September 1 – September 7
Hi All,
Weather: After a gorgeous and fairly warm Day 1 & 2, the weather changed dramatically for the rest of the trip. Day 3 was cloudy and rainy, although we did manage to tour Cape Town in between rain showers.. Then in the Winelands, while it did not rain, it stayed somewhat party cloudy and pretty chilly…..in the 40’s and 50’sF…which as you know makes for nice wine tasting!!!
Apartheid: We went to the Apartheid Museum and well, it was pretty depressing and eye opening. I think Nick had the best line; “In the last 28 years, everything has changed, but then, nothing has changed”. Apartheid laws in South Africa started after WW II and had Nazi origins. Similar to some of the genocide issues in Rwanda. Per Nick, while the laws have changed, it’s now more segregation by social economic levels and is moving into the have and have nots. The structural issues created by Apartheid laws are still there and until these are eliminated South Africa is going to have many issues. Racial tension had just boiled over in Johannesburg when we passed through in August with lots of rioting. Over 60k blacks in the 1970-1990’s were removed from their homes Nazi style (given less than an hour to leave and only with a suitcase) and relocated to “informal settlements” which have devolved into shanty towns. The areas in Cape Town where they had lived and worked forever, were deemed white only areas. These locations were often 2-3 hours away from Cape Town, far away from where the jobs are located. People can spend 2-4 hours/day commuting and 20-40% of their income in transportation costs. Crime is rampant as well as unemployment. These informal settlements are now run by gangs and the “black market” has taken over supplying goods et al. Nick lives in a middle class suburban home….he has an electric wired fence surrounding his home, 3 watch dogs, burglar proof windows and the neighborhood has an armed guard patrolling 24×7 with a 1-2 minute response time. There were many places in Cape Town Nick said not to go and even when we were outside visiting various places, we were constantly on the lookout for issues.
Nick suggested 3 books to read more about apartheid in South Africa. I have started to read the first one:
– The Mind of South Africa, by Allister Sparks
– Beyond the Miracle, by Allister Sparks
– Fighting for the Dream, by RW Johnson
Given the current political divide in America, I think there are learnings for us from the Rwanda genocide as well as the systemic racial issues in South Africa. I’ll let you know how the books read!!
Day 3 in Cape Town: We visited the District Six Apartheid Museum, went to the Company Gardens, where a fresh produce garden was kept for ships and locals in the mid-17th century, drove by “The Castle”, the oldest building in South Africa (darn, it was closed for renovations) and went by the Grand Parade where Nelsen Mandela addressed the nation on his prison release in 1990. Nick was actually there and said: “well…it started peaceful, then somehow the police presence in riot gear pissed off some young people and the riots started, and he remembers running for his life with friends to get out of harms way.” We also went to the Greenmarket….”Greenmarket Square is a cobblestone marketplace that was the slave market in Cape Town. In modern times, it’s a festive location where local vendors come to sell different types of handcrafted merchandise. Musicians, dancers, and other African entertainers perform freely throughout the area.” Kathy had fun bargaining for a few more woven baskets!! We also went by the Bo-Kaap neighborhood….several streets with brightly colored homes….”It is unclear, but it is believed that when Bo-Kaap residents bought their houses, they decorated their homes with bright colors, as an expression of individualism. After apartheid ended, they painted their houses in bright colors as a celebration of their freedom”. We tried a local restaurant for a favorite “Gatsby sandwich” (submarine sandwich consisting of a bread roll filled with chips and a choice of fillings and sauces. It originated in Cape Town and is popular throughout the Western Cape province. The sandwich is typically large and shared by several people)…..but it was closed so we went to the Atlantic seaboard area for lunch and saw the rich, high rise condominium section of Cape Town. Lots of whitecaps on the water as it was pretty windy.
We made it back to Cape Grace mid-afternoon for massages……ODG….such relaxation was much needed after all the travels and different beds!! Since we had been eating pretty big, and were very relaxed after the massages, we decided to order a light room service cheese plate and called it an early evening!!
Day 4: After another excellent breakfast…btw, Kathy has started each of the 3 breakfasts at Cape Grace with a glass of champagne…now that is style:))) We first visited the “The Old Biscuit Mill”….local designs/goods and culinary delights….we finally were able to by some souvenirs for family back home!! Next was our final Covid test….#6….another brain puncture….oweee!!!! Next was an hour or so drive to Winelands!!!
Winelands: We visited Stellenbosch and the Francshhoek area, located in the Cape Winelands region, one of ten wine regions in South Africa. We have now visited wine regions in USA (primarily California), France, New Zealand, and Australia and are very excited to finally visit some of the premium wineries in South Africa. We started drinking SA wines in the Caribbean, back in the 1990’s during our bareboating days in BVI’s and then again when we were on Mystic Moon in the 2009-2013 days!! As we learned in these other areas, not all of these foreign region ship their better wines to USA (too many taxes et al), so it is indeed a treat to be here locally tasting the premium wines.
We visited Meerlust, Kanonkop, Boschendal for lunch, and la Motte….whoa, 4 wineries, we did good. We then made it to our hotel Mount Rochelle where we were absolutely spoiled!! Mont Rochelle is owned by Sir Richard Branson…who knew…and he bought it from Miko Rwayitare of Hotel Rwanda fame, he was the owner later on after the genocide. The hotel Manager, Peter Karanja, was absolutely marvelous…..and during our 3 night stay we had several bottles of Mont Rochelle wine with him as he regaled us of stories of his childhood in Kenya and of course, Richard Branson stories!! Oh, and their Syrahs and Cabernets were outstanding!!!
https://www.virginlimitededition..com/en/mont-rochelle
https://www.audleytravel.com/us/south-africa/places-to-go/the-winelandsSyrahs and Cabernet were outs
At Kanonkop we were introduced to a Pinotage…actually I had few glasses at Cape Grace with the ostrich and it was excellent. “It is a red wine grape that is South Africa’s signature variety. It was cultivated there in 1925 as a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut (Cinsaut was known as “Hermitage” in South Africa at that time, hence the name). It typically produces deep red varietal wines with smoky, bramble and earthy flavors, sometimes with notes of bananas and tropical fruit, but has been criticized for sometimes smelling of acetone.” Well…we never smelled the acetone and the wine was excellent. And they had a great quote on the wall: “Pinotage is the juice extracted from women’s tongues and lion’s hearts. After having a sufficient quantity one can talk forever and fight the devil.” – written anonymously on the wall of the Paul Sauer cellar at Kanonkop Estate”……hmmmmm, shall we all agree:))))
Day 5: More wine tasting….Demorgensen, Rust en Vrede, and Ernie El’s. At Demorgensen we learned about playing classical music in the vineyards…really….first studied by Professor Retallack at the Colorado Woman’s College in Denver and then tested by vineyards in Italy it has somewhat been proven vineyards grow faster and richer listening to classical music. I took a video so listen to the music in the vineyards!!
Day 6: Our last…ugh….but more wineries….Thelema and Stark-Conde….then a farewell lunch in the vineyards with views at Guardian Peak!! I had the filet and Kathy the pork tenderloin…yummers.
We ended up buying a few bottles to take back with us. We bought a 2019 Thelema Rabelais ($60), “This is an absolute monster of a wine! Blend of Petit Verdot and Cabernet with 20 months in new French oak. Rich blue fruit, concentrated silky tannins in perfect balance with fruit, smoother than polished marble. If you want a night to remember, get this wine!”
Also bought from Rust en Vrede a single vineyard Syrah 2016 ($80), “Tobacco nose, cherry palate. Full-bodied, proudly South African and robust Shiraz. From the oldest vineyard on the estate. Absolutely fantastic!!”
And a Rust en Vrede, 1694 Classification 2017 ($100), “Deep intense opaque. Coffee and mocha aromas are prevalent with liquorish and honeycomb undertones. Black cherry and oak spice flavors are backed up with hints of cedar and cassis.”
We made it to the Cape Town airport around 3:30pm….same as in Rwanda, we had to get out of our car, walk through security screening while the car also went through its own screening…tight security for sure. We made it through all the officialdom and were in our seat by 5:00 pm…..both beat and saying with that raspy voice….what a ride!!!! We had a connection in Frankfurt where we took our last picture staying awake with Bloody Mary’s!!! We made it to SFO around 1:00pm on Sept 7, Day 35!!! BTW we flew Lufthansa and well, after being spoiled by the excellent service by all the African airlines, we were reminded what commodity service is like…what sour and stingy attitudes…arghhhhhh!!!
Safari Summary: It took me 3 1/2 months to write the entire Safari blog….oh good grief John, how slow can one be….well, it was 11 blogs and 18 galleries, 4270 pictures (out of 10,500) and 84 videos (out of 102). And, I estimate it was ~200 hours of time….pretty much all my time since we got back in September although we did do some travelling so it wasn’t all work….whoa!! For a retired guy, that’s actually quite startling:))) I enjoyed doing the blogs (well, going through all 10,000+ pictures was a bit tedious at times) as it took me down memory lane of the “trip of a lifetime” and in my defense there were actually some really, really good pictures and videos of the critters!!!
The Plan: Enjoy some time off:))) And, enjoy the Holidays with family and friends. We do have 2 upcoming ski trips in Q1 as well as a short trip to Sitka to check on Mystic in late January and then a Selene (VFOLKS) reunion late March!! Oh, and we are going to a big boy and girl NYE party at our club….like start at 5pm and make it until after midnight…..and all dressed up…ODG, wish us well!!!! OK, check that, just found out today….due to Covid the dancing/casino/fireworks part of the Big Party has been canceled….so now just dinner and a little entertainment and home by cruisers midnight, 9pm…although we hear talk of an after party…stay tuned:)))
Hope all is well and everyone stays safe!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
John
Mystic Moon
Pictures at:
http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/cape-town-and-winelands-part-2
Playing Classical music at Demorgensen vineyards to help the vines grow richer and faster
