Hey everyone im on the road again! Read on for a personal account of Travelling around in Europe:
My plan of action and education? :
• Compete in Leucate, Mondial du Vent , Naish Speed Party.
• Compete in Port Saint Louis du Rhone PKRA Speed event.
• Generally travel around Europe , see and kite new places.
• Meet as many funky new interesting people as possible.
• Bring a bit of South African vibe to the world.
• Learn about language and culture.
• Brave traveling on my own.
• And many other things I’m not yet aware of….
Definition of Psychedelic : Trippy ,Dream like, Mind-bending, Mind-altering, Mind-expanding , Mind-blowing, Bizarre , Surreal , Colourful ,Vivid, Abstract
• Compete in Leucate, Mondial du Vent , Naish Speed Party.
• Compete in Port Saint Louis du Rhone PKRA Speed event.
• Generally travel around Europe , see and kite new places.
• Meet as many funky new interesting people as possible.
• Bring a bit of South African vibe to the world.
• Learn about language and culture.
• Brave traveling on my own.
• And many other things I’m not yet aware of….
Definition of Psychedelic : Trippy ,Dream like, Mind-bending, Mind-altering, Mind-expanding , Mind-blowing, Bizarre , Surreal , Colourful ,Vivid, Abstract
Definition of Journey: Trip Expedition, Tour, Trek, Voyage, Cruise ,Ride, Passage, Go, Make ones way, Roam , Explore, Wander , Move
Day 1: Monday ,2nd of April
After a weekend of goodbyes and celebrations I hardly got any sleep on Sunday night!
I was Tossing and turning in my bed, exited and maybe a little posseded by the idea of all the things to come in the next while. The time is 02:45 I have not slept more than 30 min the entire night, I know I have to get up at 3am to be ready to leave by 03:30 since I need to be at the airport before 5am. I was going extremely far away, out of my comfort zone to somewhere where I couldn’t speak the language and I was just a little girl missioning around in the big world on my own for the first time…. 03:30 Everything thing is in the car … I’m ready its cool!
So I sit up while we are driving through the empty streets of Langebaan at a familiar hour…. Man what am I going to miss??? Probably nothing. No worries. I’m stressed, nervous and my head Is spinning, my cheeks are sore from tense smiling for a week… God I’m like a hyperactive hamster….. and then about 10min outside of Langebaan I pass out … sleep overcame me, I might as well have been dead since I was completely unaware of anything besides the soothing sound of traveling 140km/ph over the R27 I traumatically woke up as I rolled of the vito’s seat ,as we pulled into the drop off zone at Cape Town international terminal…my mom helped me carry my bags while my dad went to park the vito and check in for his own flight to Johannesburg…. Time: 4:40 it’s a crystal clear morning , the African stars are shining … its all mellow until I get into the airport! Flight SA262 is due to Depart to Frankfurt at 07:00. The queue is easily stretched throughout the whole terminal and much to my surprise its made up mainly out of Cape Epic cyclists and desperate foreign windsurfers all heading home this early on a Monday morning! I’m just Standing in the queue thinking about the amazing speeds we were reaching, a max speed of 4m per 25min …. There is no space since everyone has far too much baggage. And nobody seems to be smiling…
I look around and find the source of the frowns, it happens to be the fact that the flight has been delayed by two and a half hours and will now be departing at 09:30. Argh! Its now 06:15 my dads got to get back to domestic terminal to catch a flight back to Joburg and mom has to get back to Langebaan to teach a pilates class and continue being a mother to my other two siblings… another goodbye and for the first time reality sets in… I seem to calm down instantly and the queue starts moving faster… I’m opening my eyes, realising, breathing …..im away from everything and everyone I know…. About to enter a metal and mechanical object and be transported to a different place in the world in a matter of hours..
I was thinking about little cave men sitting around trying to make a fire… and about all the people who took months or years on the sea to get from place to place… what would they say if they saw me now.. yes I know it’s a random thought but there is so many things we take for granted.. im snapped out my my little brain stream by a lady tapping me on my shoulder to move ahead.. im next in the queue to check in… a little embarrassed I step forward dragging my bags feeling like im carrying a house.. 4 kites , 4 bars, 4 boards, 2 harnesses 1 wetsuit , and a lot of clothes. It weighs in 60kg’s… but because the Frankfurt flight is delayed im going to miss my 21:00 flight from Frankfurt to Marseille so before I can check in I have to rebook.. so off I go to stand in the re-booking queue.. with half of the people on the flight… more time passes I rebook my flight but its only the next morning so I have to spend the night at Frankfurt airport.. just as I begin to stress the lady behind the counter informs me that SAA will cover costs for a night in the Sheraton Hotol at the airport for all those who miss their various flights… so no problem there..
I return to Miss SAA Check-in Chick, now she gives me a coffee voucher but tells me I’m still not done , I have to go to the excess baggage counter and pay for “1 Kitesurfer “ before she can send though my baggage…. Once again I plod off to stand in another queue… it goes faster …. I meet the winning team of the Cape epic, Team Bulls, they are dressed up in Celebration Africa suits, good for them but I was too chicken to tell them they looked a bit strange in luminous colored ostrich feathers and animal skin,carrying large biker boxes while in a state of euphoria…… Ok I get to the front. ‘Windsurfing gear?? I don’t have windsurfing gear! Im not going to pay R850 for a bag that’s roughly the size of two short surfboards on top of each other! Its not fair !”
I say pointing at a winsurfer who looks like a Calvin Kein Model with bag the size of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The gilrl behind the counter smiles. I guess she got my point. She asks where is my bag?… I point at it, she nods and says: “How Heavy?” , I try and convince her its light , she agrees…. Not even looking at it properly because she keeps on staring at Mr Calvin Klein…. I pay R400 for ‘ Full Windsurf / Water Sport Travel Kit’ From Cape Town to Frankfurt to Marseille. I smile and say thanks to the universe for providing. So much time has passed, I walked straight through security check and passport control to board the plane.
12 hour flight, lots of merry cyclists and grumpy windsurfers. Total sleep: 3 hours. I woke up with an aching back and read an entire book (The Novice, Part two in the Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan. Magic, Action, Romance, Suspense, Mystery, Murder etc. Ratiing: Brilliant) , I then watched Happy Feet ( Penguins finding their heart song, Tap dancing and discussing true love. Rating: Give it a miss) and then Marie Antoinette( Kirsten Dunst, Gluttony, Classical Music and Traditional French Culture. Rating: Only if you are bored out of your brain).
I was Tossing and turning in my bed, exited and maybe a little posseded by the idea of all the things to come in the next while. The time is 02:45 I have not slept more than 30 min the entire night, I know I have to get up at 3am to be ready to leave by 03:30 since I need to be at the airport before 5am. I was going extremely far away, out of my comfort zone to somewhere where I couldn’t speak the language and I was just a little girl missioning around in the big world on my own for the first time…. 03:30 Everything thing is in the car … I’m ready its cool!
So I sit up while we are driving through the empty streets of Langebaan at a familiar hour…. Man what am I going to miss??? Probably nothing. No worries. I’m stressed, nervous and my head Is spinning, my cheeks are sore from tense smiling for a week… God I’m like a hyperactive hamster….. and then about 10min outside of Langebaan I pass out … sleep overcame me, I might as well have been dead since I was completely unaware of anything besides the soothing sound of traveling 140km/ph over the R27 I traumatically woke up as I rolled of the vito’s seat ,as we pulled into the drop off zone at Cape Town international terminal…my mom helped me carry my bags while my dad went to park the vito and check in for his own flight to Johannesburg…. Time: 4:40 it’s a crystal clear morning , the African stars are shining … its all mellow until I get into the airport! Flight SA262 is due to Depart to Frankfurt at 07:00. The queue is easily stretched throughout the whole terminal and much to my surprise its made up mainly out of Cape Epic cyclists and desperate foreign windsurfers all heading home this early on a Monday morning! I’m just Standing in the queue thinking about the amazing speeds we were reaching, a max speed of 4m per 25min …. There is no space since everyone has far too much baggage. And nobody seems to be smiling…
I look around and find the source of the frowns, it happens to be the fact that the flight has been delayed by two and a half hours and will now be departing at 09:30. Argh! Its now 06:15 my dads got to get back to domestic terminal to catch a flight back to Joburg and mom has to get back to Langebaan to teach a pilates class and continue being a mother to my other two siblings… another goodbye and for the first time reality sets in… I seem to calm down instantly and the queue starts moving faster… I’m opening my eyes, realising, breathing …..im away from everything and everyone I know…. About to enter a metal and mechanical object and be transported to a different place in the world in a matter of hours..
I was thinking about little cave men sitting around trying to make a fire… and about all the people who took months or years on the sea to get from place to place… what would they say if they saw me now.. yes I know it’s a random thought but there is so many things we take for granted.. im snapped out my my little brain stream by a lady tapping me on my shoulder to move ahead.. im next in the queue to check in… a little embarrassed I step forward dragging my bags feeling like im carrying a house.. 4 kites , 4 bars, 4 boards, 2 harnesses 1 wetsuit , and a lot of clothes. It weighs in 60kg’s… but because the Frankfurt flight is delayed im going to miss my 21:00 flight from Frankfurt to Marseille so before I can check in I have to rebook.. so off I go to stand in the re-booking queue.. with half of the people on the flight… more time passes I rebook my flight but its only the next morning so I have to spend the night at Frankfurt airport.. just as I begin to stress the lady behind the counter informs me that SAA will cover costs for a night in the Sheraton Hotol at the airport for all those who miss their various flights… so no problem there..
I return to Miss SAA Check-in Chick, now she gives me a coffee voucher but tells me I’m still not done , I have to go to the excess baggage counter and pay for “1 Kitesurfer “ before she can send though my baggage…. Once again I plod off to stand in another queue… it goes faster …. I meet the winning team of the Cape epic, Team Bulls, they are dressed up in Celebration Africa suits, good for them but I was too chicken to tell them they looked a bit strange in luminous colored ostrich feathers and animal skin,carrying large biker boxes while in a state of euphoria…… Ok I get to the front. ‘Windsurfing gear?? I don’t have windsurfing gear! Im not going to pay R850 for a bag that’s roughly the size of two short surfboards on top of each other! Its not fair !”
I say pointing at a winsurfer who looks like a Calvin Kein Model with bag the size of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The gilrl behind the counter smiles. I guess she got my point. She asks where is my bag?… I point at it, she nods and says: “How Heavy?” , I try and convince her its light , she agrees…. Not even looking at it properly because she keeps on staring at Mr Calvin Klein…. I pay R400 for ‘ Full Windsurf / Water Sport Travel Kit’ From Cape Town to Frankfurt to Marseille. I smile and say thanks to the universe for providing. So much time has passed, I walked straight through security check and passport control to board the plane.
12 hour flight, lots of merry cyclists and grumpy windsurfers. Total sleep: 3 hours. I woke up with an aching back and read an entire book (The Novice, Part two in the Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan. Magic, Action, Romance, Suspense, Mystery, Murder etc. Ratiing: Brilliant) , I then watched Happy Feet ( Penguins finding their heart song, Tap dancing and discussing true love. Rating: Give it a miss) and then Marie Antoinette( Kirsten Dunst, Gluttony, Classical Music and Traditional French Culture. Rating: Only if you are bored out of your brain).
Time passed…. Slowly…. And then at 22:30 we finally arrived in Frankfurt. Waited an hour for my bags, then checked them in for the next mornings flights, then missioned on to find my room in the Sheraton Hotel on SAA’s account and passed out. Time 01:00.
