Join Me in South Africa : Ending our trip with Jacob and Iris

After the Indalu Game Reserve we headed to our couch surfing host in Mossel Bay. Our host was an American man from Michigan who was retired and wanted a project. He still has his home in Michigan but he is fixing up this big old house in South Africa since it is ridiculously less expensive than doing it in the USA. He showed us his garden that was in progress. He explained that building this garden was $5,000 in South Africa, and would easily be $40,000+ in the United States. This was really true. It was pretty unbelievable. Later that evening he suggested a restaurant that had seafood since Jacob and Iris were desperate to have oysters. We all had dinner together.

The next day we drove all the way from Mossel Bay to Port Elizabeth. Jacob and Iris enjoyed oysters for lunch again on the way. In Port Elizabeth we met Kevin, our air bnb host. He is from Kenya. He hung out with us almost the whole time. We had dinner together, and breakfast together the next day. He showed us the local market. Because Laura and I joined this trip unexpectedly he even set up a mattress in the living room for us to sleep on. He talked to us about traditions in Kenya, and told us many stories about his family. He also shared his slideshow with us which was about what he is working on for his phD here in South Africa. He is a fascinating person. We all got his phone number and hope to stay in touch with him!

While Iris continued to shop at the outdoor market, Jacob, Laura, and I braved the cold water and jumped into the ocean. We stayed as long as we could, but then had to get out and enjoy the sun for a bit. Shortly afterwards Jacob and Iris had to jump in a cab and head to the airport to get on their Nomad Adventure Tour. Laura and I said a quick goodbye and watched them drive away. From there Laura and I had quite an adventure finding a taxi, finally went back to Kevin's place, got our stuff, and took Uber to the train station. We got on the train around 5:30pm, and got off in Stellenbosch around 4:30 am. Just 3 hours or so before I had to get up for my 9:00am Monday class!

Jacob and Iris continued to Kruger National Park (where they saw the Big 5 all in one day), and also went to Pretoria and Johannesburg. Sadly I was unable to join because of school, but that was okay. Now they are back in Hong Kong. Our time together was so short, but it meant everything in the world to me that they came all the way to South Africa to visit me. I can only hope that they also had a fantastic time here, and enjoyed all their experiences!!! :)

Me. Laura.

Jacob. Laura.

Jacob, Laura, and Iris.

Me. Jacob. Laura. Iris.

Me. Iris. Jacob. Laura.

Jacob, Iris, Kevin, Laura, me.
(Keven was our air bnb host from Kenya. He is getting his phD in South Africa, working with recycling and the children in the townships, and doing AMAZING work with art and education!