A Tale About Whales

When we realized that we were in South Africa during whale season, we tried to view whales the good budget backpacker way, we really did. In between visits to Wine Country and the Garden Route, we dropped down to the coast to visit Hermanus, a town known for its great land-based whale watching. The way the tourism brochures describe it, all you need to do is walk along the oceanfront route and whales will swim right up. This may be true, but not for us. It didn’t help matters that when we arrived in Hermanus, the weather was the coldest and rainiest during our entire month in South Africa.

The pounding rain made whale watching on our first day impossible, so we tried again the next morning. Slightly cranky from spending the night in a backpackers cottage that had no heat and was overrun by very loud nocturnal campers stowing away inside, we stood in the freezing cold, straining our eyes to try to spot something, anything. The winds whipped the ocean into a such a frenzy that whale watching turned out to be next to impossible. We did see a couple of whales way off in the distance, but it really isn’t that exciting standing in howling winds looking at a speck in the water. See right there? Is that a fin? One of us would say. No, maybe a tail? Who knows.

When we ended up in Plettenberg Bay a couple of days later, we decided to shell out the money for a premium whale watching tour with Ocean Safaris. The premium tour means that the boat can get within 150 feet of the whales, but if the whales want to get closer, that’s their prerogative.

Within 10 minutes of setting out to sea, we spotted our first whale. Shortly thereafter, a group of frisky, playful whales decided our boat looked pretty interesting, and started swimming towards us.

Not only did the whales get close, but they swam around our boat. Along our boat. Under our boat. Lengthwise. Widthwise. At times, an entire whale was underneath our boat. I pondered whether this was a problem, but then decided that the ocean is rather deep after all.  There must be room for all of us.

Being so close to such an enormous mammal is a very cool experience. To get a sense of just how large a whale actually is, watch this whale swim underneath our boat:

Getting Schnookered in Franschoek

Franschoek is in the heart of South African wine country. It is an endlessly adorable town, surrounded by mountains on almost all sides, with a main street lined with shops and cafes.

Of course, the main attraction is the wineries. As we learned while we were in Cape Town, South African wine is quite good, so we were looking forward to tasting some at the source. We had been wine tasting in the United States before, but no where as beautiful as Franschoek.

Our first winery was Vrede en Lust – roughly translated from Dutch into Peace and Passion. They sat us on our own section of their veranda to take us in the fabulous views, and brought us a variety of wines to taste. Our current lives are very tough, I know.

We then had lunch at Dieu Dionne Winery, which also has a microbrewery. There, too, the views are amazing.

After lunch, we already had quite a buzz, but it was still early…so why not go to another tasting? We stopped by the Rickety Bridge Winery. At Vrede en Lust, they had given us 1 ounce samples, which was more than enough to taste the wines. At the Rickety Bridge, we practically got whole glasses. By the end, all the wines were tasting delicious.

When we arrived back at our guesthouse, I had trouble opening the front door. I assure you, this is from my natural inability to open locks, and had nothing to do with the amount of wine consumed. The owner came to open the door, and looked at us with amusement. She asked us where we were dining that night. When we told her that we were planning on going to Allora, an Italian restaurant recommended by the host at Rickety Bridge, she looked REALLY amused. Oh, right, Allora, she said, with a knowing smile. The restaurant where they pick you up and take you home! (This is true – they really do!) I am sure she thought we were three sheets to the wind…which, if I am being completely honest, was not entirely untrue.

The crazy part is that all of the tastings are free.  (Or, as my high school economics teacher Mr. Bender would say, there is no such thing as free, because in our tipsy state, we purchased two bottles).

Needless to say, we really enjoyed Franschoek. It is only about an hour and a half from Cape Town, and is a great place to spend a few days relaxing. We’ll definitely keep our eye out for South African wines in the future, particularly the reds.

Tips

In the beginning, I wondered how I would ever condense my life into one backpack and live for one year on the road with just a few items.  Turns out it is easier than you might think, and just requires you to plan carefully, simplify and streamline. It was helpful for me to check out other people’s packing lists, so I wanted to return the favor to those who are stressing out about what to bring.  Here are some overall tips for packing:

• It all adds up. My pack is about 26 pounds and Sean’s is about 31 pounds.  We’re not sure how much the day bag and camera bag weigh, but they are not light.  It was tough for me to carry my bag in the beginning, but it is easier now.  That being said, it sucks being weighed down once you have to walk any sort of distance.  We’re thinking about shedding even more items.  We’ve learned that even a pound or two makes a difference.
• Your packing list can be fluid. I agonized a lot over finding the perfect items to bring.  While it is important to find stuff that it is comfortable and durable, and bring as little as possible, remember that the packing list doesn’t have to be static once you leave.  Most people refine their stuff over the course of their trip – it is always possible to send stuff home or buy new things.  We sent things home several times; bought Sean the exact same pair of sandals in Spain two weeks in once he realized the ones he bought were too big; bought me fun Spanish sandals once I realized the ones I selected were uncomfortable; bought Sean new shorts to replace ones that were too big; bought the same camera and a similar camera bag when ours was stolen; and bought lots of toiletries and other tidbits along the way.  The economy is international, and you will see many of the same brands across the world.  You may not always be able to find EXACTLY what you would have got at home, but it will be close enough.
• Make sure ALL of our outfits are interchangeable and layer well.  You will probably still gravitate towards your favorites, but it with limited options, it is important that everything at least doesn’t clash with each other.  My outfits work pretty well together, but Sean feels limited sometimes.  For example, his favorite shirt is gray, which won’t work with his gray pants.  Make sure your clothes layer well also, because weather changes a lot.
• Color your world. For the most part, dark colors are best, particularly for pants, because they hide stains.  Black makes me feel dressier, even if the outfit is casual, so I made sure I worked some black in.  But you don’t want to bring all black – you will be under the hot sun a lot.  I brought a variety – my pants are dark, and my shirts are black, blue, green, and pink.  I am definitely sick of wearing the same stuff, but you just fall into a routine.  I personally spice things up with jewelery.
• Err on the conservative side. Nothing too short or low-cut.  You will have enough attention in certain countries as it is, so you don’t want to add to that.
• The Travel Diet.  Some people gain weight when travelling, others lose it.  We’ve been lucky and dropped a little weight early on.  Even though we eat and drink a lot now, we figure our bodies were used to it because we fell into a routine of eating out way too much before we left.  We attribute any weight loss to walking.  We both had desk jobs, and are way more active now.  Knock on wood that we don’t change again, because our clothes are feeling a little tighter after driving around Ireland and South Africa.  It is difficult to buy the right size of travel clothes when your weight will likely be unpredictable.  Try to buy clothes that can accommodate a gain or loss and remember a belt.
• Handwashing is the bane of my existence. There’s no way around it; you will need to handwash, so try to get items that wash easily and dry fast, especially socks and underwear.  We usually try to machine wash every couple of weeks to get things really clean and wash hard to handwash items like jeans.  Even then, a dryer is rarely available (and we don’t use one anyway, because we don’t want anything to shrink).
• Don’t be cheap. Make sure you get items that are durable – now is not the time to skimp.  Our stuff and our clothes take a lot of wear and tear.
• Skip the cute shoes.  No one has ever been glad they brought the cute shoes.  Go for comfort instead.  That being said, bring items you can live with, because you will be wearing them all of the time!
• Less is more. I have never read a travel blog or talked to travelers who wished they brought more stuff. There is no doubt about it that when you are carrying your possessions on your back, less is better.  But most people need to learn this lesson for themselves.  Don’t fret if you think you are taking too much – you can always donate it or send it home on the road.
• Everyone’s packing list is different.  Some people can live on seriously minimal amounts of stuff; others require a bit more for their personal minimum.  If you want inspiration for packing light, check out Hedgehogs Without Borders.

Documents and such

• Capital One credit card

We got this credit card before we left because they don’t charge the 3% fee for international transactions that most cards charge.  It has worked out well, although they want you to call in regularly to report your whereabouts for fraud protection.  We earned enough points in the beginning of our trip to get 2 free plane tickets from Jordan to the UAE with our rewards.

• Other credit card

Definitely bring a back-up; sometimes our main card was shut down for fraud protection or just wouldn’t work.

• ATM card
• Passports
• Pennsylvania driver’s licenses
• International driver’s licenses

Most car rental companies only wanted to see our state license, but it is a good idea to get the international one just in case. 

• Extra passport sized photos for visas
• Copy of birth certificate
• Immunization cards
• Emergency cash

We have about $200 USD stashed in various places just in case.  We used some once in Jordan.  They wanted cash for a visa, and didn’t have an ATM in the visa area, so we had to convert some USD to Jordanian dinars.

• Stored on our computer, at home with our parents, and online at Google Documents: copy of passports, licenses, birth certificates, marriage certificates, immunization cards, credit/atm cards, etc.

Medications and Toiletries

For all but a few of the OTC medications we use frequently, we took too much.  We threw most of it away except for a small supply to lighten our load.  I listed the original amounts we took with us.  My original thinking was that I didn’t want to have to deal with the hassle of communicating in a different language, especially if more personal problems arose, but I’ll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. I brought stuff I’ve never even used at home!  It really is not needed.  There are pharmacies worldwide.  For example, when I had an infected cut on my hand, it was easy enough to communicate, in limited English, to a Czech speaking pharmacist to get an antibiotic ointment.

• 13 month supply of prescription daily preventative migraine medication

• 24 pills of prescription reactive migraine medication

• 6 month supply of prescription nasal allergy spray

All but one sent home; my allergies have not bothered me at all on the road.

• 13 month supply of birth control pills

Very important especially when our health insurance does not cover pregnancy!

• 180 Malarone pills (anti-malaria medication)

• 10 day supply of Cipro (anti-biotic for travellers’ diarrhea)

• 200 OTC acid reducer pills

• 300 ibuprofen

• 100 Immodium

Very important for use when – and not if – you get an upset stomach/diarrhea.  We usually try to let the problem run its course, but we’ve taken this on travel days or when we just can’t take it anymore.

• 30 OTC antihistimine tablets

• 1 box of OTC decongestant pills

• 1 box of OTC urinary tract infection medication

• 1 box of monistat

• 10 OTC laxative pills

• 100 women’s daily vitamins

Pitched.  Vitamins are really heavy!  I’ll work on any nutritional deficiencies next year.

• 50 magnesium pills

Yet another method to thwart migraines, but I pitched them.  I’ll experiment with them next year.

• Small box of band-aids/blister relief pads

Band-aids are another when and not if item.  We use them mostly for blisters, so I picked up special blister relief ones at some point.  At the beginning, we replenished our supply fairly often, but now that our shoes are broken in, just a few suffice.

• OTC medication to reduce itching from Inspect bites

This was a welcome donation from our friend in South Korea.  For some reason, insects love me.  I currently have just shy of 20 mosquito bites from the South Korean mosquitoes.  Itchy.

• 8 oz bottle shampoo

I admit it; I am a shampoo snob.  I miss my fancy non-sulfate Alterna stuff I brought at the beginning.  It lasted for almost 4 months!  I bought some Italian shampoo and conditioner at a Polish salon, but it wasn’t any better than drug store stuff, so lately I’ve been sticking to whatever I can find in the drug store.  I am partial to Dove.  The world seems to like Garnier, Loreal, Head and Shoulders, and Pantene.

• 8 oz bottle conditioner

Despite Sean’s persistent efforts to get us to switch to a 2 in 1 formula, I have prevailed in carrying a separate conditioner.  While I would love to lighten our load, my hair is really dry and gets too knotty if I don’t separately condition.

• 1 bar of soap

We’re partial to Dove sensitive skin.  We haven’t found the sensitive skin formula anywhere, but have found regular Dove with ease.

• Sean’s electric razor

• Amy’s venus razor plus 15 extra cartridges

I could have skipped the extra cartridges; seems that Venus is worldwide.  I found one in a small town in Slovenia after I left my razor behind in our hotel and one in Ireland after super glue would not fix the handle after it snapped in two.

• Amy’s King of Shaves shaving gel

While some people make do with conditioner, my sensitive skin would never allow that.  I just finished the original King of Shaves gel I brought last month (it lasted for 5 months!) and found some more in Ireland.  It is hard to find, but it is a great travel item because a little goes a long way and it comes in a squeezable tube instead of a can.

• 2 oz of Amy’s Burts Bees eye cream/Moroccan Argan oil face cream did not replace when ran out

A woman of a certain age can’t let wrinkles progress during the trip!  I ditched the eye cream early on because it turned into a weird consistency, probably with the heat.  I bought all over face cream from a woman’s cooperative in Morocco that I use at night.  Good for me, good for them.  But it is almost gone, so I may let Sean talk me into just carrying the moisturizer with SPF.  It is a little harsh to use at night – yes I know I am a horrible backpacker – but even I recognize that it is kind of ridiculous to carry two separate moisturizers.

• 4 oz face lotion with SPF

Being out in the sun all of the time, this is a very important item.  Plus, my skin is dry, and some of these climates just make it worse.  I’ve only had to replace this item once.  It was difficult to find a formula for sensitive skin with SPF, but I did it.  The replacement is almost gone, so I’ll need to go on the hunt again.  So far, not so good.

• 8 oz sunscreen

• 8 oz of body lotion

• Toothpaste

• Toothbrushes

• Makeup

I read online about travel make-up tips, and most of them suggested a regime with more make-up than I wear at home!  I ended up going mostly with what I wear at home – Laura Mercier loose powder (which is, as I suspected, messy to travel with); Laura Mercier secret concealer; a handy container with a mirror and three square inserts of makeup from Bobbi Brown: 1 cream colored eyeshadow, 1 brown colored eyeshadow, and 1 blush; and Laura Mercier Eye Basics primer.  After debating buying travel brushes, I just ended up bringing my regular MAC make-up brushes, but I did buy a Sonya Kashuk retractable powder brush at Target that is compact.  All of this fits in one extra-small Eagle Creek zipbag, so I figured it was not too bad.  I don’t wear make-up everyday, especially not in the super hot countries, but it is nice to have.

• 3 oz of laundry soap

We usually just use shampoo now.

• tide stain pen

• floss

• Amy’s Burts Bees face wash

Again, my skin is way too sensitive to use soap, so I lug this along.  I love this stuff so much, that I had my friend bring me a replacement when she met up with us in Ireland.

• 4 oz container of Sean’s hair product did not replace when ran out

• 1.7 oz bottle of Amy’s hair product did not replace when ran out

It was hard to choose an all-in-one, miracle product, and I don’t think I ultimately achieved such a thing.  I ended up bringing Alterna Smoothing Lotion, because it can be applied wet or dry, and I figured reducing frizziness with a little control was most important.  Without blowdrying my hair, any volume is a lost cause anyway.

• Deodorant for each

Easy to find – even for sensitive skin – but you should know the world likes roll-ons instead of solids, if it matters.

• Container with 50 q-tips

• nail clippers

• wet wipes

• 1 oz bottle of sanitizer

Very important – many bathrooms in the world skip soap.

• Lots of ponytail holders

• Fabric headbands

These are very helpful in windy areas for keeping hair neatly back.

• About 40 tampons

This is what I originally brought.  Unless you are partial to a certain type or brand, it is probably better to just bring a couple and buy them as you need it.  Most of the world seems to use o.b. tampons, so you should probably get used to using ones without an applicator at home.  On the plus side, they are tiny and light to carry!

• round brush

• lip balm

• eyedrops

• insect repellant

We didn’t really need this until South Africa, so we bought it there.

• nail file