at play in the shadow of Table Mountain

So we're here.  We've been here for almost 3 weeks and it only took us 6 months of temporary-this and packing-up-that to get here ;)  Thank goodness "here" has already proven itself more than worth the effort and stress it took to arrive.

Key details as we go forward:

Our blog name - "gqaba-gqaba" is the Xhosa word for "here and there; scattered; a little bit." This appealed to us as we are pretty much the opposite of focused and to the point ;)  Xhosa is one of the main African languages spoken in South Africa, second only to Zulu, which is closely related.  Nelson Mandela is the son of a Xhosa chief.  Xhosa is a "click" language, so pronouncing the "gq" sound is fairly challenging for non-native speakers, so feel free to refer to our blog as the gabba-gabba blog - that appeals to us too!

Point of blog - to keep our family and friends apprised of our adventures and to let our Boo's grandmothers know that he is thriving in his new home.  Our friend Rachel set the bar high with her lovely blog about her family's recent foray in Firenze and we hope to meet the same standards of humor and great photography (though we are already off to a slow start...)  I am still learning to bring the darn camera with me on our outings so it may take a while to really give you the visuals you deserve.

First blog topic - Playgrounds! 

We are loving the playgrounds in Cape Town.  Prior to arriving I had read in our Culture Shock! South Africa book that there were few public playgrounds and parks as South African children (of certain economic status, no doubt) tend to play behind walls at each other's homes instead of in public parks due to security issues.  So we were quite excited to find this big beautiful adventure playground made of wood and recycled tires on Mouille Point, across the street from one of our new favorite cafes (Cafe Neo - great coffee, yummy food, free wireless, cool modern vibe).

As the Boo scales the wall, you can see the ocean through the play structure on your right.

Here's the Boo on the 3rd level of the Mouille Point playground.  He had to shimmy up through a column of tires to get there.

This is what we LOVED about this playground - a fabulous location, cool use of recycled materials, quite a large involved structure that got the kids up in to their own space (I tried going up that column of tires at the Boo's request - my butterflyer shoulders were not welcome), and challenging components that gave the Boo the opportunity to stretch himself physically in ways the "safe" playgrounds in the U.S. just don't do.

Our next playground comes to you courtesy of the Dunes in Hout Bay.  We met our friends, Benne and Robin, there for lunch our first Sunday in town.  Benne was an undergrad at Groningen when Tim did his post-doc there.  He is now an astronomy post-doc at the University of Cape Town.  Robin is his American wife.  We enjoyed good food and good conversation, while the Boo played and played on the playground that was basically inside the patio area of this restaurant.  And did we mention we were also right on the beach!!

This playground was also in the wood-and-recycled-tires (or "tyres" as they are spelled here) mode, with some fun additions, such as a beamed cat walk with angled netting on each side.  Tim has noted this phenomenon of restaurants and pubs having their own playgrounds (and we're not talking play areas, but playgrounds) to be fairly widespread in the little bit of Cape Town we have seen so far (the Boo and Timmy have been to more places then me, as they get out and find places to eat on the nights I'm at Cape Crossfit working out.)

I really think this is a missed marketing opportunity in the U.S.  What better then for parents to be able to enjoy a real drink or a real meal (McDonald's DOES NOT count) while the kids play and play and play...(Tim just chimed in and said this was very typical for pubs in Britain, though on a smaller scale, so maybe this is just new to me!)


Finally, we leave you with two more playground images.  One of the Boo playing on the playground that belongs to his new Montessori preschool.  The second is the treehouse of the cafe adjacent to the Waldorf school we are checking out as a future option for the Boo.  Again, we just love the organic vibe.  It has been exciting to see the Boo stretch himself in his play in ways I haven't seen him do since he was a toddler just learning how to climb.  I don't know if the playgrounds play a role in his new bravery but they definitely give him the space to try out his wings.

Until next time...