Staying over in Umtata
Trip Start
Unknown
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Trip End
Ongoing
Umtata, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
I cycled from Ugie, high in the Maluti mountains to Umtata, down in the foothills, an important stopping off point on the N2 the big national road that runs from Cape town up to the north coast of South Africa.
It was a memorable ride all right, cutting down through those awesome mountains through rural Xhosa princedoms. Umtata I found to be an intimidatingly rough looking place at first but it was not long before I had encountered some of the hospitality that sometimes breeds in places where it might be a little more difficult to get by than in others.
I had wondered if I might not get a little further that day, but the busy state of the road and the time of day when I got to the Southern end of the town dissuaded me. I started nosing around for a backpackers, I used an sms information service but I was struggling to find the place I was referred to. I stopped a civilised enough looking guy who was just then coming out of his driveway and asked him where I could find a place to stay. He looked me up and down and asked me a bit of an odd question."You would be looking for a,' he paused,"decent place to say then"
Well, yes, not too decent but I like to know that I will wake up in the morning.
Had an outright party with him and his family that evening before setting off for coffee bay the following day.
