Well, it has been quite some time since my last blog. I have been busy, so let me start from the beginning. On Easter Sunday, I met up with Aminah and Dan, my fellow Fulbrighters, and we flew to Capetown. That night, we had a braii with Sharyn, another Fulbrighter, and her husband Chris, and two children Daniel and Trudy. The next day Sharyn and her family were off on their holiday of camping, and Aminah, Dan, and I stayed in their home for their week as we explored the Capetown region. The first day we traveled to Table Mountain National Park; this day the Mountain was covered in its "table cloth", a cover of clouds flowing over the top of the mountain, and then dissipating as it falls over the edge. On this day, we climbed up Lion's Head, a smaller mountain nearby the Table. From the side, it looks like the profile of a lion lying down, and you can climb to the very top of its head which is so cool; you can see forever in all directions.
The next day we went to the Waterfront (Victoria and Albert, V&A) and explored the shops and The Two Oceans Aquarium where we saw sharks, and even saw the fish and sea turtles being fed. Of course, clown fish (Nemo) were there too. One of the best parts of the day was going jet-boating. You go out (yes, with life jackets Mom, no worries) and the boat flies over the waves, literally jumping out of the water like a really cool combination of a water ride and roller coaster. We all had a good time, though I did hear Aminah call out from the back of the boat once, "No more circles!" when the boat driver did figure eights in the water. We ended the day with a great meal by the waterfront; the seafood here was fantastic, so most days in Capetown ended with this way.
Next day, we woke up and traveled down the "west coast" of the Cape, the Indian Ocean side to FishHoek where I took a walk along the beach, only getting into the water up to my knees because it was too cold for me. Then, we drove onto Simon's Town and Boulders Beach to see the penguins! They were everywhere, right on the rocks and the shore. You could walk right up to them (no touching though). I had a really nice time watching them toddle around and saw a few of them sitting (roosting?) on eggs. After this my day was made, but not over yet. We went along the coast with amazing views (reminded me of Big Sur in CA) to Cape of Good Hope where we stopped at Cape Point. Here you can see both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. We walked up to the lighthouse and took the tram back down. Here is also where we saw baboons-- in the parking lot! They are wild here in the Nature Reserve and they have park rangers with sticks to shoo them away when they get too close. We saw one with a baby baboon on its back. We ended the day driving through Chapman's Peak (more amazing coastal views) and onto Hout Bay for some fresh fish and chips at Fish on the Rocks a local favorite.
The Capetown region is also home to South Africa's winelands, and this was our next day's destination. We started at Franschenhoek, a cute little town with nice shops (I bought two handmade ceramic plates for my friends here) and a wonderful restaurant, Topsi's, where had my first taste of ostrich, which tastes nothing like chicken. Ostrich is its own taste, but in my opinion, it sort of is in-between pork and a tender steak. It is very healthy and low in fat and cholesterol, but most of all it was yummy. After lunch and shopping it was off to the wineries; we ended up at Siedelberg for a wine tasting and a lovely view of sunset. The wines here are quite good with Pinotage grapes being unique to South Africa and making quite a good red wine. That night we headed back to the Waterfront to a Belgium restaurant where I had a beer tasting and Aminah tried a special beer that comes in a special round-bottomed flask. This beer was traditionally given to coachmen (drivers of horse and carriages), and the beer was put in this special glass and hung in wooden hole on the coach. The special beer glass was so expensive the tradition was that the coachmen had to leave their left shoe with the inn keeper in exchange for the beer/beer glass. When the coachman returned he would return the glass and the shoe would be given back. So, long story short, Aminah had to give up her shoe which was hung up in a basket for the evening as she had her beer.
The next day we were sort of lazy, it was holiday after all, so we explored a little of Capetown including Long Street which has shops and restaurants, but overall, not as grand as expected, so we headed back to the Waterfront where there was a free concert, the Capetown Opera Company was performing. Then, it was off to Harrie’s Pancakes – a must in the Cape. Do not think I-HOP. We ordered a ton of different kinds and shared: sun-dried tomato and mozzarella, sweet peaches and pork tenderloin, spinach and feta, and for dessert, black cherry pancakes with liqueur and whipped cream. SO good! Totally makes you re-think pancakes.
The next day was our trip up Table Mountain. You can hike to the top (there are over 100 different trails), but it didn’t look all that easy to me, so we took the cable car. The cable car spins around 360 degrees, so you can see all of Capetown and Table Mountain. On the Table top, there are short trails to walk around. You can see Lion’s Head, the Waterfront, Devil’s Peak, and the Twelve Apostles (12 mountain peaks in a row) from the top of Table Mountain. Awesome.
On Sunday, we decided (ok, Aminah and I decided, and we dragged Dan along too) that a spa day was needed, so we headed back out to wine country, this time to Stellenbosch and Spier Estates for a little swim and spa treatments.
Monday, our last day before starting the road trip, we went to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners had been imprisoned for many years. When you tour the prison, your tour guide is a former political prisoner of the island. He showed us his former cell area, told us a little about his time there, and we saw Nelson Mandela’s cell.
There is still so much more to tell, but I'll sign off for now.
