Fish Food

It's no secret that I am a fan of spas.  Being pampered every now and then makes me feel good.  Call me crazy!  Last week, when I was recovering from my mystery Maun malady, I booked myself a spa appointment immediately following my visit to the doctor's office.  The doctor prescribed water and rest; I prescribed a back massage and pedicure.

My transition to life back home is going to be a little tough, as I will be leaving a job, a life and people I have grown to love.  My friends intuitively recognize this, so a couple asked what they could do to help me settle back in.  My answer: "Two words -- Spa Day".  So, I have a spa day with friends to look forward to when I return.  That will lift my spirits, I am certain.

Last November, when I was visiting with my Czech friends in Cape Town, we had to come up with a rainy day alternative to the outdoor plans we had made. Alice and I decided we would book ourselves into a spa for pedicures.  Standa, the ever patient and obliging husband, resolved to hang out in a coffee shop and wait for us. The spa Alice and I found specialized in Fish Therapy.

I haven't blogged about this sooner, because I knew I would get a scolding from my public health friends back home. I am fully aware that Fish Spas have been closed in parts of Canada and the USA due to public health concerns. Please be assured that I did ask about their water filtration system and made sure I had no open wounds that would spread or receive infections. 

That being said, I was still a little uneasy about dipping my feet into a fish tank.  I couldn't look down.  I felt little electric shocks all over my feet and calves.  Soon, I got used the the tingly sensation, but I still couldn't look.

Alice, who had been chatting with Standa about which coffee shop he would go to, took one look at the activity around my feet and told the clinician, "I am cancelling my appointment.  I will join my husband for coffee and come back for my friend in 30 minutes."  That is exactly what she did -- but not before snapping this photo.

The fish did their job of sloughing off the dead skin before the clinician went to work on my nails.

As I was leaving, the spa offered me a frequent customer card.  I politely declined.

Charting a Friendship

I am fortunate to have one of those rare friendships that transcends the years and miles.  Here is the story of my friendship with Alice.

Hermanus (near Cape Town), Nov. 19, 2012

1991: Czech and Slovak Federal Rebublic

I am living Pribram, a mining town about 60 km south of Prague.  I work for a mining company, teaching English to the directors and engineers.  The company puts me up in a dormitory that lies vacant over the winter holidays.  Nobody supposes anyone will be living there, so there is no heat.  I catch pneumonia.  The company doctor takes pity on me, and brings me home to live with his family while I recuperate.  His daughter, Alice, is home for the holidays and becomes my interpreter and friend. I remain friends with Alice and her family long after my recovery.  They become my surrogate family, and include me in their family celebrations and outings.  Alice welcomes me into her social circle in Prague, where I am inducted into the weekend dorm life of Czech engineering students.

1992/ 1993:  Czech and Slovak Federal Republic / Czech Republic

I have finished another teaching job in the Spanish Pyrenees, and travel to Pribram to spend Christmas with Alice and her family. We eat carp and open presents on Christmas Eve. On New Year's Eve, Alice and I join throngs of revelers at Wenceslas Square in Prague witnessing the creation of a new country. I stay until Easter.

1994:  Canada /USA

I meet Alice in Montreal and we rent a car for a road trip through Quebec and New Brunswick to Nova Scotia, where we meet my family for my paternal grandmother’s memorial service.  We then travel through Prince Edward Island and Maine en route to Boston, for Alice’s first experience with an American city.  We drive up through New Hampshire back to Montreal.  After a visit to Ottawa and Toronto, Alice returns with me to Edmonton for weekend visits to the Rocky Mountains and a jaunt to the West Coast with my parents.  Alice calls this her “all and nothing” tour of North America.  She saw it all, but in such a whirlwind, that she retained nothing.

1995:  Czech Republic

My parents travel to Europe with a friend, to celebrate my father’s retirement.  They put Prague and Pribram on their itinerary so they can visit with Alice and meet the kind doctor and his wife who were so good to me.  One night, Alice takes my dad to a pub frequented by engineers.  Alice translates a conversation between my father and a handsome young man, who is sitting at the same table.  She doesn’t translate everything he tells her.  He asks her out.

1995:  Thailand / Malaysia / Singapore

When we last met, Alice I agreed that our next visit would be somewhere neither of us had been before, about equi-distance from the both of us.  We looked at a globe and chose Thailand.  After a series of mishaps involving a hurricane and flight delays, we meet in Bangkok.  Along with a couple of Alice’s friends, we back-pack through Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore for 4 weeks.  Alice is missing the young engineer she has been dating since my parents’ visit.  Standa meets Alice when she returns home with a single red rose.

1997: Canada

Alice brings Standa to visit us in Edmonton.  We go to an Oilers hockey game for my birthday and go for a ski holiday at Lake Louise.

1998: Czech Republic

I travel to Pribram for Alice and Standa’s wedding.  Alice’s parents walk her down the aisle as the hall organist plays “Hey Jude”.  They invite me along on their honeymoon at their family cottage.

1999: Czech Republic

On March 31 (my birthday), my mom answers a mysterious phone call from a woman announcing that baby Anna has arrived.  The next day, April 1, Standa calls to let us know that Alice has given birth.  He is spooked when my mom tells him, "Yes, we already know.  How is baby Anna ?".  She had just been born, and they had not yet named her.

2000: Canada

Alice and Standa bring baby Anna to meet her surrogate Canadian family.

2001:  Turkey

I have just toured Turkey with two friends.  Alice brings her father and two-year old Anna to visit us in Istanbul.  Alice is protective of Anna, who attracts a lot of attention due to her blond hair and blue eyes.  Blue eyes are considered lucky in Turkey.

2002: Czech Republic

Baby Ludmila (Lida) is born.

2003: Czech Republic

I travel to Prague with two friends, one of whom is running in a marathon.  We learn that Alice is recovering from a miscarriage.  I mind little Lida while Alice gets medical attention.  She is well enough to help cheer on my friend in the Prague marathon.

2007: Canada

Alice, Standa, and both girls come to visit us in Edmonton.  They also pay a visit to my brother and his family in Paris, Ontario.  Their girls and my nieces are age mates.  We are planting the seeds for another generation of international friendship.

2008: USA

Alice and I meet in New York City for a girls’ getaway.  We stay at a hotel overlooking Ground Zero.  I book a room for us on the 34^th floor, not knowing that Alice has a fear of heights.  We keep the curtains closed. We have a great time seeing the sights, picnicking in Central Park, getting mani / pedis, and shopping.

2009: USA

We meet again in New York City.  This time, I bring two friends and Alice brings Standa and the girls.  We watch the Easter Parade on 5th Avenue.

2011:  Canada

Our plans for a 20-year reunion this year are put on hold.  My mother has passed away.  I am touched to see a bouquet of yellow roses from Alice and her family at the funeral chapel.

2012:  South Africa

I visit with Alice and Standa in Cape Town.  I am greeted upon arrival at the guest house with a sumptuous champagne brunch they have prepared .  We visit the waterfront, listen to live music, enjoy some fine wine, and take a day trip to Hermanus to watch the southern right whales nursing their babies offshore.  We discuss plans for a summer 2013 visit in Prague.

Cape Town: Table Mountain and Bo-Kapp

Table Mountain

We took a cable car to the top of  Table Mountain, where we were greeted with stunning views. 

Earlier this year, Table Mountain was confirmed as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, due to its unique floral kingdom and ecosystem.  "The flat-topped mountain has withstood six million years of erosion and hosts the richest, yet smallest floral kingdom on earth with over 1,470 floral species."

Not me - but I wish it was !

You have to admit -- this sure looks like fun !

Cable car cables, overlooking Lion's Head and Signal Hill.

 Did you know the rock dassie is very closely related to the elephant ?

Bo-Kapp

Bo-Kapp, which lies on the slope of Signal Hill, is also known as the Cape Malay Quarter.  The colourful district is home to a blend of cultures that descend from slaves brought over by the Dutch in the 1700s. They came from Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and the Indonesian Archipelago.

Muslim cemetery.

 

Lorraine blends in nicely with her pastels.

 

Can you see the boy's wooden shoes ? - A testament to the Dutch influence.

Cape Town: Peninsula and Penguins

We took a tour of the Cape Peninsula, all the way to the Cape of Good Hope, where the intermingling currents of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans create the micro-climate of Cape Town and its environs.

My favourite stop en route was at Boulder Beach, Simon's Town -- home to a delightful African Penguin colony.

I asked my Facebook friends to come up with a caption for this photo.  Here is what they came up with:

1.  "I call this meeting to order."
2. "I told you already - I gave the goods to Eddie!"
3.  "Everyone, bow to me, for I am the master of the Universe!!"
4.  "The game of "hokey pokey" turned maudlin when they realized that they could not put their left foot in and shake it all about."
5.  "Penguin Sundial."
6.  "No one knew quite how to tell Bob that he was not Napoleon."
7.  "Simon says, everybody stand! I don't think the rest if you guys get how to play the game!"
8.  "All that prep and this is my entire audience for the presidential debate!"
9.  "What should we talk about first--the economy or healthcare?'
10.  "Now in this yoga position, it's important to pull in your abs ..."
11.  "Wake up, time to go to work!"

The Republic of Hout Bay (Yes, a self proclaimed republic, with their own passports and everything!)

Chapman Peak's Drive, where the Mazda 3 "zoom zoom zoom" commercial was shot.

Cape of Good Hope, the most south-western point of Africa.  (Technically, Cape Agulhas is the most southerly point of the continent.)

Cape Point.

I did not expect to see ostriches at the coast.  

Somehow, I have come to associate them with the desert and savannah.

The rare Bontebok antelope.

The "Twelve Apostles" of Table Mountain, as seen from Camp's Bay.

Camp's Bay beach.

Why so few swimmers ?  Because the water is cold !  Very, very cold !

Cape Town: Wine and More Wine

While in Cape Town, Lorraine and I joined a day tour to the Stellenbosch vineyards.  I think we sampled between 30-35 wines (I lost count).  South Africa is known from its Pinotage, but I was partial to the ports. Along with the wines, we sampled local cheeses, chocolate, and cuisine.  Yummy !
At one particularly sophisticated vineyard, they piped baroque music to the vines to promote their growth.  Talk about cultured grapes !
All in all, a fine day was had by all !

Our merry crew ! 

This was at a vineyard in the Constantia region.  Oh, did I not mention that we toured not one, but two, wine regions?

Purple

Purple Snow

It is spring in Gaborone, and the jacaranda trees are in full bloom, carpeting the steets in purple snow.

A friend and her partner plan to retire to his family farm, outside Francistown.  They are thinking of planting some jacaranda trees now, so they will be fullly grown when they are ready to make the big move.  My friend likes the idea of waking up to purple snow each spring.

Purple Rain

I never meant to cause you any sorrow
I never meant to cause you any pain
I only wanted to one time to see you laughing
I only wanted to see you
Laughing in the purple rain
Prince, 1984

  

Marchers weren't laughing when purple dye from a police water cannon rained down on them at an anti-apartheid protest held in Cape Town on September 2, 1989.  The police were using a new water cannon with purple dye whose purpose was to stain protestors for later identification and arrest.

After the protest, the phrase, "The purple shall govern", appeared as graffiti throughout the city. The statement is a play on words of the Freedom Charter's declaration that "The people shall govern".

I learned about Cape Town's Purple Rain while chatting with a woman named Kate at St. George's Cathedral, Archbishop Desmond Tutu's church.  She sells beaded jewellery there to supplement her income.  She had been "relocated" 7 times during the height of apartheid, and found refuge in the cathedral, a place she still calls home.
 

Flowers

In tribute to my late mother, whose birthday was October 11, and who loved flowers.  These flowers are from Kirstenbaush Botanican Garden, in Cape Town, South Africa.