Teepee For My Bunghole

So I’m back in Morocco. Not a bad first morning. When I woke up this morning, I heard Meera in the kitchen of the surf school. Nora is normally the lady who looks after the place but they bring Meera in when there is a big meal to be prepared and she always makes sure there is food around. So I got a typical Moroccan breakfast including the mint tea and the freshly squeezed orange juice just before I went off to surf and chill on the beach. When I got back I had lunch and went back to sleep. Not really in the mood to be constructive.

Switzerland was really relaxing and I still can’t thank Shaheed and Fatie enough for their hospitality. Everyone remarks (actually more like hand signals) on how dik [thick] I got. And how my tan is gone. And how big my hair is. Moroccans aren’t really tactful.

My last night in Switzerland was pretty weird because the tannie [lady] next door invited us for tea but because Fatie was sick, Shaheed had to look after the kids and I ended up having tea alone with an 83 year old granny who couldn’t speak English. We got by though and I got to see the inside of a Swiss home at least. She gave me some cake that was kak sour; like really fucken sour. I told her that I had eaten a big supper and wouldn’t be able to finish the cake. Then I tried to figure out how I was going to eat a couple of more bites while keeping a straight face. So when she went to the next room to fetch some photos I took my gap and bit a huge chunk.

I know what you’re thinking but there was nowhere to dump the shit because Swiss keep their houses so neat and the shutters closed. So I figured I had to get it over and done with while I could pull a face. When she came back in the room, my eyes were tearing but I think I managed to keep a straight face. She put down the album and started to eat her piece. She poured sugar on it first. It was then that I realised what she had been telling me in French when she gave me the cake. It wasn’t too bad once I poured sugar all over the cake.

Okay, so I got my Morroccan visa a couple of days ago. Its for 2 months so I have to extend it by some means when I get to Morocco.

Its also valid for 2 entries so I can leave and come back into Morocco. Maybe even Mauritania if I don’t get my shengen visa.

Dear Diary

Last night I watched CSI in English (two episodes one after the other). It was heaven because the only other program I’ve seen so far in English is Magnum PI (I don’t count the Bold and the Beautiful).

I’ll keep checking all 50 channels every night and keep you posted.

Laters, G.

One of the cities that I’ve walked around in. Geneva, Neuchatel, Montreau, all pretty much the same – nice old buildings, lots of Swiss flags, a beautiful lake and cafes and shops along roads full of character.

Anyway, more pics on my photos site.

So visiting friends is a completely different type of travel to backpacking. I don’t interact much with the locals because here in the countryside, besides the language barrier there isn’t much mense walking around in the first place.

I don’t feel like walking around much either because the lack of pavements discourages one from walking. (For any rural Swiss people reading this, pavements are those pieces of ground on the sides of the road suitable for pedestrians).

Anyways, this leaves me with a lot of answered questions. Like this shutter thing. All the joints have shutters, which I imagine is great for a bit of extra warmth in winter but I can’t for the life of me figure out how they should be employed in summer.

I’ve been watching the houses and seeing the shutters shut and open on the houses and trying to correlate that with position of the sun, time of day, people in the room, direction of the wind and other factors but I still can’t figure out the logic.

There must be some reason why they keep opening and closing them. I just can’t fathom why dark rooms would be a bonus at any time during the summer. Maybe I’m just too African to figure this one out.

Things I’ve done in Switzerland:

• Chill by a river
• Go to a great indoor pool
• Chill by Lake Neuchatel
• Braai [BBQ] for Shaheed’s birthday
• Go to an dinosaur park in the Jura region
• Go to Geneva by car
• Go to a water park
• Eat chocolate

By the way, the link to my travel photos that I got wrong in a previous post is fixed. You’ll have to wait till next month before I can upload more photos though.

The weather is great. I was a bit worried on my way over from Morocco because I don’t have much cold clothes. Its about 26 to 30 every day.

Last night there was even a bit of a thunderstorm. A very Swiss thunderstorm. In and out very efficiently, with all the appropriate elements (wind, thunder, lightning, rain) at appropriate times for appropriate intervals.

 I’m pretty much just chilling around the joint feeling very much like a lurker. I planned originally to leave this weekend but I’ll have to stay a bit while I courier my stuff to Pretoria to get another Moroccan visa. Ya, against all expectations and what everyone said, I can only get another Moroccan visa from the South African embassy. What a bitch.

Nonetheless, Fatie and Shaheed have been very accommodating about me being a total leech (there’s nothing like Kaapse mense [Capetonians]) and I’ve just got to get this courier business done as soon as I can.

More on my travel pics site…

So I’m in Switzerland. I was on the internet deciding on my options and Fatima told she was making butter chicken and rootie for Sunday lunch and suddenly I clicked a couple of times and I had a ticket to the land of chocolate and trains that arrive on time.

I shagged myself with the price because I should have shopped around more and also realised that I was working in pounds and not euros but I’ve had butter chicken for lunch and let me tell you that it was worth it. 

Now if you’re picturing a place with cottage-like houses, green fields with cows, picturesque mountains and postcard views, you’ve just pictured exactly the area I’m staying in the moment. I’m trying hard to think of it as really real.

I’m so close to the border that if I fart it stinks in France but visa issues mean I have to stick to this side of the green fields. I don’t mind, this Switzerland place is a delicious relax mind trip. You can’t believe the peacefulness.

Heidi should be around here somewhere. Yodelayeeooo nurse.