A seriously strange, shuffle along Schafli to Chintsa
It is no secret that Chintsa is one of my favourite places on earth and this past weekend we were lucky enough to be able to get away and took one of our regular drives out to Chintsa East for the weekend. On any given day, it is one of my favourite things to do as it is close enough not to be a long drawn out drive, and far enough to give you that holiday feeling.
This weekend however the route turned on an unexpected charm offensive, and our ‘Shuffle along Schafli’ to Chintsa East ended up being a real slice of typical Eastern Cape life (both wild & domestic)!
Our first indication that this was going to be an interesting 35 minute ride happened when we stopped for breakfast at Crossways Village. After a delicious breakfast, we walked out to find a gorgeous ‘blonde’ smiling at us from the drivers seat in her sports car. She smiled and licked her lips a couple of times at us… who knew what she was after!
We reluctantly got back on the road and a short while later were stopped by a rather large neighbourhood pet, causing a scene at the fence… drawing lots of attention. The other neighbourhood pets appeared to be embarrassed by his forwardness, and stood back and watched while he stopped traffic with his antics. A real show-off if you ask me!
As we got closer to our destination, we came across a huge traffic jam… which really got my goat because those involved showed no respect for the rule of law… and I can’t sure but I am almost positive that the leader was trying to flash me some kind of a sign? Hmph… how rude!
Really! I would have called them pig’s… but that would only have been insulting to these well behaved pedestrians, as it appeared they were the only ones with a modicum of road sense on this occasion.
When we got to where we were staying, I saw that the local garden service was taking a break from their usual mowing of lawns and fertilising of streets! I know this is not my area of expertise… but I think the latter is a bit of a waste… don’t you?
And as I settled in with my first glass of wine to watch the sunset… the gentle sound of the sea was shattered by our neighbours who were having a huge domestic regarding the new flooring in their home. He wanted the wood… she was having none of it!
If you have not been to Chintsa East for a weekend or holiday in a while, I recommend you do it. The village is a wonderful place to escape to and the drive out is… well just as charming… even when looking at it through the rear view mirror!
Article & Photographs: Sandy Loppnow