California Court of Appeal. It was an effort. Hopefully, it's received well.

The local pig on the farm near by.

Wild Spirit is one of those places, where you have a campfire and tell stories with everyone. It really was a magical place. And I enjoyed it thoroughly, though I had some issues with it. But those resolved too.

I learned some high Dutch there, called Afrikaans. But at some point, I knew it was time to leave. So, I did.

Two South African guys gave me a ride in their pickup truck, where I sat in the back with two girls. I ate biltong (South African beef jerky), while they drove me. 

Then I had to hitchhike for about 8 minutes, and a car picked me up and dropped me off at Port Elizabeth. 

That's it folks. I finished the famous South African Garden Route, from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth. I certainly didn't see all of it. It's about 470 miles, 760km. But with my stop to Simon's Town and Stellenbosch, it was much longer.

Me, finished writing my brief and sending it.

I loved it, but I'm not sure if I'd come back with all the crime in South Africa. Needless to say, it's a beautiful country.

I talked to my mom, complaining about something and said, "But, Mom, I'm on vacation."

And she said, "Paul, taking a year off isn't a vacation."

I started laughing. That was cute.

Paul Cook's South African Garden Route Itinerary.

You can feel the winter is coming in South Africa. Every day it gets colder.

Let's see where I take off to next. =) Signing off from the Eastern Cape of South Africa,

P.