Day 1

Thank you all for being patient with our blogs. Internet access is almost impossible to find and when we do find it, it is slow. We will not at this time be able to post pictures from our trip yet, but they are on their way. This the rundown from our first day in CoffeeBay.

10:30 am.-We meet with Daphne in East London. Daphne is a teacher in South Africa and the mother of Nwabisa Nzeymana who works in NYC at the South African embassy. She and Thami Sono have been unbelievably helpful over the past few months. Daphne has offered us help in local affairs and nogotiating with vendors.

11:30 am.- We leave East London and head towards the Capitol of the Eastern Cape, Umtatha (along the N2 for anyone consulting a map) we will pass Umtatha on our way to Coffee Bay.

1:00 pm.- We come across a very bad accident on the highway involving severe injuries and several vehichles. The scene is chaotic and already involves too many onlookers. Having little or nothing to offer those involved, we decide to continue to drive on, but the images of the accident have stayed with us all day and we wonder if maybe we should have tried in some way to help.

1:20 pm.- Rescue vehichles pass us heading to aid the victims of the car wreck, they will arrive more than an hour after the accident. South Africa has one of the worst car fatality rates, and the roads continue to be a source of national concern. Alos of note was that the accident occured on the main highway between two of the largest cities in the Eastern Cape and real help didn't arrive for more than an hour. What is of more concern is that the response time was actually fast. It is just a sad fact here in SA that their aren't enough medical or emergency facilities in the places where they are most needed.

2:15 pm.- Our car was "attacked " by a dog. As we get closer to Coffee Bay, the roadway is riddled with Cattle, horses, goats, sheep, dogs and potholes. The livestock in these parts control the road, so the bigger the animal the slower it is to move. The potholes, of course don't move. Along one stretch of seemingly empty road, a very animated dog jumps out in front of our car as we skid to a halt. Like a traffic cop barking orders, the dog continues to hold the road until he sees fit to let us pass, at which point he runs along side the car until he loses interest in us.

2:30 pm.- We reach the coffee bay Ocean View Hotel and check in. The hotel is run by new owners, and we are finding that little by little, our contacts have started to dissappear. Being a half world away from our project has taken it's toll.

4:00 pm.- We find out that AT&T is trying to charge us about $400 an hour to use the 3G wireless internet card here in this part of the world.

4:00.01 pm.- We decide NOT to use the 3G wireless internet card.

7:00 pm.- we call our friend Sanele to set our itinerary for tomorrow. Sanele was our guide from our last trip here (please read our past posts) and coontinues to be a force behind any success we may have in South Africa.

Once again, thank you for following along, we will attempt to give you updats as often as possible.