Transition Zone

On Tuesday I spent too much time in Port Alfred and ended up entering East London during rush hour. From my time in Mthatha I didn't think there ever was a rush hour here. I drove past what I thought was the biggest Mercedes Benz dealership in the world, but it turned out it to be a MB factory. 100,000 Mercedes have been shipped to the US from here. East London needs more bridges. Traffic was backed up for 2-3 miles each side of the rivers. Which wasn't too bad for a tourist in no particular rush.

Yesterday was a beach day. I went for a 4-5 mile walk to Danger Point and back. The waves were pretty good and there were no sharks around, but with the water at 70 degrees and winds at 20-25 mph I gave up on the idea of trying surfing. It turns out that the South African surfing team is in Peru this week for the world championships and none of the local surfers were in the water either.

Last night I went to the mall at 6 PM for some supplies, but it was closed. Drove around looking for a restaurant that was open, but only found KFC and Guido's Pizza. Italian won, though I normally don't eat Italian food when I am more than 50 miles from Utica.

East London is very civilized and today I found a phone book with most of it's pages intact. Two listings for a laundromat. One very close to the museum and art gallery and apparently open early. How exciting to do laundry in a machine and not in the bathtub. It turns out that it was a laundry with a couple coin operated machines. I got to see how the professionals clean, dry and iron. I think my folding technique rivals real ironing and with a lot less work.

After laundry I drove through town and managed to find the museum. Breakfast at the attached cafe offered a Canadian breakfast with waffles, bacon and maple syrup. As part of my transition to Northern NY there was no other choice. The syrup even tasted like it may have had some real maple in it.

The museum was a great exhibits on natural and local history, with emphasis on shipping, the border wars and the Xhosa. Dioramas of stuffed native animals were my favorite. I think I saw the last remaining Dodo egg in existence. The signage was confusing and I wasn't sure if it was a casting, or the real thing. The museum also has castings of the oldest human footprints ever found. 200,000 years old.

Today is my last full day in South Africa, and I'm told (at least by the brochures)that I have to have a Friesland Milkshake before I leave. But first the museum.