I Want To Ride My Bicycle

The Very Old Seagulls Hotel

I have great respect for old buildings. Age deserves respect. It has a different beauty that youth has not yet aquired. I was blessed to have lived with both of my grandparents for a long time and I even had great-grandparents for a couple of years in my life. Thinking back the only thing that is left to say is what interesting and knowleadgable people their were.

And may be the fact that I have worked in societies where age was a privilege and not a curse has contributed strongly to my view. I have seen many young man desiring to become " a vieux" because that meant you stood your ground and honour came with it.

The Seagulls has beautiful gardens with palm trees and many other types of vegetation that can withstand the strong and rough seawind.

The old Seagulls hotel built right at the beach in the sand at the beginning of the last century deserves also respect. It has the character of an old weather torn and ragged seagull. I am sure it has seen many people and many destinies over the years. It has been leased out in 1920 and is still in the same families hands who runs the hotel. And a familiy hotel it is.



This is how the seagull looks when walking down the beach...... out of a sudden apperas a hotel with a long wooden deck

Flowers in all colors everywhere

To the left side are the guest rooms

The view from the wooden deck where more than one drink is sipped before the sun goes down.

At low tide the black rocks are exposed with plenty of small shells.

The garden a place for children as well...

The bar ressembling old english bars, well stocked and always full.

 

The old Seagulls Hotel

 

The Entry to the bar

Quolora By The Sea

Quolora by the Sea

Quolora by the sea is a tiny fishing village situated at the beautiful and rough Wild Coast in South-Africa. It has a couple of fishing cottages and most of them look as if they have been built at the beginning of the last century. There are two hotels as well, one is called Trenneries and the other one Seagull. Few people live there permanently and the little village has the flair of a forgotten place throughout the year that has survived the rapid development of our time and proudly shows its own " Zeitgeist" . It wakes up at at the end of the year when the cottages are inhabited by their owners who have traveled sometimes 1000 of km's to celebrate Christmas and the end of the year here. The two hotels, which have not been treated kindly by the salty sea wind are fully booked for a couple of days.

And if Quolora is in a good mood you an expect this: a deep blue sky and vast sea with foamy white waves, fresh seafood and long nights.

BUT before you get there one has to travel 50 km from the inland to the coast and then cross the " pond". In an end-of-the-world-atmosphere under a grey sky with stormy quickly each other chasing clouds we arrived at Kei Mouth and were lucky to be the only car at the ferry. Sometimes there can be a long wait becaue the ferry only takes two cars. Time for cold beers.


Pedastrians do not pay to cross the river and are seated on the small wooden bench at the side of the ferry. Usually you are greated at the other side by women from the villages around selling their handmade jewelery and handwoven baskets. Also not a bad place for a house.

In "high season" there are 2 ferries and we meet each other on the river. 

 

A quad bike taking a small fishing boat down to the river mouth.

On the other side of the pond annual fishing competitions take place and the local newspapers report who has caught the biggest fish- long after everbody knows it.

This one is a little bit bigger for deep sea fishing and was just coming back..