Carter & I had a great weekend with our Swazi godparents, Mac & Nancy. Mac picked us up from the clinic in Mbabane & whisked us off to their home near the airport where we arrived. They live just ouside of an industrial town called Matsapha (which is close to Manzini - the biggest city in Swaziland though the capital is Mbabane, where we are). We got situated in our rooms, freshened up, & went off to dinner with Mac & Nancy in the Ezulwini Valley area (our guidebook compares it to Las Vegas though I think the few casinos in the Valley are the only real basis for comparison.....and even that is a pretty loose connection as the casinos are nothing like the lights of Vegas). We had a delicious dinner at one of the casino restaurants & then headed home & to bed shortly thereafter.
Mac & Nancy have a lovely home with a great view of a "dam" (in the States it'd be called a reservoir - it looks like a bayou/large pond though I believe the one in their neighborhood is man-made). Although they have a great backyard (where we have already spent a good bit of time conversing & enjoying meals), I think my favorite part of the home is the huge bathtub in the guest bathroom. I can't remember the last-time I could actually straighten my legs & lean back at the same time in a tub!
After getting ready for the day & a delicious home-cooked breakfast, we headed out for day 1 of sight-seeing. We started at the Ngwenya Glass Factory, named for the crocodile-shaped mountains where it is located (ngwenya is Siswati for crocodile). It took a little imagination to actually see the crocodile in the mountains, however, & Mac swears that we're all crazy because he can't see that shape in the mountain peaks. In any case, using all recycled glass, several Swazis use traditional glassblowing methods to create beautiful pieces, from decorative to functional, which they sell in the adjoining shop.
From there we continued north to the Maguga Dam, a huge man-made dam/reservoir that was jointly funded by Swaziland & South Africa (the latter because it helps supply water to part of that country as well). It was a hot day, & the water looked quite refreshing....we settled for the shade of a cafe overlooking the dam.
There were very few boaters out on the water (it's apparently pretty good for fishing bass) as it was early-afternoon by that time & the sun high/hot. After a cold drink in the shade, we headed back towards home, picking up ribs & lamb chops at the grocery store to grill for the evening. We had another delicious dinner & then curled up on the couch for a movie before bed.
This morning a cold front had finally rolled in so the air was cool & the weather perfect. We had breakfast on the patio & then headed to the Swazi Candle Factory, not too far from Mac & Nancy's place, to see a few more local artisans/markets. From there we moved on to a unique concert venue/restaurant complex: House on Fire and Malandela's. House on Fire was originally an outdoor amphitheater that they eventually added onto, little by little, with unique & artsy (& kitschy by some tastes most likely) additions. It is now a round, wooden, rustic looking structure filled with colorful arts. Today's concert, however, was on their lawn (a la Jazz Fest style but smaller.....more like one of the grass stages at French Quarter Festival, for all the Nola readers). It was overcast & a bit drizzly at times, but really it was perfect weather to be enjoying the afternoon outdoors (especially since yesterday was so warm)! We had a leisurely lunch at the restaurant, Malandelas, which faces the lawn/concert stage & listened to a few acts. (Billy, they had a shortened menu for the concert that afternoon but Mac & Nancy think you must mean that we should have the Camembert at Calabash...which is supposed to be our farewell dinner at the end of the trip.)
The main act at the concert this afternoon was a group from South Africa called Freshly Ground. The doctors we are working with here had told us about the group & concert....their best idea/description was a cross of soul & pop of sorts. I'm not sure what a more accurate description would be, but it was good music.
And now we're back at our cottage for a little unwinding & getting ready for the week. It will be a short week because of Easter (we have both Good Friday and Easter Monday off of work because the clinic is closed), and we will spend half of the time sitting in on the HIV lectures that are happening as part a nurse's training that is happening this week in Mbabane.
Hope all is well back in the States...have a good week!
No comments:
Post a Comment