A few interesting things about Brazil

I've been in Brazil for 11 days now and it has definitely lived up to expectations. There are a few interesting unexpected things I've learned though:
1) children/their parents can decide a time slot for children to be at school. School is not an all day affair. There are 3 time slots lasting 4-5 hours each- early morning, midday and late afternoon. From 16 years old, you can start working. And being able to choose the time slot that suits you to go to school, work and school are not mutually exclusive.

2) open bar parties are a common phenomenon in Brazil. This means that a night club will charge something like R$40 for entrance and you can drink as much as you like; or if you prefer, you could pay R$25 for entrance and then pay for each drink. It's a no brainer (unless you're a teetotaler) since a can of beer costs R$8-10 in a night club in Rio.

3) Brazilians really DO love their Havaianas. I knew they were a Brazilian thing, but I didn't know just how common they were. I've never seen so many Havaianas in one place before. And they're cheap, you can buy them at the local green grocer on every corner, at street stalls and also in the specialty stores in fancy malls.

4) everyone knows that Brazilians love a good party, and the Brazilians I've met outside of Brazil have all confirmed this for me. What surprised me is how genuinely warm Brazilians are. Especially in Belo Horizonte, which is a smaller town. But even in busy Rio de Janeiro - people are polite, they greet, they are helpful if you ask for directions, they talk to each other on the bus or subway.
What stood out for me was during a bus ride in Belo Horizonte: A blind man got on, and obviously everyone made room for him and gave him a seat. But when he got off the bus, two strangers walking by on the side walk noticed him. They were walking in opposite directions, so they didn't even know each other, but they both stopped to make sure he was alright and that he made it up onto the sidewalk. He was fine and they didn't need to help him, but they both stopped without even thinking about it.

5) in Brazil, there's a zero tolerance policy for drinking and driving. If you're driving, you're not even allowed one drink. And if you're caught having had even one drink, there's no points system and phaffing around. You go to jail, you go directly to jail, you do not pass BEGIN, you do not collect R200. Since most Brazilians drive faster than I'm used to as a South African, it's very reassuring to know that most of them wouldn't risk drinking and driving. I'm not sure what their road accident statistics are like though.

6) Brazilians do not like cuticles! This was a painful lesson. I went for a mani and pedi and instead of just pushing my cuticles back, the lady cut them OFF! While it looks fine, I prefer to not to loose blood during my grooming. I don't think I'll be cutting off my cuticles in the future.

Unfortunately I can't post pictures at the moment, but I will do so as soon as I can. I have two more days in lovely Brazil, and then back to South Africa for a little while.

The Caribbean Does Not Inspire Me




Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman

   


Labadee, Haiti

  While I know it may sound nigh on blasphemy to some, I don't particularly like the Caribbean. Let me elaborate: It is everything you'd imagine- perfect beaches, lots of rum, lots of dancing, lots of sea food. But there's something that just feels... wrong to me.
I haven't yet figured it out completely. It's not all of the Caribbean that feels that way, mainly the ex British colonies; which haven't had much development since the British left.
It kinda feels to me, as if these naturally beautiful islands and islanders are still being exploited.

Maybe I'm not seeing clearly. I am only spending a few hours at a time on each island and arriving by cruise ship. And arriving by cruise ship is probably the worst way to see these islands. Most of the time, you step off the ship into a "duty-free" shopping area filled with shops like Diamonds International, Tanzanite International, Colombian Emeralds, Sunglass Hut, and other such mindless shops, scattered in between by some very touristy bars/cafes/fast food joints. 

On some of the islands, St Kitts in particular comes to mind, the islanders push back and try to exploit in turn- A short taxi ride in St Kitts costs US$20 and there is no negotiation. In fact, things can get ugly if you try to negotiate. Over on St Kitts' sister island, Nevis (which many British tourists still frequent) a short taxi ride costs US$50.
The one time I visited Nevis, the taxi driver became angry, because we turned down his offer to do a bit of extra sight seeing for US$75. I got the feeling that he thought we were trying to cheat him. I felt he was the one committing daylight robbery.

All other things aside, truth be told, the Caribbean is often not so different from home for me- lush green foliage, rolling hills, tropical climate, tropical fruit and warm seas. And don't forget- I also come from an ex British colony. So it's nothing to get too excited about, at all. Add to that, the fact that every two weeks I'm back in the same place with an absolute maximum of 8 hours to explore. You can imagine that my options for new scenery and new discoveries become quite limited within 6 weeks. So I just get plain BORED!!

Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad I've seen the Caribbean and not paid the exorbitant prices many people pay just to get to the Caribbean. And the beaches are beautiful, as you can see from the pictures. But there are only a few places in the Caribbean I can say I'd possibly pay money to visit again, after having had a sneak preview.
They are:
1) Puerto Rico- you don't walk into a fake duty free shopping area as you exit the ship in San Juan. Instead, you enter El Viejo San Juan (Old San Juan), and you can walk to the 16th century forts built by the Spaniards to defend the city.



El Morro fort, San Juan

    2) Mexico- not strictly the Caribbean, but one of the stops we make is the island of Cozumel. I've also been to Puerto Vallarta and I can definitely say I'd love to see more of Mexico.

3)Haiti- I must admit that I've only seen the little section of Haiti rented by the cruise ship company I work for and only ventured very briefly beyond that area. But Haiti has this colourful untamed feel and I'd love to spend more time there.

4) Jamaica- although it meets all the criteria for places I don't like in the Caribbean, Jamaica has a good feeling to it, even with the poverty. Given the chance I'd go back and explore some more.

And finally- 5) Cuba- this is on my bucket list, I've never been, and it's in the Caribbean. I definitely want to go before it becomes too popular with American cruise ships!

For now, I'm trying to maintain perspective and remember how lucky I am to be where I am.

The Kingdom of Naples

Before Italy was Italy, there was the kingdom of Naples (Neapolis, Napoli, Naples). It was often grouped with Sicily as one of the "Two Sicilies" and was fought over and ruled by both the French and the Spanish. And even after Italy became Italy, the heir to the throne of Italy was called The Prince of Naples. Which is to say, that Naples has a rich history and has long been important, geographically and culturally, in Europe.

In the Naples of today, that may be easily forgotten as you avoid piles of dog shit on the streets (even on the steps of the Cathedral of Naples), step over the fake bags illegal immigrants try to sell, and feel uncomfortable sitting on a park bench with empty beer bottles rolling around beneath your feet.

Regardless, I love Naples. I love that they've turned the old palaces into museums, which house priceless relics and art works. But from the outside of the building, it would be difficult to guess at its history or its current function.
I love that you find the best food down the smallest allies and an entire pizza costs 3 euro.
I love that there is no order to their streets, grids didn't come into the equation when the city was built.
And as you dodge the steaming piles and the vespas and the water flung out of the fish monger's shop onto the street and you're trying to spot the palazzo/museum; you have to be careful not to turn down the wrong street and you must be sure to hold onto your bag and watch your pockets. Which is to say, that Naples today is so vibrant!

No real pavement...

 In fact, I may even go so far as to say, Naples and surrounds are the perfect travel destination. Note that I did not say tourist destination, because if you're only looking for luxury and perfection, it's better to avoid Naples. But if you're a traveler and don't mind an adrenaline rush every time you cross the street (you never know if the cars will actually stop until the very last minute, even at a traffic light or pedestrian crossing) you will definitely love Naples.

If you'd like to escape the hustle and bustle for a day, you can take a ferry to the island of Capri, which is just across the Bay of Naples. Capri has been immortalised in movies and literature. These days you need a lot of money to stay there. Only Sophia Loren and Salvatore Ferragamo can afford villas there and one of the most expensive hotels in the world can be found on the island. But it doesn't cost too much to go there for the day and the ferry ride only takes about 50 minutes- you can get back to reality before dark.

The cliffs of Capri

There's no shortage of ruins and excavations around Naples- Mount Vesuvius looms in the background. Apparently there are five excavation sites you can visit by train from Naples. I've only been to two: Pompeii and Herculaneum. Both were ancient Roman cities destroyed by the famous eruption of Vesuvius in 69AD. Both used to be right on the coast, as evidenced by boat houses and boats which were found, but today the sea is far away.

Mount Vesuvius behind Pompeii

 Pompeii was nearer to the volcano and was covered (and preserved) by lava. The excavated area is large and you could easily spend a week walking around and still not see everything.
What I found most interesting was the evidence of sexual practices during the time. Prostitution thrived, with secret messages hidden around the city giving directions to the whore house. Inside there were frescoes of different positions and preferences. Apparently you chose the one which most appealed, before you were shown to the appropriate room.

A phallus carved into the stones on the road, points the direction

Erotic frescoes

Preserved in lava: pottery and an entire corpse

Herculaneum was further away from the mountain, so it was covered by the hot mud which slid down toward the sea in the wake of the eruption. The mud was a better preservative medium than lava. Although the excavated area is much smaller, the ruins are in much better condition than Pompeii.

Excavations of Herculaneum with the modern town of Ercolano on top, Mount Vesuvius behind with traces of snow

Even though it was a freezing cold day, I enjoyed Herculaneum much more. It could be a combination of the lack of crowds, the smaller size and the better conditions of the ruins. Also, I enjoyed it because I did it on my own and not as part of a tour group.
Ercolano is only a 20 minute train ride from the centre of Naples. Then a short walk from the train station, takes you back more than 2000 years in time!

A bar counter- drinks were kept in and served from the urns built into the counter. The owner often lived adjacent to his shop or bar, part of the house can be seen behind.

This bar/cafe had a second level, and you can see how deep the urns were

Mosaic floor in the female change room of a bath house

My favourite house: a well preserved mosaic on the dining room wall

Of course you have to eat pizza in Napoli. And you have to have pizza covered in lots of buffalo mozzarella- when you bite into it, the oil runs down your chin and arm. In Naples even the little ladies eat an entire pizza to themselves. Your pizza is not cut into neat triangles for you. You use a knife and fork and cut it for yourself, into whatever shape you like.

Pizza for one, bigger than the plate!

I also had a chance to visit the old Royal Palace which overlooks the bay, and to spend a few hours in Sorrento.
Unfortunately I didn't get to see the Caravaggio paintings which I know are in the city. Many places close at 14h00; some open again at 15h30, some don't.
I also didn't get a chance to go to Amalfi and I would like to climb up Mount Vesuvius and look over the rim.

Seems like Naples is going to be added to my list of places I have to come back to one day...

Inclement weather

I've never used the word inclement to describe the weather before, but the Free Online Dictionary defines it as: 1) stormy (weather); 2) no clemency, unmerciful.
Today, for the first time since I've started sailing, we weren't able to get into our scheduled port 'due to inclement weather' as per the ship's official daily staff newsletter.
When I woke up this morning, I felt like I was inside a washing machine- water hitting up against my porthole and sloshing around. When I turned on the navigation channel, I did wonder why the ship was facing away from land instead of toward it, if we were meant to be arriving in port at 7h00. Turns out we're having an unexpected day at sea today.

Yesterday we were in Venice for the last time. It was COLD. And for the first time I realized how many mountains surround Venice. Usually it's too hazy to see them. But now that it's colder and the air is crisper and the snow caps are in place, they can be seen quite clearly on the horizon.

In the morning, the temperature was 4 degrees celcius. By the time I went out it was about 9 degrees. A little chilly for a Durbanite! I was just so glad it wasn't raining.

The streets were so much emptier than usual, most tourists have left already. In San Marco square there were no queues or crowds. It felt a little strange, but quite pleasant. 
Our Ukranian nurse believes you must throw a coin into the water in a city or any place where you hope to come back one day. I think you're supposed to throw it over your shoulder into the water. I haven't been throwing any coins away, I like to think I'm not superstitious. But I am keeping my fingers crossed that I get to see Venice again one day.

My Current Favourite City

I suppose I'm a fickle traveler. When I gushed to my friend, Hashanti, about Rome: "I have to come back here one day, it's AMAZING!"
She laughed and said: You say that about every city!

Which, I think may be true... But now I've fallen in love with Florence, or Firenze. 

I'm not sure if it's the multicoloured marble of the cathedral...

Or the view of the city from the hill...

Or the fact that people like Michelangelo, Dante, Galileo Galilei and even Carlo Collodi (or Lorenzini; author of The Adventures of Pinocchio) frequented the city, but it just felt magical to me.

Other cities which I've fallen in love with and thought were the most AMAZING have been:

Rome

Istanbul

Istanbul is still on my top 5 list, definitely! Along with Paris.

Eiffel Tower, Paris

Near the Louvre, Paris

I've also enjoyed getting to know the waterways and alleyways of Venice. So glad I've gotten to spend some time in this beautiful city.

Santa Maria della Salute Church, Venice

But for now, Florence is my favourite. Amo Firenze!

Piazza della Signoria

Catching up

Kotor, Montenegro

 Since my last post, almost 2.5 years ago, I've started traveling more regularly, as part of my job. Which sounds fantastic.
If you had asked me 2.5 years ago if I wanted to get paid to travel, I would've told you: That sounds like a dream. Actually, it still sounds like a dream. But while I am traveling and getting paid, it's not quite the dream job. I'm  a cruise ship doctor...

I'm going to try to share my thoughts about the job and about cruise ships; but mostly I want to focus on the travel and the new places I'm seeing. Best of all, I'm spending very little money to see these places.
So while I haven't yet achieved the dream, I have very little to complain about.

Here's to dreaming!

Weekend Wonderings

Went for a long walk, early on a winter's morning.

The air was fresh and it was warm enough to break a sweat.

But too cold to swim. Started way up at the top of the kloof, looking down at this pool. Came all the way down and stopped at this pool, then turned around and climbed all the way back up. Just over 2.5 hours, start to finish, with plenty of stops to take in the scenery.

Is there a better way to start a Saturday morning? And is there a better place to spend winter than in KZN?

A 25-hour Day

I'm supposed to be a "guest blogger" on this blog called Fit and Healthy, but if you pop over to it and have a look, you'll notice that the principal blogger is more like the silent partner. I have this inkling, I might have been duped!

Anyway, click on the link above if you're interested in my attempts to find more time in my day.

Long Weekend

For the first time in a long time I wasn't working for the entire Easter weekend. Four days off! Of course it flew by.

On two of the four days, I attended an Indian wedding. There is nothing more colourful!

On the Saturday was the Graha Shanti Yajna, Geet and Garba, which amounts to the pre-wedding ceremony and celebrations.

On the Sunday was the wedding proper. Ladies were decked out in the most stunning colours which were topped with the shiniest sequins and decorated with the most exquisite gold. At an Indian wedding, more IS more.

Today I was watched Sex and the City. I know it's all about shoes and sex, but sometimes it's also a reality check for me. After going to a wedding where the couple looked so very good together and seemed relaxed and happy, it's easy to start to believe that fairytales do come true. Sex and the City reminds me that many women reach their late 30s and beyond, and they're still alone, looking for love.

Honestly, dying alone scares me.

In one of the episodes in season 2, Miranda buys an apartment and besides all the questioning about her marital status which this invokes, her new neighbour also tells her that the previous owner died in the apartment alone, and it took a week before anyone found the body, by which time the cat had eaten half her face. Miranda has a little panic attack.

I can completely relate. None of us wants to die alone, but how much control do we actually have over this?

Finding someone you love, and who feels the same way about you, at the same time that you do, is a miracle.

In love!

I'm not sure if it's the sleep deprivation, from being on call last night, but this morning found me just so in love with Durban. I got me a bike from the Virgin Active Classic gym at Moses Mabhida stadium, and set off along the promenade heading for Ushaka Marine World.

The sky was a perfect blue and the sea matched, almost. It took me a few hundred metres to figure out how to brake with the pedals and handle the "old school" style handle bars.

And then I could take in the view:

• 3 policemen on horses, clippity clop (no horse dung in sight, thank goodness)
• a boy in bright yellow takkies with wheels attached at the back (attached by himself or a member of his family)
• an old man hobbling along with the help of a carved walking stick
• a skinny boy with just the front of his t-shirt tucked in, so we could all see his white belt and big shiny buckle

And the sea, the blue blue sea. On the ride back, Moses Mabhida stadium on the horizon.

I think I'm in love with Durban!

Keeping up Appearances

Everyday we do it, everybody does it. We have to seem to be coping, to be happy, to be successful, to be in love, to be better than. It's so tedious and tiring, I decided a while ago to try not to.

The thing is, that no matter how much you may try to keep up appearances, people will try to find a crack, a flaw, something to talk about, something to point fingers at.

So why bother? Let's all make our bank statements public, let's publish our credit card bills and let everyone see that, as they suspected all along, we can't actually afford the car we drive, the watch we're wearing or the holidays we go on.

Or maybe... we can actually afford all those things. AND in fact, what we spend our money on is entirely our own business! And people who have time to talk about what others spend their money on, obviously don't have enough money of their own to keep themselves occupied!

But I digress; distracted, obviously, by idle gossipers. What I really wanted to comment on is the keeping up of appearances in the health department. KZN in particular, SA in general. It seems, unfortunately, that in this democracy we want to run in fancy shoes before we have learned to crawl on our hands and knees. What we seem to forget is that we can't be good at Calculus if we don't understand simple arithmetic.

This week Prince Mshiyeni Hospital in Umlazi, acquired a fancy new machine for the diagnosis of tuberculosis. This, of course, makes me very happy. TB is a real and devastating problem in SA and a huge burden on the health system.

The Minister of Health was at the hospital yesterday to visit and probably take some pictures... with the new machine.

What I'd like to ask though, is this: How come we have money for a fancy machine to diagnose TB, which probably cost millions (I'm guessing here, I welcome correction) but we sometimes run out of drugs to treat the TB? And, why can we not employ more people to provide proper treatment for TB?

We tell mothers that they have the choice not to breastfeed if they're HIV positive and will be provided with formula for 6months, but then the clinic runs out of formula and the mother can't afford to buy it herself.

We buy expensive ventilators for hospitals, but there is no cartridge for the blood gas machine, so it's impossible to ventilate anyone who needs it, because we can't monitor them appropriately.

We buy expensive CT scan machines, but we don't have money to employ someone who knows how to use it and interpret the pictures it takes.

Why is it that when elections are approaching, we strategically have pictures in the news showing expensive new TB diagnostic machinery at a busy hospital in a huge township with a huge voting population? And what happens when gloves run out at the hospital? And what about the child who dies from bed sores because the nurses are overworked and unable to provide proper care, because posts are frozen due to lack of funds?

But don't worry about that child, I'm sure his family couldn't afford him anyway. Rather take a picture for the newspaper: two big shots shaking hands in front of a shiny new machine, keeping up appearances.

Meeting New People

I must admit, at the age of 28, I still find meeting new people daunting. I don't have the most shining social skills, I feel awkward, so then I tend to be very quiet and aloof and people usually think I'm not very friendly or fun and have no inclination to get to know me better.

Well, okay, the truth is that I'm not very friendly, I don't like people and I detest people who are overfamiliar. The only people I don't really get nervous about meeting is fellow doctors. Most of them are awkward too and I feel like I can see straight through them.

It is a fact that I meet new people every single day at work, but those are patients and it's not on equal footing: I usually have their file in front of me with all of their personal info in it, I start the conversation, I can ask any question I feel is necessary and I can usually end it when I feel.

This week I met something of a South African celebrity; no one on a global scale, but he'd definitely be recognizable walking down almost any street in SA. I'm by no means a screaming fan, and I was not looking to take pictures with said celebrity or anything like that. But I was really ticked off, because when he found out I was a doctor, he called me Miranda Bailey from Grey's Anatomy!

Now, if a fellow colleague had likened me to Miranda, I would've taken it as a compliment and maybe even blushed. As a doctor she's competent, dedicated, an overachiever. I would let her treat me anyday and I'd be honoured to have her as a teacher.

But to non doctors she's scary, short and fat! That's not how I see myself. In the moment I gave a half sarcastic chuckle, like: "You're not serious..."

But I went away wondering if that's the kind of first impression I give: DON'T MESS WITH ME!! Even when I'm not trying.

Anyway, my excuse was that besides being generally awkward, I was going on 40 hours without any real sleep. That excuse always holds up!!

And today I'm in Cape Town, I think it's 33 degrees, no wind, dry. It's easy to understand how fires start on days like this! I'm off to a wedding in a little bit. The only people I know at the wedding are the bride and groom and the bride's family a little... Maybe I can start conversations using my moves on the dance floor??? ...Not very likely!

The Blogosphere

Blogging seems to be the latest fashion, everyone's doing it, there are blog awards and blog parties. But there is so little that I see out there which I can identify with, that might be why I follow so many.

Questioning my motives for blogging... wanting to be heard I suppose...

There are a few blogs I really like:

Orangette

Lost is a place too

The Sourcerer

And of then there's Dagarna med O

But it could be that I'm biased on the last one, because Ofelia is the cutest little baby and also my friend's niece.

I think what I really like about them is that they only say something when they have something good to say. Most of the other blogs I read are just distractions, with occasional points which spark my interest or sometimes I may stumble upon another blog I really like.

Almost perfect 28

I turned 28, it was almost perfect... I was woken up at midnight and presented with the box below and a mini bottle of bubbly and sung to. I went back to sleep soon after though, I had a busy day ahead and didn't want to have bags under my eyes.

When you get to my age, you have to worry about these sorts of things you know!!

I was awake early enough and my first port of call was the gym, in anticipation of the sweet things I had to consume during the rest of the day.

My best friend arrived before I'd finished breakfast, we hung out for the rest of the morning and then we were off to Royale, my favourite place in CT for burgers and milkshake. Absolutely perfect for a birthday lunch.

After lunch, I went off to the Wildlife Photographers' Exhibition, no pictures allowed in there of course.

In the evening a free ride up Table Mountain in the cable car. All South Africans can get a free ride on their birthday, did you know that? Moet & Chandon to accompany the sunset and buffer us from the cold wind.

A hint of worry as we drove up the windy road to the cable car station: A friend in a coma after an accident.

The word coma doesn't mean much to a doctor, friend known to have been in previous car accident not too long ago, coma and friend dismissed with little further thought.

On to dinner at Woodlands Eatery in Vredehoek feeling light and bubbly. Lots of friends and gifts. I'd recommend the lamb pizza, or any pizza. My phone kept ringing.

Then, back home to polish off the remainder of the brownies from the study. Fell asleep on the couch, full stomach and full heart.

Woken up the next morning, crying on the telephone: friend in coma - dead.

Turns out he hadn't been in a car accident. He was beaten up by some guys. Who knows why.

His mother's only child. She's left alone.

A Study in Brownies

As previously mentioned, I found what I thought was the most amazing brownie at Olympia Cafe Bakery on Sunday. When I mentioned this to a knowledgeable friend though, he scolded me: "No! That's not where you go for brownies! Jardine Bakery is where you have to go for the best brownie in Cape Town."

So I decided to do a study, unfortunately I only had time and space to try 3 brownies. It seems my entire time in Cape Town was a sweet fest. (More about that later.)

So the 3 brownies I tried:

1) Olympia Cafe Bakery: dark brown, pecan nuts, icing sugar dusting

2) Cookshop in Hatfield: a light brown with a gooey centre and crispier crust

3) Jardine Bakery: dark brown, gooey, with bits of white chocolate melting all over

I have to say that the Olympia Cafe brownie was my favourite. All of them were really good. But I kept wanting more of the Olympia Cafe one. The one from Cookshop was pleasant and comfortable, the one from Jardine was absolute decadence and I couldn't eat more than a few bites from it.

I suppose it all depends on what you're looking for...

P.S. Despite only one mug and one cake fork visible in the picture above, I didn't conduct this study alone!

Cape Town is a strange place

And I love it! In 3 days I've discovered:

They have this mountain, which is like a table and sometimes it's literally covered in clouds, hanging over the sides, like a table cloth.

When you're on your way to a U2 concert, walking along the road, you find guys on rooftops trying to sing like Bono. They're not so bad, until they start speaking with a Capetonian accent...

When you get to the stadium, you know something big's going to happen, cos the set is just amazing. But it can be a bit confusing, cos it's after 19h00 and the sun's still so high. In fact, from the stadium, you can watch it setting over the Atlantic Ocean, sometime a bit later.


They say the thing called "The Boerewors Curtain" no longer exists, but some people look and sound very different...I think they live on the other side... They're all U2 fans, it's just that they're a bit bigger and make scarier drunks.

These fans also weren't too happy when Bono brought Yvonne Chaka-Chaka on stage, sang with her, hugged her and kissed her hand. They looked at each other in shock, their faces puzzled: Their rock hero, kissing a black woman??? Obviously they don't actually read newspapers or know much about Bono, they were quite puzzled when Desmond Tutu came up on the big screen too.

Capetonians also frequent little bakeries along seaside roads, behind some shops, in a building which needs a new coat of paint, but purposefully hasn't been painted. With the best olive ciabata I've had in my short life and chocolate brownies... More about those later!

There are protected beaches, where you pay an entrance fee and clamber over boulders to find a secluded spot.

But it's completely worth it on a Sunday afternoon. The sun is hot and the water icy cold, it starts to numb your toes as soon as you step in.

And you find penguins sharing the beach with you. Some are shy and hide between boulders, some are more curious and walk right up to you and tilt their heads and try to figure out exactly what kind of creature you are.

And even with the wind blowing sand at you, you can't help but realize, that you may just have found the best brownies ever, at a little bakery along a seaside road, behind some shops, in a building that needs a new coat of paint.

I have 3 more days to make the most of it...