July 18-20: Hostage in Cape Town

What do you do when you are frustrated beyond belief and downright angry at the incompetent and ridiculously slow and antiquated system for processing vehicle license registration requests, and consequently, are kept hostage to the system and unable to go anywhere too far from Cape Town, and certainly not across an international border, for fear of getting stopped by the police and either given a hefty fine or thrown in jail? Such is my state of mind, as I am STILL in Cape Town waiting for my vehicle registration, which was promised to me more than a week ago, and then promised me again a few days later, and then again, and again. I want to scream at someone, but it wouldn’t do any good and probably would delay the process even more. So all I can do is work really hard on my patience and understanding – which can be very difficult for me at times – and wait for the “system” to eventually bear fruit.

SO, if you were in my state of mind and had time, days possibly, to kill in the vicinity of Cape Town, what would you do? I thought of three viable options:

First option: find a nice campsite, preferably next to a stream or river, nested in the mountains and surrounded by nature’s majesty, and just kick back on my reclining camp chair with binos by my side and let the birds come to me while I read “Cry of the Khalahari” for the third time. And let the story of the Khalahari and the birds bring peace to my mind.

Second option: visit half a dozen or so of the hundreds of wineries in the area and sample some of the incredible wines – and there are literally hundreds of wineries of all sizes and varieties to choose from, and they are usually situated in a beautifull setting with a lodge, restaurant or cafe, and wine tasting all to be had – and let the wine dissolve my troubles away, at least after the second or third glass.

Third option: go on a really strenuous mountain hike involving physical exertion and lots of sweat – and there are lots of private nature reserves in the mountains surrounding Cape Town with lots of hiking trails and peaks begging to be climbed – and let the mountain splendor melt away my troubles.

OK, these are the viable options that I thought of. Let’s do pros and cons:

Option 1: PROS: there is nothing so relaxing as lying back in the recliner listening to the birds sing, with the sound of running water and a light breeze blowing through the trees in the background, especially with the sun shining and warming the body to a comfortable temperature when the ambient temperature is around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. And sometimes the best birding is to sit still and let the birds come to you. And Cry of the Khalahari is an epic wildlife adventure story that resonates. CONS: the only exercise obtained from this activity is the arm bringing the mug of hot chocolat, or sweet apple juice once the ambient temperature rises enough, to the mouth every so often. And the pastries (i.e., homemade doughnuts and cinnamon rolls from the several visited local bakeries) eaten over the previous couple of days simply turn into fat deposits. And when there are breaks in the bird song, or the Khalahari story gets too familiar, the mind can wonder back to why you are so miserable being hostage to the system.

Option 2: PROS: There’s nothing like a good glass of red wine straight from the winery to remove stress, and after enough glasses the whole world looks beautiful and perfect and troubles simply float away to oblivion. And when you’re in outstanding wine country, it just makes sense to experience the local culture, doesn’t it – “when in Rome”. CONS: There’s nothing worse than drinking your troubles away by yourself; it’s one thing to do it with good company, but quite another to be that loner getting sloshed all by themself. And if money is a concern, it is a very expensive treatment for anger; indeed, it would be cheaper to pay for the therapy session.

Option 3: PROS: Physical exercize is a proven effective method for stress reduction, and it comes with the added benefit of being really good for you. And there’s no better way to ensure a good night sleep than to tire out the body from a good day of exercise. And pure untrammeled nature is the greatest thing that the world has to offer, so what better way to counter negativity than immersing ones self in nature. CONS: climbing mountains is damn hard and can be dangerous, especially when hiking alone. And there is always the chance of getting bitten by a poisonous snake – and there are plenty of them out there, most notably the Puff Adder, which is extremely aggressive and highly poisonous – and dying a slow, painful and agonizing death – all by yourself.

SO, there we have it: three plausible options for dealing with the frustation and building anger at being held hostage in Cape Town by “the system”. Let’s play the “2 lies and 1 truth” game to see how well you think you know me. Here are photos depicting me after choosing each option. Two are lies, one is the truth:

Now it is up to YOU to decide which one of the options above I actually chose. For those of you still reading this post and interested, send me your guess as a comment and I will compile the results and post the truth on my next post.

Good luck!