Settling in

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Nearly a week since my first blog entry, and i'm feeling much more settled now. having got over the initial 'oh shit what am I doing so far away from home' feeling, I have just relaxed into the gentle swing of life in Cape Town. I've realised just how westernised the place is - could be almost any city in Europe!

Last week was great - most of our hostel jumped into various hire cars and we all went up to Signal Hill to watch the sun burn into the sea. Very beautiful, and not done justice by the photos whch I will upload when I have more time on the slow internet connection here.

Then on friday I went with two of the American interns at the Big Issue and some of their friends to a place called Crystal Pools - basically a short but strenuous hike up an arid valley to where there are some waterfalls and big pools to swim in. Also, cliffdiving! Everyone found it hilarious that we call it tombstoning in England. Can't claim to have gone off thebiggest jumps myself, built up to about 10 metres and descided that was enough for me! Being bigger than most means there is more force involved and decided it wasn't worth the risk. Still was really fun. Went out to a few bars in Obs in the evening, sweating profusely in the heat!

Saturday was great! My cousin Adam and his family, who live in jo'berg, were in Cape Town for the big cycle race in which Adam was particiating - 110km cyced by 35000 people! We went over to the other side of the cape peninsula to Simon's Town, and more specifically Bouders beach where there is a colony of endangered penguins who live on the rocks and swim happily around the swimmers in the Indian Ocean. A quite surreal feeling that my first swim in the Indian Ocean was in the company of penguins - I have no idea how animal adapted to live in the cold can survive here!

It was great to see Adam, Jacqui, Aiden and Niamh (sorry if I the spelling is wrong!) - what with being at uni for the past three years and missing various family gatherings it had been a long time since i'd seen them! Whislt we were having dinner with some of their friends in the evening who were also cycling, the wind picked up - and how! by the time Adam dropped me back at the hostel the gusts were very strong.

Sunday I just chilled out, took a quick trip to Muizenberg beach with some of the dutch guys but it was too windy for surfing so we didn't stay long. Sunday was also the day of the big race, and with the strong winds there were many accidents according to Adam. He finished in just under 4 hours, which sounds pretty damn good to me given the distance, terrain and weather!

At work i've got my first assignments, a 'vendor of the month' interview a piece about Cape Town's water quality for the next issue and just today been given a 400 page document from the world bank to look at and summarise. good times! it is nice and relaxed at work; I am taking most of this week off as Ciara is flying in today. She's hoping to stay about a week I think so I have put off doing the main city attractions until she arrives. Probably climb table mountain this week! Weather permitting of course - it tends to occilate between searing heat and high winds at the moment so you have to be careful. Despite the fact that itis in the middle of the city, people do die climbing the mountain!

Will update again in a week or so.

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