Truth be told, I have very little interest in visiting Durban, South Africa. It’s a large city on the coast and I’ve heard rumors of crime (true for most South African cities). But it’s a natural stopping point between wrapping up my coastal travels and heading inland to explore the mountains of Drakensberg and Lesotho. Plus I’m always grateful for some down time — both to catch up on blogging and to plan the logistics of my final two weeks in Africa — preferably somewhere with good coffee shops and wifi. Durban fits the bill. Little do I know how much I’ll love my short stay in this city.

My time in Durban is successful because I stay at the Happy Hippo Hostel and meet great people there. My overland tour guides recommended this place months ago and I made a note of it back then; it’s in a decent location close to a major aquarium called uShaka Marine World (more on that in a moment). It has a good layout and vibe, and I meet other like-minded travelers here. One night we approach the front desk about arranging a taxi to visit a restaurant on Florida Road (too far to walk at night in the dark) and the hostel owner offers to drive us there herself since she’s heading out anyway. And when I’m concerned that I’ve been bitten by a bug at night, they move us to another room with no hesitation. That may sound like a negative but the front desk is understanding and responsive. The free wifi is good — not strong enough to stream the latest episode of Scandal (as my friend Brittany and I discover first-hand), but otherwise decent enough for blogging and travel planning purposes. I’d happily recommend this place to other travelers heading to Durban.

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Okay, back to my arrival in Durban — Baz Bus drops us off around 10:30pm, so I shower and go to bed. The next morning I wake up with one goal: to find a coffee shop with wifi and blog all day. I stop at the front desk and meet a woman about my age also looking for a map and coffee, so we head out together. Her name is Brittany, she’s from the States, and she’s awesome. YAY for meeting new friends on the road! Brittany is really into travel too — she plans to spend many months in Australia while applying for an MBA program abroad — so we have lots to talk about. (P.S. she’s since been accepted to a super prestigious school with campuses in France and Singapore. Further evidence that she rocks.)

Brittany and I walk about ten minutes to uShaka Marine World, an aquarium theme park that reminds me of Universal City Walk in Los Angeles because it’s got a winding outdoor mall with stores and restaurants next to the park.

While sipping our lattes at a cafe, a Halloween-themed parade marches by. It’s still early October but these folks are committed!

After we finish our coffee and all the zombies have gone away, Brittany leaves to explore Durban while I find a Wimpy’s to use their free wifi to blog. We make plans to meet up later for dinner.

Back at the Happy Hippo Hostel, Brittany introduces me to siblings Andrew and Kate — they’re from the States, too, and Kate is currently volunteering with the Peace Corps in nearby Lesotho. They’re going to dinner on Florida Road, a trendy area with bars and restaurants, and ask if we’d like to come along. Yes! As I described earlier, the hostel owner kindly offers us a ride.

We end up at Taco Zulu, a restaurant that serves Mexican food, sushi, and pizza. I cannot think of a menu that would make me more excited than this one.

Margarita, guacamole app, and sushi main dish? Don’t mind if I do!

The next day Brittany and I venture back to Florida Road in search of a used bookstore. Google leads us to Ike’s Books and it’s the perfect spot. They even have a decent plays section — I pick up Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing and Brecht’s Good Person of Szechwan.

Check out how cute this place is:

The woman who rings us up at the bookstore recommends a nearby place called Freedom Cafe for coffee and snacks — an adorable spot tucked away off the main road that we never would have found on our own. It’s designed with a recycled shipping container and lots of glass to allow light inside; in fact, the line between inside/outside is quite blurred as the whole place is nestled under a giant tree with a large patio. And their menu…! I fall in love with Freedom Cafe on first sight.

Here’s the backdoor patio area:

Confession: I go a little crazy ordering things on this menu. But it’s all so picture-perfect that I can’t resist! I start with a giant hunk of carrot cake.

Brittany orders an equally decadent cheesecake torte (if memory serves) and we swap desserts to try both. SO GOOD.

I order an iced coffee because it’s a day that ends in Y. How pretty is this thing?

And for good measure I order a berry mint maple smoothie.

By the way, Freedom Cafe has an excellent menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would eat all of my Durban meals here, but I’ll settle for sweet treats and coffee.

Brittany and I continue down Florida Road, popping our heads into various stores. I spy a neoprene laptop sleeve that I later purchase on Amazon so it’s waiting for me when I get back to the States a few weeks later. We run into a nice woman at the pharmacy and randomly chat about San Francisco. The whole afternoon — from the bookstore to Freedom Cafe to now wandering into various stores — is just so relaxing. I feel like I’m on vacation from my vacation.

We eat a late lunch at Spiga D’oro, a great Italian spot also on Florida Road. Brittany introduces me to Pimms — a traditional cocktail in the UK made with Pimms liquor, lemonade, and fruit. Refreshing combo!

This is the tagliatelle della roma — a pasta dish with red peppers, yellow peppers, marinated chicken, garlic, olive oil, and cream. This has been such a decadent food day.

On the long walk back to Happy Hippo Hostel, we pass by Moses Mabhida Stadium. It holds 85,000 people. There is a SkyCar that takes visitors to a viewing platform at the top. And if that’s not enough of an adrenaline rush, you can do the Big Swing, which is like bungee lite (scratch that, there’s no room for the word “lite” in regards to bungee jumping). Tours of the stadium are also available.

While I don’t get any closer to this stadium, I have to share one photo of the inside from Wikipedia because it’s such an impressive space:

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Neat, right?

Once we reach the waterfront, Brittany and I walk back towards uShaka and the hostel.

Then we happen upon a Zulu dance group performing outside the entrance to uShaka — really neat to see them in action.

I record the very end of it on video:

Since we’ve eaten so much food this afternoon, we grab up a light dinner at the grocery store to bring back to the hostel for later. We attempt to watch the aforementioned episode of Scandal to no avail. And later that night as I plan the remainder of my African travels, I book my return ticket to the States. Then I reach out to my friend who is working on Peter Pan Live! to ask if there’s any chance I can get involved with that project. Little do I know it will actually work out!

So for all the reasons mentioned in this post, Durban holds a special place in my heart.