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December 7th 2007 by Tina
Along the Coast: Plett and Jeffreys Bay

Posted under Africa & South Africa

Plettenburg Bay, or “Plett”, is a quiet, hilly resort town on a stretch of shore at the end of the Garden Route. We stayed one night, as we passed through on our journey east, in a hostel run by a group of hefty, no-nonsense, local black women who ran a tight ship. The spotless maze of a property had a cozy tavern in the back with an owner/bartender who greeted everyone by saying, “And how are we intoxicating you today?” and a fresh herb garden in the courtyard, which we were free to plunder.

We spent the day at Central Beach, known as one of the more action-packed of Plett’s three beaches. The beach was swarmed with beautiful young bodies, decked out in the latest trends in beachwear. The age range was probably 17 – 23 and it was a great scene for people watching. We took a spot in the middle of the beach and observed the South African elite teens and twenty-somethings enjoying a day of exhibiting themselves among their peers. Stick-thin, pretty blondes sat in groups, posing for the equally pretty surfer boys who pretended not to notice. Groups of guys sat around smoking sheeshas while taking the “effortless” out of looking “effortlessly cool” with their meticulously coordinated beach attire and accessories. We had to laugh as we reminisced about a time in our lives when “looking cool” was so important.

On the way back to the hostel, we stopped by the supermarket to pick up a few things. We’d been craving spaghetti and decided to try our hand at cooking dinner in the hostel kitchenette. With the help of some fresh herbs from the courtyard garden, our sauce turned out delicious and we remembered how much we enjoy cooking together. We cracked open a bottle of pinotage that we had picked up in Stellenbosch and sat down to a quiet dinner.

The food in Africa has been surprisingly good – we’ve both managed to add a little roundness to our frames – and if there are scarce restaurant choices in a town, many of the hostels have on-site chefs, making it deliciously tempting to indulge in a full meal when all you really need is a light snack. With the rental car, we’ve been spoiled with extra space to carry groceries from place to place but we’re always tempted to dine out, especially along this coastal drive where each little resort town boasts a plethora of tantalizing cuisines. We’ve noticed, however, that just as in most homes, people seem to congregate in the kitchen around mealtime so you can always wander in and join in conversation. On our next stop in Jeffreys Bay, the kitchen would be the venue for one of the warmest and most enjoyable evenings of our trip.

Jeffreys Bay is known for two things: bodacious “Supertube” waves that attract surfers from around the world and surf clothing shops. It was a short drive from Plett so we arrived just before lunch and checked into Cristal Cove Backpackers. Our room wasn’t ready yet so we drove into town for some lunch and shopping. Aaron picked up a t-shirt and a couple of hats while I found a new swimsuit to replace my old one that still smelled like the Dead Sea and a new hat to replace my function-over-fashion brown one that finally disappeared somewhere. I’ve never been much of a hat person but the malaria pills make hats essential for protecting our otherwise exposed faces, which are ultra-sensitive to the sun as a side effect of the antibiotic. I’m always paranoid (that’s a surprise) about premature aging and skin cancer since we’re outside so much these days. By the way, at what age is it no longer “premature” to start aging? Just wondering.

As we drove back to Cristal Cove to drop off our booty and check in to our room, the afternoon sun was just beginning to peek through the clouds and Aaron wanted to hit the beach for a while. The shore was crowded with many more average-looking bodies than we’d seen in Plett. There were a few surfers off to the right of the main beach and many more people with body boards, tumbling in the surf. Still spoiled by the perfect Zanzibar beaches, I had no desire to subject myself to the frigid water. Despite Aaron’s coaxing, I sat on the beach while he took on the thrashing waves for one playful hour.

When we returned to the hostel, Aaron read in the room while I took my book into the common kitchenette and living area, which we shared with only one other guest room. Before long, a group of friendly people from the neighboring room walked through the door with an adorable little boy and several bags of groceries. The two married couples were warm and talkative and we began chatting as the two women prepared dinner. I liked them immediately and could tell that they were good-hearted, down-to-earth people. Vanessa and Ricardo and Charles and Pam with their two-year-old son, Jethro, were in town from Port Elizabeth for a weekend church function. I fell in love with little Jethro, who smiled incessantly, climbed all over everything, as little boys do, and ate up all of the attention that he was getting from his new Auntie Tina. Aaron soon emerged from the room and the group of us shared in great conversation all evening while Jethro provided constant entertainment.

Pam was cooking up a big English breakfast the next morning and invited us to join them. We woke to the smells of eggs, bacon, sausage and all of the fixings and we all sat down to a decadent breakfast. The men left shortly thereafter to help set up for the day’s church event but not before leading a prayer in the blessing of our travels. Jethro disappeared with his mom for a few minutes while Vanessa and I tackled the dishes and, in his place, a little pint-sized Spiderman appeared, complete with built-in muscles, which he flexed for us as we fawned all over him. What a little ham! With a long drive to Coffee Bay on the day’s agenda, we bid farewell to the ladies and little Spiderman and hit the road once again.

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