Sunday was our last full day in Gordon's Bay. We didn't make any plans for Sunday as we wanted to see how we felt after the race on Saturday. I felt pretty good although my right foot was sore from all the uneven footing from the race. Karel didn't sleep well so he was really tired in the morning. The night was incredibly windy. We sleep with our door open and it sounded like waves were crashing as we were sleeping. The wind was super gusty in Gordon's Bay in the morning as well.
I really wanted to swim since it was my last opportunity for a swim for a week. The closest option was the Strand Indoor Swimming pool but the happiest option was the Coetzenburg outdoor pool. We decided to make the 35-minute drive to the outdoor pool for one last long course swim in the sun. It wasn't windy and the sky was completely blue. It was a wonderful 3200 meter swim.
After the swim we were getting hungry as it was nearing 1pm. We drove a few miles down the road to the beautiful main area of Stellenbosch that was filled with white buildings containing cute restaurants and shops.
As we were driving, I came across a Lebanese restaurant online that looked delicious so we walked to Man'oushe after we parked. They even had a vegetarian menu with so many delicious options. This is an authentic Lebanese restaurant based in the heart of Stellenbosch’s pedestrian area.
We got the Summer in Beirut salad which was incredible. Greens, avocado, kiwi, mint and pine nuts. We also got the Mezze Platter, which had sauteed string beans, hummus, baba ganoush, homemade cream cheese, falafal, and Lebanese bread. It was all so good with so much flavor. The exchange rate from US to Rand makes traveling to South Africa very affordable (19 Rand = 1 USD) unlike other places in the world (ex. 1 Euro = 1 USD).
After our meal, we drove toward Gordon's Bay and stopped at the Cheetah Outreach near Strand. We booked a tour to meet the Cheetahs and learned all about them. They had very strict rules for approaching the Cheetah. We got to pet this beautiful 7-year old Cheetah who is living the good life (along with a handful of others) with an open field, shade for napping, silver plated dining and lots of love and attention. The primary goal at Cheetah Outreach is to promote the survival of the free ranging, South African, cheetah.
We learned a lot about cheetahs, like how they only live for 8-12 years in the wild and that they have over 2500 spots! Cheetahs are not part cat as they have non-retractable claws (like dogs). And their physiology allows them to reach speeds of over 60mph in less than three seconds!
We returned to our Airbnb around 4pm and spent the next 2 hours packing our bikes and suitcases for the next part of our race-cation.
At 6:30pm we walked upstairs to enjoy an incredible dinner with our Airbnb hosts - which are now like family to us. If you are looking for an affordable and perfect location Airbnb during a visit to Gordon's Bay (~35 miles from Cape Town) I highly recommend booking this Airbnb. There are three bedrooms (each with a private bathroom), a kitchen, sauna and hot tub (which we didn't use) and a 10-minute walk to the beach and to the grocery.
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Karel enjoyed the meat selection that was cooked on the grill (braai) by Thys and Hester prepared several vegetarian dishes. It was all so good.
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On Monday morning we each went for a 40-minute run around the area before leaving for Cape Town around 9am. During our drive to Cape Town we had a reminder of the rough living conditions for so many people in this area.
After getting caught in a lot of traffic in downtown Cape Town, we dropped off our bike cases at the Giant bicycle store to be picked up by a company who would be driving them to our upcoming race. I booked this service in advance so that we didn't have to deal with traveling with our bikes to Port Elizabeth.
We then dropped off one of our suitcases at our upcoming hotel (where we will be staying next Saturday until Tuesday).
At noon we dropped off our "SUV" at the airport, checked in for our flight and spent the next 3.5 hours in the lounge (thanks to our priority pass) enjoying delicious food (so many vegetarian options!) and working on the computer. We got a lot of work done.
After getting caught in a lot of traffic in downtown Cape Town, we dropped off our bike cases at the Giant bicycle store to be picked up by a company who would be driving them to our upcoming race. I booked this service in advance so that we didn't have to deal with traveling with our bikes to Port Elizabeth.
We then dropped off one of our suitcases at our upcoming hotel (where we will be staying next Saturday until Tuesday).
At noon we dropped off our "SUV" at the airport, checked in for our flight and spent the next 3.5 hours in the lounge (thanks to our priority pass) enjoying delicious food (so many vegetarian options!) and working on the computer. We got a lot of work done.
At 4pm we made our way to our gate with SAFair. Our flight left 30-minutes late but we only arrived 10-minute past our planned arrival. There was a lot of turbulance before landing in Port Elizabeth as it was very windy.
We picked up our one suitcase and we were met by a driver that took us to our hotel in Port Elizabeth. I arranged for a pick up with our hotel as it is a lot easier (and safer) than finding a taxi or Uber.
After checking into our hotel around 7pm we walked along the ocean to find some food. We wanted to eat at an Indian restaurant but learned that it moved locations so we settled for Mikes Kitchen. Karel got a prawn curry dish and I got a veggie burger. It was all just ok.
After checking into our hotel around 7pm we walked along the ocean to find some food. We wanted to eat at an Indian restaurant but learned that it moved locations so we settled for Mikes Kitchen. Karel got a prawn curry dish and I got a veggie burger. It was all just ok.
It is now Tuesday and we will be picked up at the airport at 2:30pm via a shuttle to take us to the start of our 4-stage Mountain Bike Race.