Jbay life

J-bay, Dreamland....

A month has gone by for us in J-bay...

We met Kim and Todd, the newly world tourer from Oahu : our closest friends and neighbors since Indonesia for three weeks. 

Everyday, Kim and I were motivating ourself to surf cold water, we bought sheep boots to keep our island girl feet warm. Noah found a meal/desert-mate in Todd and they shared many late night apple crumbles and ice-creams...

We met Kahi and Louise, also from Oahu and also world tourer. Kahi have been riding Alaia in J-Bay, a wooden old style surfboard (check out their website eatdrinksurf.com). 

I met him in the water, as nosy as I can be sometimes (I said sometimes), asking him a bunch of questions about his board. Seriously I would sink on that piece of wood, but he rides it very well and even do 360 on set waves !!! 

We also met DR from Maui and Jan from Florida. They came in JBay for a week for DR birthday, a place he's been dreaming of for 30 years.  He was in French Polynesia years ago and lived/traveled/surf in the islands. We had our first bray (BBQ in South Africa) together at their rental house/villa.

Jeffreys bay is a pretty small town and everything is concentrate around the Da Gama Street. We are 5 minutes away from the food stores and 20 minutes away from the city "center".

Noah enter the J-Bay underground where he trains and teach what he knows about Jui Jitsu. 

Everyday life for us have been pretty simple : wake up around 6-7 am, check the waves, go surf when it's warm enough, check the surf forecast, hang out at the beach, look at the waves, walk on the beach, pick shells, watch TV... Since we arrive, the food store have been armed robbed, a young surfer died (couple towns away) after a shark attack, a guy disappeared... It's probably like in all the other country we visited, Jeffreys Bay is so small that everybody knows everything...

We visited the lion breading park with Todd, Kahi, Kim, Louise, Ken and Roy (from Belgium). They are so beautiful, strong, impressive, fierce. Sadly their living area are very smalls and humans are taking over wild spaces which makes it hard for them to be released. 

This weekend we drove to Cape Town and I felt in love with South Africa after that road trip. The landscape is beautiful, empty lands, roads on the cliff, blue mountains, inland desert roads...

We went to the most southern tip of Africa, ate fish and chips in Hout Bay, saw the penguins trying to escape, hang out with "dangerous" baboons, (tried to) sleep at the noisiest backpacker ever, ate kilos of oranges and tangerines, went to the Elephant Addo park, saw elephant herd...

Yesterday we left thinking of coming back one day... 

Poema

 

Where we've been... 6 months later

India-South Africa via Abu Dhabi

We flew out of India more happy than ever. We were very ready to leave the chaotic country. The flight was pleasant and  3 hours later we landed in Abu Dhabi. A transit of 15 hours... spent in the airport. We used free internet, slept on the nice clean carpet, ate sandwiches and enjoyed the clean atmosphere.... 

Women in black outfit were coming and going while men were usually wearing white outfit or western type clothing. Some women looked like ghost but some other had it all fancy with feather on their sleeve or cristals... 

We went to look outside and it is the desert, like the real one in the Sahara... soooo hot!!! We decided to stay at the airport for this time. We had too many hand luggage to walk around town in the heat.

The 15 hours went fast... we took the plane to Johannesburg, 8 hours, I literally passed out... Noah was by an Indian man who didn't look too friendly.

We waited 4 hours in Jo-burg (where I slept) and then last plane ride for one or two hours. Arrive at Port Elisabeth, we rode the car for 45 minutes to get to our beach house studio.... right in front of J-Bay supertube wave, the so called "best right in the world"....

What a trip to get all the way here. It's so weird to make so many transition, from India to here... it is so clean, peacefull, no cars, no honking no bad smells, no hassle, just relax and enjoy the sound of the waves breaking on the shore.... aaaaaaahhhhhhhh..... what a pleasure....

Today we surfed for the first time in J-Bay. I caught two nice long waves. It is so much fun, not too many people, very mellow waves.... Even though my feet ad hand were freezing I stayed out for 4 hours then hot shower... sooo good !!!!!

Enjoy life, live your dreams... take care

Poema