Hi All! We’ve made it to our first destination, Umhlanga Rocks, which sits on the Indian Ocean just above the port city of Durban. Driving the two hours here was a bit scary, mostly because we were tired…. and people here drive on the WRONG side of the road.

I drove the first half of the drive but my eyes were too bleary from jet lag to continue, so Jenn drove the rest of the way. Except for the fact that we drove by a few wild fires, and our car died and Budget had to deliver a new one, we arrived at our hotel without any problems. HA! OK that sounded much worse than it was… the car actually broke down at the hotel so we didn’t have to do much once the hotel staff got involved. Later we walked the rocky beach, dipped our toes in the Indian Ocean and sat outside drinking wine and eating oysters.

The view from our hotel room is beautiful. We have a balcony overlooking the beach and a lighthouse. I’ve posted some pictures to the photo gallery so you can take a look. Jenn and I spent a lot of time sitting out on our balcony last night watching huge waves roll in and listening to the roaring sea.

Durban Area Tour
Today we hired a local guide who took us on a tour of the city of Duban and the Valley of 1000 Hills. His name is Fasil, and in only 12 hours, Jenn and I both came to adore him. Fasil is a South African born-and-raised muslim Indian whose thoughtful viewpoint of his local community and South African politics helped us better understand a country full of complexities and contradictions.

Fasil picked us up at th safari tour office in a 4×4 and immediately told us he’d be taking us to some dangerous areas of Durban but that we shouldn’t worry because he’d brought along his handgun, a colt-45, which he showed us holstered to his belt. Since he was hired by the hotel and came highly recommended, we weren’t too concerned by the presense of his gun, but I think it was at that point that Jenn and both wondered where exactly he might be taking us!?

We didn’t have to wonder too long.

As Fasil drove us around the city and outlying areas of Durban, he gave us our first real introduction to this culturally diverse and mutli-ethnic nation and its rich history of Afrikan (originally Dutch), English, Black, Zulu, and Indian roots. First he took through the newly built areas of Durban that were the product of an recent IT boom. He showed us beautiful ” sunken gardens” near the waterfront, previously built by the govt during a civic project. The govt fed the local unemployed in exchange for their labor building the gardens. He took us to the fishing pier, the Indian markets and the shanty towns. He showed us the segregated villages and beaches, that are still segregated today.. not by law but by choice. He drove us through the valleys and rivers of the 1000 hills. We saw crocidiles and watched a traditional zulu dance. One of the young zulu warriors offered 200 cows as a dowry for Jenn’s hand in marriage as his second wife. Don’t worry Dad! I wasn’t going to give her away anything below 250 cows!!

Fasil also took us to see his own mosque. Much to the dismay of his fellow muslims, he walked Jenn and I right into the mosque, and through their ritual “washing room” and into their prayer room where several men were praying. He walked us through the entire procedure and explained exactly what occurs when muslims pray 5 times a day. During the tour, one of the mosque elders (and Fasil’s friend) saw us talking, came right over to us and happily took over the tour to help Fasil out. He said he wanted to take away the ‘mystery’ Americans have of muslims and the percieved secrecy behind their prayer sessions. I think hHe must have spent 30 minutes talking to us - much of which I must admit, we couldn’t understand because of his accent. But he was so kind to us. Back in the entranceway, as Jenn and I were putting our shoes back on, we looked at each other and smiled. We knew were had just witnessed a once in a lifetime occurrence. Heck, muslim women aren’t even allowed in the mosque! Yet Fasil had just proudly taken us there.

As we left the mosque, Fasil pointed out to us that the mosque sat next to a christian church, and the two had co-existed as peaceful neighbors for decades.

After a full day of good solid mental stimulation we finally settled down in Fasil’s favorite Indian restaurant to try some delicious curry dishes and meet his friend Allen. Fasil and Allen both spent their childhoods growing up under apartheid, but had drastically different experiences because Allen is black, and Fasil is not. This topic isn’t something I am going to blog about tonight, but it is a conversation that will stay in my mind for the duration of this trip, and I will think about the things Allen said as we continue our tour of this beautiful country and its endearing people.