Kosi Bay

This weekend was incredible and exactly what I needed. The entire group of volunteers went to Kosi Bay which is a 3 hour drive from St. Lucia. It is right near the border to Mozambique. We hired a van to take us to the Kosi Bay town and then we were picked up by a man named Villy and his wife Isabelle. We took two 4WD vehicles to our destination; a Land Rover (you all know how much I love them!) and a similar Mercedes vehicle. We drove through grass and sand for about 40 minutes until we reached our little slice of heaven! I will upload pictures right after I write this because I absolutely fell in love with this place. Isabelle (the wife) is from Belgium and her husband Villy is from Pretoria (South Africa). They started the place 6 years ago after they gave up their jobs and regular lives. They decided to go to Kosi Bay and build some accomodations for people to stay and build a stable for horseback riding. They lived in tents for SIX MONTHS while they were in the process of building! They take people on turtle tours at night, horse riding tours, kayaking and a few other activities.

When we arrived Villy presented us with an amazing feast for lunch of steamed vegetables and cold potato salad. We then drove to the beach which was just as perfect and untouched as most of the coastline here on the east coast of South Africa. We laid around and relaxed and then Villy served us some Brie and Camembere (spelling?) on bread. His wife had made a carrot cake for us as well which was honestly the BEST I have ever had!! I may have over indulged. We waited for the sun to go down then we took a very long (and challenging) walk along the beach to see some turtles. The sand was very soft so our bums sure felt the pain after an hour or so of walking. We eventually reached a nest that just hatched and watched all of the baby turtles make their way to the water. They were so tiny and adorable and we all knew their fate as we watched them struggle toward the ocean. I think only 1 in 1,000 survive or some ridiculous statistic like that. I should have put one in my pocket and taken it home.

We were all physically exhausted after the hours of walking in the sand so we fell asleep as soon as we arrived back at our huts. I actually slept in the loft in the main house instead of in one of the beautiful huts. I was a bit scared of snakes because I saw one of the cats playing with one earlier like a chew toy! The huts were gorgeous and very romantic for a couple but I was playing it safe and slept up in the loft (free from snakes). I know, I am a wuss!

The next day I went horseback riding for the first time ever! What an amazing place to have my 1st experience on a horse. We walked much of the time up and down enormous hills and the view was just incredible. We also cantered quite a few times which scared me half to death because I have no experience in a saddle. I was positive I was going to fly right off but somehow I clung to GoGo (my horse) and survived! GoGo means Grandma in Zulu by the way. We rode past a pond full of hippos and right by the ocean. I can't even decribe the feeling I had when I got on top of that horse and looked out to see AFRICA--pure and beautiful and completely untouched. No homes, no stores, so un-commercial, just so perfect.

We headed back to St. Lucia after that and stopped at a few markets along the way. They were like the ones in St. Lucia but we stopped anyway just in case people wanted to get some gifts.

Today, our lesson at the daycare went over beautifully. We had visual aids made over the weekend while we were gone and used them in our teaching today. I worked with Katie and we kept the kids' attention the entire time. We went over the color red, circles and squares. We used a new tool...the MAGIC BAG! We will use it each day and fill it with items that correspond with the daily or weekly theme. I really am starting to wonder how on earth I am going to leave in less than 2 weeks! These kids are so beautiful and amazing...you would have to meet them to know but just trust me. However, today we also saw one of the worst burns I have ever seen in my life. Someone had lifted up this little boy's shirt to find the most gruesome, fresh burn. It had been untreated and the skin was peeling off and sticking to the inside of his shirt. It was so bad that I could not even look. It was the kind of burn that would send a child in the U.S. to a special burn victim unit by an emergency helicopter. We see all sorts of wounds and odd gashes all over these children and none of them are ever treated. Last week we saw a boy with a hole in his stomach. I literally mean a hole. We had no idea how it got there and have no way of finding out. It is so sad and I wish I was a doctor so I could treat them all.

We did some more planning for the HIV education in Primary School this afternoon. We designed an entire timeline and agenda for the lessons which was very exciting! It makes me feel so satisfied already knowing that in a few months time there will be HIV education being taught to the 13 year old students of Khula. This is such an amazing addition to the curriculum and one of the most CRUCIAL considering 70% of Khula is estimated to be HIV+.

This week looks very promising-- so that is fantastic! I can not believe this weekend is my last one. I think I will rent a bike for a day and take a trail somewhere far and just enjoy all there is to see. I would also like to spend some more time at the ocean since it is right down the street from us--so I may do some relaxing there as well. We will see...

Once again thanks for ALL of the lovely comments. I love you all. I am already planning my next trip in my head (although I have absolutely none of the logistics figured out at the moment). After talking to all of the well traveled volunteers I feel Thailand would be a fabulous destination. Of course in May I will be heading to Paris with my wonderful Aunt Kathi--which I have been waiting my ENTIRE life for! So exciting.

2 new albums:
http://picasaweb.google.com/KateBuntenbach/TheBeautifulChildrenOfKhula
http://picasaweb.google.com/KateBuntenbach/KosiBay

Some pictures doubled up on one of the albums...sorry about that!

I will write again soon!! :-)