Stellenbosch and Cape Town

As mentioned above, Ivan dropped us off in Stellenbosch after a fancy lunch at a winery in Franschoek, called Haute Cabriere. I knew the winery was too upscale for my taste when I saw the helicopter pad on the estate (there for guests to fly in). The next day, we set out to visit as many vineyards as possible, soon realizing this means a lot of drinking. We visited Simonsig, Knorhoek, Delheim – three diverse places. Simonsig is known for creating the first sparkling wine in South Africa and had a sophisticated atmosphere. Their Encore champagne was really tasty. We ate lunch there with a beautiful view of the vineyards. Knorhoek was more small, down home-like, with a gorgeous view of the mountains. I really enjoyed their rose champagne, Konfetti, along with the fun label. The wines were good too. I just prefer champagne. Delheim had a cute cellar restaurant with a nice cheese platter. After three vineyards, the girls were a little loopy (then tired) on our drive to Cape Town.

We arrived at our place in Cape Town but had to wait to be let in. As the host of my family, I worry a little about my bookings and my dad was getting concerned about sitting on the streets with our bags and wondering exactly just what kind of place we are staying. This time, I had booked from a personal owner and it turned out to be insanely posh (and cheap). We stayed in a trendy penthouse loft, called Manhattan Place, right in the heard of downtown Cape Town with views of the city and Table Mountain (check out the view in the picture). In some ways, I regret this fantastic find as my family wanted to hang out in our apartment more than see Cape Town. Or, so it seemed at times. The place also had a see through shower on the middle floor with a see through curtain (also see pic)! This is trendy and sexy with a couple, but creepy when with family. On the last night, we drank our Konfetti Champagne and beer, played Phase 10, and sat in the Jacuzzi overlooking the city of Cape Town. Ummm, can we get any more spoiled?

It seemed appropriate to take my family to see a township after living our life of luxury in South Africa. I wanted them to experience a different, more widely experienced side of South Africa. So, we visited Langa with a local tour guide, Mike. Mike showed us a few local restaurants, a traditional healer, a cultural center, churches, an orphanage, schools, a soccer field, and the contrasts of housing and class that even exists inside a township. While we couldn’t fully understand the traditional healer, he seemed to talk a lot about powders used to protect and kill people, as one lay close to us and he pretended to put some on my dad. Apparently, people will go to the clinic for coughs and such, but to the traditional healer for more spiritual and relational issues (including if you are looking to make someone fall in love with you). We went to a cultural and arts center where we watched people make pottery, picture frames, and music. In the midst of this tour, Mike took us to the poorest area of the township for a tasty treat of Sheep’s Head! Yep, the head of a sheep. The lady took our order, cut a head in half, threw it into a barrel of hot water with some fire, and cut it up to serve. Mike ate an eyeball to get us started. Needless to say, I had to look away and almost threw up. My dad was the only one to brave this culinary experience and tried the cheek and tongue of the sheep. He couldn’t talk about it later. Despite my uneasy stomach, I appreciated learning how others eat in such poor conditions (the heads can be purchased for next to nothing by locals from restaurants and butcheries, as they clearly aren’t going to make their way to menus). He had also shown us another treat earlier that involved fried bread and fishy meatballs that filled you up for only one and a half rand (or 20 cents USD). For the tour, I had requested we attend a church service so my dad could see what this was like in a township; however, Mike chose a “charismatic” church with only 10 attendees. It was a bit awkward as the four of us sat in the chairs watching the few people participating belt out songs and stream-of-consciousness messages to God VERY loudly into microphones. While it wasn’t what I had in mind, it was interesting to view another way to worship.

We also visited an orphanage with 31 children, some of which are HIV/AIDS infected, run by a generous, proud lady. They sang for us, played music, and told us all about the services they provide, such as young men and women discussion groups. She talked about some of the sad situations the children faced with their families. We could all tell she loved these children, much like her own. She laughed about the lies they will tell to break curfew. We gave her food and money towards her cause. I wanted to adopt one of the girls sitting next to me. She was adorable. The amount of loss and disappointment in life these children have already faced is really not fair.

While I enjoyed the tour overall, it can sometimes feel like we are intruders. The community did seem warm to us all day. My hope was that the money we paid for the tour would go back to the community in some way; however, instead we were brought to all these places (including shopping markets) and introduced to all these people with hopes of tips or buying items. So, it felt like the tour company was telling the community, “We will bring these wealthy tourists to you, perform like an animal in a zoo, and they will give you money.” Rather than have all these people perform for us or say “no” to buying items, I would rather the tour company just increase the price and donate some of our money to Langa. It felt uncomfortable and we were unsure on proper tips.

In addition to the tour of the township, we went shopping at Green Market and the V&A Waterfront, hung out on the beaches of Clifton and Camp’s Bay (despite bad weather), and visited Robben Island (my father and sis, at least). Oh, and we also ate amazing food and desserts. Our last night, we ordered margaritas, chips and salsa, our entrees, and a spicy brownie with ice cream for dessert at a fun Mexican restaurant in a suburb of Cape Town, called Kloof. It was a perfect eating finale to a wonderful trip. And most important, we all still loved each other and were laughing as we shared memories and favorites of our two weeks traveling together.