The 15 km to the Kei River was bumpy on the XT but I’ve long ago accepted that bike shocks are a luxury I’ll be doing without. At least the gravel road was dry even though grey clouds loomed overhead. We crossed the ferry to Kei Mouth village and on tar roads from there, we headed for Morgan Bay. We were hoping to meet up with the interesting people who we’d met there in December. A bit of drumming and alternate conversation would have been good for my soul. No such luck, so we pushed on to Cintsa. Gee, had I realised it was that far away, I would definitely have signed up for a beer pitstop but since it had started raining and we were getting soaked, we pushed on till we hit Cintsa. At first the rain was a dam nuisance and all I wanted to do was stop somewhere and dry off but eventually a person accepts that there is nothing to do so you might as well sit tight and accept it.
The east side of Cintsa had a caravan park, one or two business’s but most importantly, we spotted a quaint little pub which we made a bee line for. My rain soaked pants had almost dried a few kilometres back when the rain let up and the wind had a chance to air dry my pants glued to my knees. My feet squelched in an inch of water which had run into my sockless takkies. It was a toss up over a cup of hot coffee or a cold beer but Theo ordered two Rum and Cokes which quickly solved that problem and my frozen tootsies were soon forgotten. Our timing was perfect, since the local brewer, a friendly, soft spoken guy, who just happened to be delivering a keg to the pub, got chatting to us and we spent the afternoon hearing about his popular Emerald Vale craft beer which, by the way, tasted really good. Later, armed with directions from the two chatty, barefooted, surfer barmen how to get to Buccaneers Backpackers, we headed off to the west side of Cintsa.
Bucaneers was buzzing with young people from all over the world. Some surf, some do volunteer work at the local crèche or just hang out for a day or 3 but mostly, everyone was on a holiday tour of the east coast of SA starting from Joburg and ending in Cape Town. Bucaneers is on the Baz Bus route so even though the place might seem remote, it’s a very popular hotspot for overseas young people and offers lots of activities and socializing.
We shared a dinner table with a young couple on holiday from Russia. He was British, working there as a lawyer and she was an American TEFL teacher. Our idea was to forget about teaching for a day or two but I found myself enjoying talking about education. By the end of the weekend I was sourcing volunteer teachers and was giving tour advice.
The highlight of my evening was a drumming session led by a comical Xhosa guy. I got a thrilling chance to thump out a rhythm on an African drum. Five of us where led by the leader, who’s hands blurred above his drum as he rhythmically kept us in beat. The sound vibrated right through me and the room became alive with the beat of our drums.
I’m thinking of making my own drum in the style which the locals here make theirs; from an old paint drum with a piece of leather stretched over the top. Maybe if I’m able to beat a rhythm I might get invited to the next sangoma’s beach party.
In the meantime, I’m looking for an excuse to go to Cintsa for another pint of Emerald Vale.
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