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Published: February 28th 2008
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Day 3-5
As Dan’s specialty is sarcasm and biting wit and those two characteristics are wonderful for his work, they don’t apply as easily with vacation. Thus for this entry, Cathy will be the narrator. As many in the family and friend don’t normally see my writing style given it’s reserved for work, you’ll find it’s a bit lighter with self deprecating humor.
Our vehicle - I feel we need a quick comment about our car. It’s a Corolla-Something that was advertised as seating 5-7 people (Dan Note: yeah, if you have midgts in your traveling party). The sixth and seventh person must sit in a jump seat in the back. Luckily for us, we’re only six so the person in the back has more “room.” If you sit forward, your knees are in your chest, if you sit sideways, only half of your backside is on the seat. Luckily Dave is industrious and developed a way of rigging all the bags, sweatshirts and other accoutrement we tote, so it’s not such a bad spot to sit. It is into this cramped space that we tour around greater Cape Town and is a main character in most of our
adventures.
Day 3
We awoke on Sunday for our outing to the Wine Country. We pile into our Corolla with Dave in the jump seat and head to Spier. Pat raved about our lunch spot, Moyo, but neglected to mention all the other attractions at the vineyard - a Cheetah rescue, Bird of Prey centre, a craft market, and lovely gardens full of South African families having picnics. We paid five rand (roughly 70 cents) and to view the cheetahs. While the entrance fee was a deal, it was 80 rand to stroke the rather lazy cats yet the team felt we should give it a try. Unbeknownst to Amanda and I, who are off taking photos and checking out the view, the gang goes into a trailer to purchase our cat petting ticket. Meanwhile, Amanda and I thinking we lost the crew, wander to the Birds of Prey and paid 40 rand ($6) which not only includes seeing the birds, but a show and are able to hold an eagle. I thinking it’s the better deal but it may because I like birds and living with Dan, there are three cats to pet at home. Regardless both animal
experiences were pretty cool and a nice way to begin our day.
Moya is a wonderful lunch spot. We sit under tents, our faces are painted (Dan Note: against my will) and enjoy quite an expansive buffet. To continue our day of unexpected animal sightings, a mother duck and her chicks wander through our area searching for handouts. We buy some wine, Dan purchases a new piece for the African room (no idea where we’ll put it) and we cram ourselves back into the car. We enjoy another lovely meal at home, some cocktails and discuss our next few days.
Day 4
Monday is Cape Town day but we are slow going after our night of cocktails. Our plans include a trip to the top of Table Mountain, some shopping and then a party with some of Pat’s friend at an apartment in with views of both the harbor and Table Mountain.
We head down the mountain from Rooi Els and then back up the mountain to Table Mountain. They refer to the fog that often spills over the mountain as the “table cloth” and today, much to our dismay, it is quite thick, cotton not lace.
Regardless, we came all this way so we’re heading up to the top. We buy our tickets and head to the cable car which will take up to 1000 meters (sorry, you’ll have to convert that to feet, I’m American). We lunch up in the fog and wonder around the top, hoping it will clear up and we’ll be able to see the view of Cape Town (one side) and the water (other side). Alas, we see nothing and head back down just as the clouds start to break.
Off to the craft market and Pat ditches us to head to the grocery for a few party supplies. While I get a few ideas for gifts, Dan and I don’t purchases anything but Amanda did score a few items. We wander out of the market and stroll along the harbor. It was such a beautiful location, the weather so pleasant, and I could spend hours there. In my next life I want to live in a harbor town rather than a railroad one.
We head to our party, unsure of the characters we’ll meet or how our evening will be but open for yet another adventure. We arrive
at a lovely condo complex with the view is incredible plus the sun is starting to set - not a bad start. Our hostess is Judy, a refugee expert, which sounds intimating, but she put us to work, moving the chairs, plating the food and the normal pre-party rush. A bit later in the evening I find Judy and Pat in the kitchen gossiping about Dan and I and our relationship and I knew that even refugee experts are human. All of us befriend various senior academics with Amanda and me lucking out with Heinz. He is a lovely retiree who is smart enough to sit between the blonde and the redhead and discuss American politics. He’s not a Hillary fan but while he tends toward the left, he thinks McCain is the next president. We’ll see.
Day 5
Our long night leads to another lazy morning. However, Adam does arise earlier and is enjoying a cup of coffee and the view of waves crashing on the rocks. As he is absorbed in his thoughts, a brown image appears in his peripheral vision. A BABOON!! They’re the local version of raccoons or possums but bigger and more dexterous; they’ve
been known to open doors and help themselves to whatever is in the kitchen. (side note, everyone here has baboon bars so they can leave open windows but not receive visitors) . He’s a beautiful male, laid back and just looking for some free food. He sees Adam and decides to slow his plan - sits with him, quick yawn to show his teeth and Adam is up and in the house. The baboon then tries all the doors and Adam runs into our room, yelling that we are being attacked by baboons - it had the desired effect, Dan and I are out of bed and running to see it in our underwear. Dan grabs his camera and starts shooting from the hip and much to our dismay, he leaves without much fuss. I sort of wanted an army of baboons besieging the house but we go to the bush next week and we’ll get our animal exposure then.
It’s raining so Adam cancels his Harley reservation. We head to Camelot (a restaurant) in Pringle Bay before visiting the penguins. Again, I know I should be sophisticated at my age but something about a beach full of penguins
brings out a giddy side of my personality. How can you not giggle at the birds with their tuxedos, silly walks and unstable jumps? It rains most of the time but is a great experience and I’m glad we went.
Our day concludes with Gerry and Margaret - Pat’s good friends in her neighborhood that look after her house. They are lovely couple and have lived in the Rooi Els for about nine years; originally Gerry was from Germany and Margaret from Wales. Jerry won the hearts of half of crowd when he asked about American politics and then called it a circus. I was quite surprised when the lovely and soft spoken Margaret was easily convinced to play the piano for us. We headed to the music/conference room with Pat’s grand piano and had a beautiful sunset concert with Margaret; she even treated us to one of her own compositions. It was awe inspiring. I have a habit of tearing up when I hear beautiful music, particularly when it is performed by someone I know and this was a great example of it. As she played the piece she composed, I was struck by how wonderful her music
is and how lucky I was to be a part of that moment. What a beautiful way to end a day.
Tomorrow is shark diving - ready?
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nick
non-member comment
sharks
you know dan-o they're attracted to whales...not sure I'd take the shirt off if I were you! i know that was cruel... :-) if it makes you feel any better, i'm sitting in sometown, Indiana at a smelly marriott getting ready to go eat a chicken dinner at a political event. you get the last laugh.