Somewhere, outside of Cape Town, there is a huge country and and an even larger continent waiting for us to discover it. But we're stuck in the land of drought, still trying to get the registration for my new bike moved over to my name. It's been nearly two weeks since I've bought the motorcycle and the last owner still hasn't sent me a permission slip to pay up his overdue tax disc. I've done some research into this and my final resort is to go down to the police station to draw up an affidavit stating that I've tried and failed to contact the previous owner.  I have to write the details in story form? No problem, I have plenty of experience writing stories! The police station in Cape Town is kind of scary. Unsmiling faces everywhere. Unsmiling officers taking statements from unsmiling locals and tourists who have been robbed or worse, all inside this dungeon-like building. I'm a bit scared to take any pictures, except a quick snap of the sign stating what the affidavit requirements are. I put my story-telling skills to use and fill an entire page detailing all the times we've tried to make contact with The Richest Man in Lithuania (or at least his man-servant). The pen digs so deep into the paper as I pour out all my frustrations onto the blank sheet. The officer on duty checks the statement and my ID papers and stamps the affidavit without question. Next stop, back to the Department of Motor Vehicles, to pay the overdue fines and collect my new registration papers. $20 later, the bike officially belongs to me. How utterly and bitterly anti-climactic. *SMH* So much wasted time. We should have done this two weeks ago.  Papers in hand, we treat ourselves to giant burgers, because food always makes everything better The last day of the year passes quietly and I ruminate on all that's happened: Our trip ending. Trying to re-integrate. Me failing. Our trip restarting. We spend the next morning in bed watching New Years Day celebrations hit North America on our Facebook and Instagram feeds. Another new year on the road. Almost... Brian and Temi are returning soon from their Christmas holidays and we're still living in their home. I didn't think we'd still be in Cape Town, but here we are. And it's not solely the Richest Man in Lithuania's fault. Right now, I'm the one to blame. I ordered some motorcycle parts from the US over a month ago. I thought it would only take a couple of weeks to arrive. I was wrong.  We pull up stakes so we can return our temporary apartment back to Brian and Temi Gotta pack the bikes (first time carrying all our stuff on these motorcycles!) and find somewhere else to live for a while. Stick around and wait for those damn parts to arrive. *sigh* We just can't get out of Cape Town. Oh yeah, I did end up getting those BMW Adventure panniers after all... So shiny! :)  These are all the places we've stayed at in Cape Town We found a very affordable townhouse in a quiet southern suburb of Cape Town called Claremont.  It's got secured parking and a little front yard so we can eat outside  Neda passes the time by cross-stitching  I'm working on a couple of different things: Neda's fine cooking, and fixing the touch-screen on her GPS The last couple of weeks has seen a flurry of activity, buying our motorcycles and getting them kitted out. Neda's GPS has been malfunctioning for years, the touch-screen is not very responsive anymore and you need to press down hard for the GPS to register any input. I ordered this replacement screen from overseas. Unfortunately, it's missing a part and I only find out once the entire unit was dismantled. Argh! Spent all that time taking apart that GPS only to have to put it back together again, still unfixed. What a waste of time. I know it's small, but we're experiencing all these "small" setbacks; it's kind of frustrating. We just want all our stuff here and working, so we can finally begin our trip. So much work, not enough play. We need to get out of the house for some R&R.  We hit the road! Yay!  Just a small trip back down to the beach again Where we're now living is a bit closer to Muizenberg, just 20 minutes away. We could come everyday! Also nice to have our three-case system set up again, so we can stash all our riding gear inside while we head to the beach.  People are still on their New Years Day holidays, the weather is perfect and the beach is packed!  Surfers out in full force  There are sharks in the waters around Cape Town! Thankfully, a green flag means that only vegetarian sharks are in the area  Good thing Neda is not a vegetarian Ever since Cory and Rowena took us out surfing, Neda has wanted to go back and try bodyboarding. I already know watersports is not my thing, so I walk around taking pictures.  Everyone enjoying a sunny day in the surf and sand  Surfs up  Hang 10  Boards, Bikes, Babes! After a successful morning in the surf, back on the road again!  We want to take a leisurely ride on the coastal road, take in some more scenery We don't get very far. Literally 2 kms from Muizenberg, we hit Kalk Bay and notice a ton of people down at the beach. So we park the bikes once again to explore.  Looks like the only access to the beach is through a hole in the fence by the train tracks. Not dangerous at all! I think there's an official access further down the road, but this seems to be a shortcut to the good part of the beach. Everyone else is doing it, so we follow them. *shrug*  The waters here are protected by a breakwater, so it's a great spot to swim and for the kids to splash around  I found out later this area is called Dalebrook Tidal Pools Muizenberg is more of a surf spot. Upscale surf shops and little, fancy diners have sprouted up at the beachside to cater to what seems like a more affluent crowd. At Kalk Bay, there are no expensive shops lining the beach. No pastel-coloured change-rooms. Just everyday families enjoying the sun and sand! We like it!  We make some friends at Dalebrook Tidal Pools This family noticed we were not from around here, so they struck up a conversation with us. They were curious about where we're from. Eventually the talk turns to the weather, and how we're getting away from the freezing temperatures back home. People in warmer climates are always amazed at how cold it gets in Canada. My favorite story is that sometimes it gets so cold that it's the same temperature in celcius and fahrenheit. Nobody outside of North America really understands that comment, until I explain that it's around -40°C. And then the reaction... :)
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