Waterfront Views and African Penguins

For the first few days in Cape Town it rained. But the last few days were bright and sunny! So I capitalized on the weather and headed straight for the coast. Lucky for me public transportation is decent enough, where I can get myself around for relatively cheap. My only other options are to rent a car (but they drive on right side of the car and the other side of the road, so hell no) or hire a shuttle/taxi (which can easily cost R200, or $25 one-way) so I'm thankful for the MiCiti and Metorail. The New Yorker in me sees no problem with public transportation!

Views from the Waterfront. I didn't take a photo of it, but from the Waterfront you can see the HUGE stadium where the World Cup 2010 took place. Because the World Cup was so recent, it makes a lot of sense why this area is so clean, modern, and new.

V&A Mall at the Wharf is your typical mall... bla bla. I didn't come here to hang out at the mall, but it was beautiful to look at!

Views from the Metrorail on the way to Simonstown and Boulders Beach.

Colorful houses decorate the bottom of the mountain landscape.

From what I understand Simonstown used to be and old Naval community. I did walk past the Naval museum, but I wasn't dying to learn more about Cape Town's Naval history - I'll pass, thanks. Simonstown however, is quaint and adorable! The street is lined with small Mom & Pop shops, and I was nearly distracted by every single one on my 2m walk from the train station to Boulder's Beach.

Well there you have it - your Fun Fact of the Day!

After my 2m trek I arrived at Boulder's Beach - 'Home of the African Penguin'. The beach was well-kept and it felt almost like a Sea World amusement park-ish. There were several vendors outside of the park selling penguin memorabilia, stuffed animals, hats, ceramics, and others. Entrance was R40, the most expensive admission price I've paid in South Africa yet. Let hope the R40 goes towards keeping the little penguins' home clean and safe. 

Boardwalks to the penguin viewing site.

SO CUTE. Need I say more?

Apparently its common for penguins to escape the fenced area. They enjoy frolicking in vegetation and surrounding the beach,  on the other side of the green meshed fence is residential. Coincidentally most of the residential houses have gardens that look very similar to vegetation on the beach. Oftentimes the penguins are seen climbing the mesh fence and into running across the pavement and into people's front yards. Even while I was there a worker on park patrol was handling this exact situation.  

They were so close you wanted to grab one and put it in your pocket!!! Gah! 

I'm sure others have thought the same thing. Hence the sign.

Alright, one picture of me is okay.

In real-time news, I arrived in Stellenbosch yesterday and checked into the Ikhaya Backpackers Hostel. I splurged on a wine tour today, spending about $50 for a full-day tour that visits 4 wineries and includes lunch and all wine and cheese tastings. So compared to Napa prices, super cheap. Plus, there was no way I let myself pass through Stellenbosch, the 'wine capital of South Africa' and not splurge on a wine tour. Leaving soon, can't wait!

Last Days in Accra and First Days in Cape Town

I didn't get a chance to post photos from my last few days in Accra, but also wanted to recap on my first days in Cape Town, so I decided to combine the two into one post. By the way, my page reached 500 views today - awesome!

On my last full day in Accra I headed to the beach of course, where else? Unfortunately the weather was overcast, but HEY I love the beach no matter what. I thought we were going to Labadi beach, but found myself at Bojo beach instead. Bojo is located about an hour outside of Accra (but can be much longer depending on traffic), but is much much nicer than the closer, more frequently visited Labadi. The beach is technically on an 'island', or a sand bar, separated by a small river that you must cross by canoe. 

Bojo was peaceful, extremely clean, and the water was warm. If the weather wasn't so cold I would have jumped right in, because I obviously came prepared in my bathing suit. However swimming is highly advised against because its said that this part of the coast has an incredibly strong undertow.  

Kinglsey, my go-to and life saver while in Accra.

On the last day at the International Student Hostel a friend of mine bought me breakfast as a surprise. He ordered what he usually eats of breakfast: plantain, chicken, and eggs. You can buy a meal like this for oh, GHC 3 or less, or $1.50. Food runs cheap at the night market near our dorms on campus where you can find all the local dishes - jollof rice, plantains, groundnut soup, fufu etc - and almost anything else you can imagine. Usually for breakfast I'll buy an egg sandwich from my 10-year old friend Porshia for GHC 1.50 ($0.75) and fresh fruit, mango and pineapple for GHC 1 ($0.50). That's breakfast for $1.25... gotta love it. 

My first day in Cape Town was rough. I was extremely tired from the 9+ hour trip and wanted to sleep all day. However, in efforts to save money I skipped the shuttle service from my hostel and decided to take the MyCiti bus instead. Rather than paying R180 (180 South African Rand), equivalent to USD $22 I opted for public transportation at a price of R57 which is about USD $7.50, paying less than half the original price and familiarizing myself with the city. Score! 

MyCiti bus had a direct service from the airport to Civic Station in the City Centre. I was impressed! The bus was clean, quick, and convenient. As of July 2012 they started a digital service where you purchase a card similar to a credit card and recharge it with money. I bought a card for R23 and loaded it with R20, about enough for 4 one-way rides. When I'm done with the card I give it back and get my R23 refunded. I was surprised at how empty and underutilized the public bus was, making me wonder how long its been around.

Look how pretty South Africa Rand bills are! 20 Rand is about $2.50. Each bill has a different animal printed on it. The R100 bill has an elephant, R20 has an ox, and R10 has a rhino. 

Back of the bills.

Don't mind my nail polish.

But, I forced myself to walk down Long Street, or the main street in Cape Town's city center with a majority of restaurants and tourist life. I met a friend on the bus on the way to the City Center from the airport and hung out with him and his friends on Long Street (after a LONG nap). They introduced to some of Cape Town's infamous drinks while exploring the area's night life:

'Springbokkie' - Peppermint Liquer and Amarula (left) and a 'Suitcase' - Jack Daniels and Passion Fruit 

One of the many murals and buildings that decorate Long Street.

Morning views from the hostel, Zebra Crossing.

Table Mountain in the background, taken in front of Zebra Crossing.

Today I'm still going to take it easy - visit some of the cultural museums, do some more online research, and follow-up with a few producer groups. I'll have time at the end of my Cape Town trip to do the outdoorsy stuff - Table Mountain etc. and I don't want to burn myself out. Oh yea, and its FREEZING here. By New York or even California standards its not that cold, but after spending 6 weeks in Ghana my tolerance for cold weather obviously flew out the window. I miss my collection of scarves in New York right about now...

Tentative Cape Town Itinerary

Switching my Ghana Brandt for the South Africa Lonely Planet

Just touched down in Cape Town, South Africa! Im tired and the flight was long including a one-and-a-half layover in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. Can't believe I'm here but I'm ready to hit the ground running. I've had this post in draft version for a while... but here's my tentative plans for the Cape Town leg of my journey- 

Upon arrival I'll head straight to the Cape Town city center and stay for about five nights or so. During this time I'll let Cape Town soak in, get situated, and familiar with my travel options to my two main destinations: Stellenbosch, Cape Town's vast wine land, and Citrusdal, located a few hours North of Cape Town and home to citrus and rooibos tea farms. Stellenbosch makes for a first stop because it's a popular destination from Cape Town, only about 45 minutes outside of the city center. There are some wineries I've bookmarked in my handy dandy Lonely Planet that are a must-visit. From Stellenbosch I'll make my way towards Citrusdal, located North of Cape Town and much more rural and less-travelled than Stellenbosch. 

It might help to explain a little bit more about what I'm researching in Cape Town before I list the places I intend to visit. My trip is two-pronged, hoping to research the impact of two interrelated areas in the South African context:

• Fair Trade impact, specifically the impact of Fair Trade USA certified organizations. Please note that my visit is completely voluntary and is not by any means an official audit on behalf of Fair Trade USA.
• The impact of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) legislation of 2003. As a final assignment for the NYU Wagner's Food Security and Hunger course we have to write an independent research paper exploring any issue related to food security and/or global hunger. Since I needed to conduct research on Fair Trade in the South African context anyways, I decided to research and explore a Fair Trade standard unique to Fair Trade organizations in South Africa. The B-BBEE Act of 2003 is unique to South Africa because it was initiated by the South African government as a result of the apartheid, aimed to distribute wealth as evenly across the peoples of South Africa as possible- including blacks. So far I've found some controversial information regarding the impact of B-BBEE which I've decided to explore further. 

Below is my tentative itinerary and prospective sites I plan to visit, all of which are FTUSA certified producing organizations. About half of them are confirmed, while the other half is still TBD.

1. Cape Town (5 days)
2. Stellenbosch (5 - 7 days)
1. Koopmanskloof Wingerde - wine grapes
3. Robertson, about an hour east of Stellenbosch (3 days)
1. Van Loveren (Pty.) Ltd winery - wine grapes; also notable for their commitment to B-BEEE
4. Citrusdal (5 - 7 days)
1. ALG Boerdery (Pty. Ltd) - lemon 
2. Bergendal Boerdery - wine grapes, oranges, rooibos tea
3. Mouton Citrus - citrus fruit
4. Citrusdal Wines - wine grapes
5. Clanwilliam, about an hour north of Citrusdal (3 nights)
1. Wupperthal Original Rooibos Cooperative/ Heiveld - rooibos tea
6. Return to Cape Town (~ 2 weeks)
1. PARTY! haha, only kidding. Wrap up data collection & NY job hunting

Other notable FT, not necessarily FTUSA certified, or B-BBEE associated sites worth adding to my itinerary, depending on their accessibility and ability to fit into my schedule (description credit goes to Lonely Planet):

• Both Solms-Delta and Van Loveren (www.vanloveren.co.za) have made their employers shareholders in newly purchased joint-venture wine farms. Nelsons Creek, north of Paarl, (www.nelsonscreek.co.za) donated land to his workers to produce their own wines under the label New Beginnings.
• Thabani (not open to the public) is SA's first wholly black-owned wine company
• Thandi, Elgin area, (www.thandi.com) first winery to become FT certified
• Tukulu, Darling area, is the flagship BEE brand in the stable of industry giant Distell

Although was sad to leave Ghana, good news is that I'll be back! I fly from Cape Town to Accra on August 26^th before departing back to New York August 28^th , giving me 2 days to do last minute souvenir shopping, pick up extra yards of fabric from Kaneshie market, and say bye to some friends. Until then, see you later Chale! (Chale is slang for 'dude'... pronounced 'Chaa-Lay' although I mistook it for 'Shalane' long before I understood what it meant.)

First Things First

Hello and welcome! I initially intended to maintain a blog as a thank you to my family and friends who supported my traveling endeavors. Before I left for this trip I reached out to my Hawaii family and selected professional contacts I've made throughout my career to update them on where I'll be going this summer and what I'll be doing. 

Thanks to those who responded, you have no idea how much I appreciate knowing you've got my back :). Special thanks to my Hawaii family (Daddy and Aunty Tammy, Granmom and Grandpa, Aunty Sheri and Uncle Lance), former TPL boss Michael, and former professor Jeffrey Haydu!

For the next eleven weeks I'll be in Ghana, (hopefully Togo), and Cape Town exploring issues of global hunger, food security, and Fair Trade. From now until the end of July I'll be traveling to throughout Ghana - Accra, Kumasi, Cape Coast, Tamale - with NYU studying food security issues and global commodity chains. I hope to also visit the Buduburam refugee camp and Lome, the capital of Togo. 

At the end of July I head to Cape Town until the end of August. While in Cape Town I'll be conducting impact assessment of a variety of fair trade certified organizations - wineries, rooibos tea estates, and citrus estates. Everything in between is still up in the air, and will pan itself out. By now, I've traveled enough to know not to have any expectations and just go with the flow. My goal this trip is simply to maintain a state of awareness, acceptance, an open mind, and an open heart.