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Having the teacher as a local guide, we walked along some inner pathways that led us to a small Zulu village, we were authorized to visit after the "Induna" was consulted. We got to learn and understand a few cultural related aspects and finished the rather small visit by watching some ladies weaving carpets out of plastic package wrappings. I was so astounded by the work involved as well as the vibrant colours of those "magic" carpets that I couldn't resist buying one. The ladies seemed quite surprised and happy, on one hand because most of those are for local consumption and on the other hand because the money I paid for it would help them out immensely.
We had lunch a little bit further though still within the community at a successful villager's. We then headed towards the local fruit and craft market where most of us bought something. It was quite tempting, I must say.
The next stop was Durban, which we initially drove through just to get an idea of what it looked like, before we stopped at the main indoors market and more specifically at an Indian vendor's. There we were introduced to a wide variety of spicies and endless cooking possibilities. The owner of the shop was an incredible story teller and from a simple introduction to Indian food we almost felt as if we had gone to the theatre. We still had a bit of time to stroll around the shops and buy a few souvenirs.
The harsh reality of wire fenced gardens and private guardianss hit us as we drove towards the Berea area where we would be staying at. In a way it reminded me of Angola and the fact that one's freedom to move about was restricted or subject to some sort of "assistance". Benjamin hotel was a little charm. Being located in a rather busy yet peaceful area allowed us to walke alone along the Florida road lined with very stylish old Victorian-type houses, many restaurants and a few elegant shops. We had dinner just across the road from the hotel, in what ended up being one of the best and simultaneously worst places we had dinner at, the main reason being because we had to wait endless hours to be served one of the best meals ever.
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