Even though we have some new paved roads and things are becoming developed so quickly here in my beloved Jb, I'm happy to report, there are still a few adventures to be found :)
This afternoon, Jackie and I went out for lunch with some friends of ours who come and go to Jb. They're a great South African couple, who we've known for a few years now, and I just really enjoy their company. They suggested a place for lunch that we've never been to before. It's a relatively new place, just opened up near the "downtown". Of course, you can go partway there on the pavement... but the last bit is still on the bumpy, potholed, mud filled track. I still marvel at some sights here - you're driving along this little dirt path, thatch and mud huts on either side of you, garbage in the streets and all sorts of broken down vehicles and other such craziness everwhere, and suddenly, you park on the side of the road, and walk through a gate... and voila, it's like you've stepped into a completely different world.
The atmosphere of this place is really quite nice - beautifully decorated, and nice finishing touches. The food did take a while to come, but when it came, it was quite good. I'd definitely go back again. It was pretty high class, but still affordable if you want a bit of a nicer meal out (and especially affordable today since our friends picked up the bill!).
On the way back, we made a stop at the "grocery store", which is really actually turning into a proper grocery store. It's still only about the size of... um, let's see, maybe something like an Eddie Bauer shop or a Blockbuster Video store, but is filled with all sorts of things - food, wine, juice, toiletries, stationary, household bits and bobs... Everything is imported from Kenya and not at all cheap. But it's really the only place in Jb still where you can buy a lot of the products there. It's one of the only shops in town where you can actually stroll up and down the aisles, looking for things to pull off the shelves yourself! Most of the shops here are really tiny, and keep everything behind the counter, so you have to ask the shopkeeper to hand it to you.
Anyway, we bought a few bits - juice and wooden matches. Then we were off for our next adventure. Bouncing down a new dirt road which runs parallel to the main road which is currently under construction, we saw amazing things that we'd never seen before! I'd been down that particular road before, but not in the last year or so. And I was absolutely amazed at some of the renovated houses and proper concrete houses that have been built. There's even an apartment building, about 4 stories or so, complete with windows and A/C and little balconies! Of course, it's all interspersed with the usual mud huts, so it's all just such an odd combination of African village and posh new city. And you bounce around on these awful dirt tracks, through the mud and little ravines in order to get to any of them!
Once we came out to the main paved road again, we had a choice to make. We were headed towards the bakery which makes the nice pastries and cakes. And from where we were, there are actually two, yes two, different paved roads which we could take to get us to our destination. I don't know that I've ever been faced with a choice like that here in Jb before. Two roads to choose from, each equally as smooth as the other! Normally, there's no choice - you just take the road that's got the least swamp or is passable on any given day.
Once we got to the end of the pavement, though, we were meant to make a left turn onto the bakery road. However, it was completely blocked off - they're actually working on that road, too! So we had no choice but to park the truck on the side of the road and walk a block and a half (well, sort of a block and a half - not really any "blocks" here, but that's about the distance) past all the mud huts and through the mud on the road itself (it had been raining earlier today!) to get to the bakery, dodging the heavy machinery that was doing something to the road and nodding an acknowledgement to the guard armed with a Kalashnokov guarding the heaving machinery.
Now the bakery was built before the road construction began. And the front steps to the bakery used to be right at the level of the road. Now, however, the front step to the bakery is about 4 feet higher than the road bed. And the sand bag that used to act as a step has been destroyed, probably by some heavy machinery! So you really have to be determined to get to this bakery, and put your mountain climbing shoes on to climb the cliff to the front door. But again, it's the only bakery in town that actually makes real cake!
Thankfully, the lovely Eritrean woman was there who always helps me. She really loves me because I can greet her in Tigrinya :) Therefor, I always get the biggest pieces of cake, and I always get 6 little buns for my 1 Pound, rather than the 5 pieces that normal people get! Knowing a few languages has it's perks - and especially knowing Tigrinya has come in handy here. I LOVE seeing the surprised look on people's faces when I greet them in their own language :)
Anyway, we made it back down the cliff, and back past the armed guard to the truck, where we carried on our merry way to home... where we happily sat down for some cake and coffee! I felt like we really deserved it after all that effort we went through to get it!
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