Visiting this shop was quite a unique experience. You can watch the artists making the candles in the back room. In their expert hands a block of warm, molten wax became an elegant elephant within minutes. Animal shaped candles come in three sizes (L/M/S) and even the smallest candle was moulded with great attention to detail. The hard wax veneers varied from traditional African patterns to psychedelic patterns.
I may have gone a bit wild in this wee shop - especially once Kirsten mentioned that they accepted plastic!!! Me, the girl who does not do souvenirs was like a little kid in a candy shop. I want, want, WANT!!! But in my defense all the candles were sooooo darn pretty. If I'd have had a second luggage bag, I would have done serious damage altogether.
There was also an outdoor market where crafts people were selling curios, wooden artifacts, jewellery and all the usual knick-knacks found at such venues.
We are staying at Malandela's B&B, and for two nights - get in! I'm well overdue another bag explosion. Plus I've no idea how I'm going to get my new purchases into my rucksack, it is already at the point of bursting. Thankfully I can leave the souvenir bag in the minivan until our last day. I can worry about making everything fit then.
I've got a dotey bijou room with a little alcove reading seat and a wee terrace overlooking the pool. Yup for the next two nights I'm room Orange. Funnily enough when allocating the rooms Kirsten called out "Geoff and Tony", much to the consternation of Lu! Old habits!! We all got a good laugh about that. However on seeing the room name I can see how she got distracted. Coincidentally, or conveniently Geoff is in the room called 'Brown' - and we all know how him and Tony love a bit of Brown...
Checked out the House of Fire art gallery that was adjacent to the B&B. There were some very funky exhibits being showed, and prices for art in Swaziland are just as crazy as they are here.
When I got back from the gallery I found most of our group chilling out by the pool. Due to the scorching heat, 38 degrees according to the newspapers, we all had notions of a dip to cool down. However the water temperature was like friggin' ice - very, very, very cold. Most of us just dipped our toes in and chickened out. The hardier among the group went for a quick dip. Tony was very brave and just fell in sideways. The shock of the cold actually took his breath away when he resurfaced, when we asked how it was we got "bracing" as a response, immediately followed by "oh fuck!". Hmmm, yea, you are not selling it at all Tony.
Having settled into our rooms, the group headed off with Pete and Kirsten to another local market. I decided to hang back and chill by the pool. I'd had my fill of markets for the day, plus I was slightly fearful I might go wild and continue my splurging spree from earlier. No, instead I had my eyes set on conquering the pool, and without an audience.
Pool was absolutely freezing and it did literally take your breath away (temporarily). For quite some time I had to fight to get my breath back to normal - damn it was cold!! However, once a few laps were done, your body acclimatised to the water temperature but it was still bracing at best. Staying still too long meant that you got cold very quickly. As the sun went down, I sat at my terrace, marveling at my view and reading my Kindle.
When everyone got back from the market I heard that while it had been an experience, it was a bit pushier than the one earlier this afternoon. Plus the stuff being sold did not seem as good a quality. The locals were a lot more insistent that items were bought, laying on the guilt that they had made no purchases that day. Yea, definitely not my cup of tea by the sounds of it - think I chose well in staying behind.
Rugby World Cup tickets went on sale today. Kirsten was a gem and ensured that our accommodation today had WiFi as tis actually been severely lacking in most of the other places we've stayed - although honestly I haven't missed it one bit, but it would be handy to check in back home a bit more frequently seeing as how my mobile is struggling to get reception anywhere (useless Meteor network!).
Met Tony who informed me that it wasn't a sale as such, but a ballot. Tickets could be requested anytime between today and the 29th September, but no tickets were guaranteed. Balls!! If it comes to the luck of the draw I'm certainly not going to be fortunate enough to get choice tickets. I'd nearly give my eye teeth for final tickets.
Plus by putting in too many options, are you diluting your chance of seeing multiple games? Ideally I just want to see Ireland v France and then the quarter-final match in which we will appear (fingers crossed), although if we progress further I obviously wanna see those matches too... argh!!
Personally I think a ballot system just sucks. I can see why IRB think it's a good idea "to ensure that as many fans as possible get tickets for the Tournament." But loyal fans should be able to see multiple games and not just one or two of their preferred choice. Bah humbug!!! (Rant over)
Very nice dinner was had at the on-site restaurant. Succulent steak and not too shabby homemade chips. There was even room for dessert after: passionfruit cheesecake! :-)
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