Leaving ZA
For those of you who are actually reading this regularly... I apologize for the long span w/out updating!
My last few weeks in ZA were both excellent and frustrating! At the very least we certainly ate well, but the constant rains were not conducive to climbing. Fortunetly we moved into the Weaver Cottage at Alpha Excelsior (www.alphaexcelsior.co.za) where the friendly and hospitable hosts (Connie and Liz) made it an excellent place to stay. We attempted to go 'climbing' whenever possible, yet this meant stripping down to our underwear and crossing the waist deep 'stream' (usually only ankle deep) with pads and gear on our heads. As I mentioned above, it rained a lot! After camping for months, being dry and having all the conveniences of home were a welcome change. Hence all the cooking we did. Our friends Paul and Julie moved into the 'Lavender House' during the same time period, so there were many gatherings and many braii's.
There were many highlights to the final portion of our stay in the Western Cape as well. Stevie and Nicole both sent "Maniac" which is one of the best lines in the whole area. We went out for a spectacular evening session that was illuminated by a full moon! Meg sent her project "Orange Heart" at Road Crew. Nick sent his first 8 pointer and Andy his first '7C'. Leaving only my project left... after finally linking through the crux moves on "Gliding Through the Waves Like Dolphins" (long winded maybe, but that is how it feels!) to then fall on the topout was crushing! I returned several times between the downpours, but only to have negative gains... despite coming up with a better finishing sequence I kept falling lower down were I hadn't ever fallen before?!. One has to accept the inevitable so we packed up and went to Cape Town to prepair for our departures. We sold the car back without any problems (www.driveafrica.co.za). I confirmed my new flight times, and we met up with some of our local friends and proceeded to party late into the night; where I was then deposited at the airport... haggard but ready for the next leg of my journey.
PS-if you want to see more images from ZA than check out the Zaration link. There should be a bunch more pics on Coops sight.
My last few weeks in ZA were both excellent and frustrating! At the very least we certainly ate well, but the constant rains were not conducive to climbing. Fortunetly we moved into the Weaver Cottage at Alpha Excelsior (www.alphaexcelsior.co.za) where the friendly and hospitable hosts (Connie and Liz) made it an excellent place to stay. We attempted to go 'climbing' whenever possible, yet this meant stripping down to our underwear and crossing the waist deep 'stream' (usually only ankle deep) with pads and gear on our heads. As I mentioned above, it rained a lot! After camping for months, being dry and having all the conveniences of home were a welcome change. Hence all the cooking we did. Our friends Paul and Julie moved into the 'Lavender House' during the same time period, so there were many gatherings and many braii's.
There were many highlights to the final portion of our stay in the Western Cape as well. Stevie and Nicole both sent "Maniac" which is one of the best lines in the whole area. We went out for a spectacular evening session that was illuminated by a full moon! Meg sent her project "Orange Heart" at Road Crew. Nick sent his first 8 pointer and Andy his first '7C'. Leaving only my project left... after finally linking through the crux moves on "Gliding Through the Waves Like Dolphins" (long winded maybe, but that is how it feels!) to then fall on the topout was crushing! I returned several times between the downpours, but only to have negative gains... despite coming up with a better finishing sequence I kept falling lower down were I hadn't ever fallen before?!. One has to accept the inevitable so we packed up and went to Cape Town to prepair for our departures. We sold the car back without any problems (www.driveafrica.co.za). I confirmed my new flight times, and we met up with some of our local friends and proceeded to party late into the night; where I was then deposited at the airport... haggard but ready for the next leg of my journey.
PS-if you want to see more images from ZA than check out the Zaration link. There should be a bunch more pics on Coops sight.
posted by travelingcat at 3:37 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home