A Sunday, A Funday And Steak 😏

Sunday March 19th –

Church in South Africa.
I forget Mike has been to South Africa two other times already, so most of the experiences are not new ones for him.

But as I expected, the song service had a little more sway and a higher volume level then our usual service😉
But it was enjoyed and installed a little wishfulness for that kind of singing everywhere.
Though we know, however unfortunate, we white folks aren’t so talented in the area of pretty, rhythmic noise making 😋

The service was enjoyed and the following lunch back at the flat.

Everyone stuffing themselves accordingly with chicken sandwiches made on Portuguese rolls before retreating to rooms for afternoon naps.

Our hosts knew how to ‘Sunday’ well 😉👌🏻

We returned to church for the evening service and tried our best to wake up fully before arriving.
The heat mixed with an interrupted nap made everyone feel a little groggy.

After hearing a continuation of that morning’s service, we returned and spent the remainder of the evening together in the living room.
Enjoying coffee and tea, talking, making plans for the next day as well as for our upcoming road trip.

Monday March 20th –

The temperature? +38. The plan? Beach.
Is there really any other plan that should be made besides a beach day in that kind of weather?
I doubt it 😏

When I said I could better imagine -40 then +40, it was an interesting realization.
With 80 degrees of difference between the two and how a person can be so unaware of one or the other depending where you grow up.

We were driven to Pringle Bay beach and after passing through towns, lush hillsides and some hillsides freshly wiped free of vegetation by fire, we drove down a short dirt road, passing some baboons before parking and then walking up past a row of shrubs and voila, white sand dunes, beach and a sheltered bit of the ocean, framed in by outcroppings of rocks.

Past mounds of monstrous sized seaweed we walked, holding our breath as their stench wafted up to meet us and releasing once passed, so the fresh salty air could once again fill our lungs and make you feel only as beach and ocean can.

My utmost task to take care of? Filling the shell bag.
Firstly by walking along the beach, secondly by going out onto the rocks with Mike and scouring between the many cracks and crevasses, not knowing which would hold treasures, or which would hold terrors of the water 😜
Sharp rocks on slanting angles made the wandering interesting, that, plus not wanting to step on slimy seaweed strewn about or the innumerable baby shells and their occupants.

Some of shells we picked up had little baby starfish resting on them 😊

We spotted some baboons coming down the beach, so we went in from the rocks, ready to grab our bags should they come to close but they never did, as they weren’t as used to people as the ones we’d seen our first time/beach.

Baboon tracks pictured above, looking much like creepy little kid footprints in my opinion 😜

After de-shelling that area enough, we walked back along the beach to a part with better water for their daughter to swim in.
The guys chatted, I laid in the sun, Jolien searched for shells and sat a bit with me and then I had a sand castle to help build 😎
It had been awhile since I’d helped in the construction of a sandcastle and I can’t say I disliked it 😋

After snacking a little, we gathered our belongings and drove to the nearby town to get a drink before going back to their flat to freshen up, rid ourselves of sand and prepare for that night’s dinner out.

Before said freshening though, Mike and I took a short walk to some shops for sunscreen and after sun relief 🙈
Michiel sat too long in one place, burning his whole right side.
Forehead, neck, arm and ankle 😬
I burnt a bit as well but not as badly as him.

After exchanging beach clothes for a tad dressier dining wear and trying to tame the humidity and salt sprayed tendrils, we drove out for a double date to ‘Hussar Grill’ at Waterstone Village in Somerset west.
A restaurant our hosts highly recommended for a good steak/grill 😏

We had a table on the outdoor balcony and the weather was perfect for it.
A warm evening with just the right hinting of a breeze.
Grapetisers and appletisers were suggested for our drinks as South Africa is the only place you can get them.
A carbonated grape or apple juice style drink, refreshing but not overly sweet 😊

I decided on fish since it’s not a meal I usually choose and steak isn’t my favourite.
Mike of course got steak 😏
Lamb chops and another steak were ordered and we all waited as patiently as possible.

I never thought I’d say so, but I wished I would have ordered a steak 😳
Mikes fillet (which had aged for around 20 days) was soaked in a truffle and rosemary sauce, oozing flavour and not even needing to be chewed it was so tender 👌🏻
(Though chewing is still advisable 😜)

My fish was fine, but nothing to write home about, which is maybe stupid to say as I literally write about it? 🙄
Anyways, the lemon sauce wasn’t nearly flavourful enough and to top off my meal, I got to pull a nice, long, not mine, hair out of my mouth while eating my rice 😬

Our waiter was nice, the atmosphere and quality were also good so don’t think just because my fish (which Craig did say I wasn’t allowed to order because it was a grilling restaurant 😋) wasn’t enjoyed that I wouldn’t suggest going there.

Just get steak 😉

After dinner, they kindly drove us to the airport so we could pick up our rental car in preparation for the start of our road tripping the next day.