Last blog from 2007 travels

Well this is the last entry from our 2007 travels - it is being posted a month after getting home, but a lot has happened since the last blog........

We left Cape Town on Sept 23, driving north to Vrendendal, a wine growing region about 3 hours north west of cape town. Driving out of the city I was amazed ( again) at the calla lilies growing in the ditches. I suppose they might find cattail or purple loosestrife exotic as well. I was certainly impressed with callas.

The drive was spectacular, up through a mountain pass, descending into highly cultivated fruit farms - citrus, sugar cane and grapes. In the mountain was a dam which was built to provide irrigation to the farmers. the irrigation system is miles and miles of concrete sluiceways that meander along the road with offshoots to the farms. The process of regulating who gets what water is very sophisticated , and the irrigation system is obviously critical to the survival of the vineyards. where there are not cultivated fields there is often scrub brush that borders on desert.

Our driver's name was Tenille. When she introduced herself to me I said - you are probably too young to know about them, but in my day there was a popular singing group named the captain and Tenille. She said - oh I know. Their piano player was named Ken, and my parents called my brother Ken. They were big fans. She however was a big fan of Celine Dion. That's what we listened to in the van heading to Vrendendal.

It was interesting to see the different citrus orchards at different stage of development. some were cultivars that blossomed early and fruited early. There were some orchards wit fruit ready to pick, and others where they ha just started to bud. Same with the grapes. Some filed looked like the vines were dead, because they had not started to leaf out. Others were completely green with leaves.

The lodge where they booked our reservations was lovely. The view went for miles and was spectacular. fields and fields and fields of grapes. the lodge was part of a vineyard and they sold quite a lovely red wine. But the place had NO PHONE. Not only no internet, No PHONE. there was not eve cell phone reception. I am sure the organizer chose the place because it was so spectacular, but I felt very out of touch. no one could have contacted me if necessary. The same happened when we headed to Pretoria - lovely quaint bed and breakfast, fun decor, good food, not a bad location, but NO PHONE. South Africa is a very modern country and there are lots of hotels with phones and internet and business centers, so I know it was possible to put us in a place where we were in communication, but that was not the case. Quite frustrating.

Under the Apartheid regime in south Africa people were categorized as black, indian, coloured or white. colored meant there was mixed blood - could b part white, black, indian, chinese, whatever. the community we visited in Vrendendal was a coloured community. they had bee moved off fertile land on the river delta to make way for poor white farmers. Because the group was a coloured group, there was no tribe, no tribal leader, and the group was at odds with each other. A person can argue with the merits of there being a powerful authority that is not elected, but at least the first two communities were not fighting amongst themselves - the tribal authority took charge of issues and decide them.

The second day of our stay in Vrenedendal was a national holiday - Braie Day. Braie is barbeque. so one of their big national holidays is a barbeque day. you've got to love a country that has its priorities straight.

It was getting cold in South Africa in these days. By the time we hit Pretoria it was quite cold at night. meanwhile I heard that they were ahving plus 30 degrees at home.

there are some interesting sayings in South Africa. I you walk in front of someone here you would say "excuse m". there thy say " sorry sorry".

On our last day in Vrendendal we went to the ocean the Atlantic Ocean, but on the eastern part of it. Sure enough it was cold. really cold. but it was fun to walk in the surf, and see the miles and miles of sand. and a dead seal.

Our drive to Pretoria was interesting. I was in the van with several Africans, and the talk turned to the biases people have about the various tribes b Africa. first you should know that people are very aware of their own tribe, and very proud that they belong to whatever tribe it is. And although parents hope that children will marry within a tribe, there is not a lot of pressure to do o. but there is advice about which tribes provide suitable mates. Shangan men are gentle and caring. Swazi men a drinkers, lazy and womanizers. Venda women are VERY subservient to their men. they walk on their knees to their man if he is in the room, and never look him in the eyes. Zulu men really want to be the boss. Xhosa men and women are easy to get along with.

Our last couple of days were spent in workhops on Pretoria. Pretoria is outside of Johannesburg. not a bad city I guess, but like Jo Burg is not safe. the B&B was gated, and you dare not walk outside the gate, had to be careful which taxi company you called, etc. If you were an exercise fan you had to belong to a gym - you would not think of jogging in your neighborhood. Bt it was in the tropics, and the garden of our place had several patches of bird of paradise, in blossom. And the jacarandas were starting to bloom. when they are in bloom there is a carpet of purple in the sky - just stunning. and when the blossoms fall off the carpet is on the street.

I will post all my photos on ofoto later and will send you the link

Hope you enjoyed the travels. We and I sure did!!

Mary