Author: nilesinindochina

Mountains, Cablecars and Wine Country

The vertical granite walls of Cape Town’ s Table Mountain are a challenge to look at much less climb so today we ride a cable car to the top. My paragliding mishap was one pratfall enough for this trip.

Our group of 28 split in half: one took the ferry to visit Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years. That group then took the cable car up Table Mountain. The other group (including us) took the cable car up the Mountain, then drove to two well known vineyards for wine tastings and lunch, and drove through the small city of Stellenbach, headquarters of wine country, on the way back to the hotel.

The entrance to board the cable car was daunting see for the first time.

Our tour leader for the day was also a wine expert. Such a bubbly personality.

The peak toward which the cable car headed was shrouded in chilly fog and as steep as could be.

A bit of color stood out in the otherwise bleak pinnacle.

The craggy granite looked like something from another world.

After 45 minutes on top we were both ready to head down.

The rest of the day we bused through Cape Vinelands, home to some of the best vineyards in the country.

First stop was the Longridge Wine Estate, famous for its Chemin Blanc white wine. The grounds were immaculate.

We sampled 2 whites, 3 reds and a dessert wine much like an ice wine.

Barb had hard time finding a favorite.

A nearly hidden iris beckoned us back when next in Cape Town.

Our lunch stop was at Glennelly Estate. Another pristine estate.

The lunch was superb: line fish rillette, cured hake (code family), port cheek bourguignon finished with chocolate marquise.

The trip back to the hotel was quiet as many took naps.

Our instructions for tomorrow: place all bags outside our room by 6:15 AM with all unworn shoes deposited in plastic bags (to be later inspected at the Zimbabwe border to prevent hoof and mouth disease from sneaking into the country).

The flight on a small Airlink Airlines plane will take three hours, arriving at Victoria Fall Airport at 12:40 pm. After crossing Zimbabwe we should board the Zambezi Queen river boat (anchored in the middle of the Chobe River between Namibia and Botswana) by midafternoon.

Barb #3

The countryside is much like France. No rain today, but foggy this morning. The cable car was planning to stop running this afternoon due to windy weather. Niles holds onto me when we are touring except when he is taking photos.

We are meeting some very nice people, all seasoned travelers. My best guess is the average age is 75. Niles and I bring up that number.

Until tomorrow……

Penguins, lighthouses and scenic drives

Today’s excursion took us south out of Cape Town to the southern most point of the African continent.

Another good breakfast to begin the day:

On the way south we stopped the 12 Apostles, Hout Bay and Chapman’s Peak.

The Twelve Apostles are mountain peaks, part of the Table Mountain range. The mountain range is composed of yellowish sandstone down low, shale half was up and topped with granite. The rough weather causes the sandstone to erode quickly and tumble down the slope, often closing the narrow two lane road.

Hout Bay is a spectacular inlet and the road out of it offers some wonderful views:

Boulders Beach was the real star of the trip, home to “Penguin Town” and its thousands of South African “jackass” penguins. “Jackass” because they sound just like a donkey.

The beach, off limits to all except the penguin colony, is filled with huge boulders upon which the penguins and gray seals lie to sun themselves.

The penguins are cute but we are warned they bite so don’t get close.

They waddle back and forth from the ocean to build their nests, lay eggs and feed their young.

This recycled fellow was made of old coffee cup lids and plastic forks.

Next stop was the Cape of Good Hope, the southern most part of the continent…

…where many a ship floundered on the rocks.

A lighthouse warns sailors of the approaching peril..

And steep steps lead you to the top after a funicular ride takes you part of the way up.

With spectacular views of the small bay far below.

On the drive to lunch we stopped to admire the north end of a family of baboons walking south.

Lunch was at Harbour House at Kalk Bay overlooking the water. We started with a beetroot carpaccio. For the main course I had the salmon and Barb the seafood selection (prawns, mussels, lime fish, and calamari tubes). For dessert we had the sponge cake, panna cotta and black sesame seed gelato.

Best of all-for me-was my new favorite white wine: chenin blanc, one of the best wines coming out of South Africa but unavailable in Oklahoma.

We both slept on the bus ride back to the hotel and are still so tired we may call it a day shortly.

Day 4 in Cape Town: Paragliding, A Misstep and Rest

Twenty years ago Barb’s birthday present to me was a tandem parachute jump at an airport in Stroud.

When planning this trip to South Africa I ran across an offer to go tandem paragliding off Signal Mountain in Cape Town.

I couldn’t pass up such an opportunitso I signed up with “Skyride Paragliding” company for 7 am today. The hotel car took me to the top of Signal Mountain where I met Heinrich, my 20-something year old pilot who already has 4000+ paraglides under his belt.

Now to launch the paraglider you and the pilot have to run down a hill to catch the updraft wind that takes the parachute- and then hopefully you-into the air. The chute is spread out behind yo

I

Well, my 82-year-old legs have long since lost their ability and desire to run—any where. So the initial run down the mountain saw me tripping and falling to the ground with Heinrich quickly landing on top of me.

“Are you sure you want to try thins again” asked a very skeptical sounding Heinrich? I was deeply embarrassed but not yet defeated so down the mountain we ran again only this time Heinrich’s two helpers each grabbed one of my arms to keep me upright until the wind could catch the parachute. So kAncient legs and a scrapped forearm wouldn’t stop me.j

It worked! Once airborne Heinrich was guiding the chute with one hand and taking selfies of us with the other.

The landing on an ocean-side park went smoothly:

Back at the hotel Richard, a self described “first II aider”, bandaged my paragliding casually scraped arm so we could go down for breakfast.

Two interesting breakfast dishes: “fresh squeezed” pineapple juice and “Boerewors” described as “roasted sweet potato hash mijjnnwith smoor” (grilled sausage).

Following breakfast I spent much of the day napping to catch

up from jet lag.

Most our fellow AMA tour partners will bearriving today. We’ll meet them and the AMA tour director during a reception this evening.

The meeting with the tour director and most of the passengers went as expected. We are the oldest people on the tour. The others come from Florida, Kansas City, Oregon/Washington and Australia. Others will arrive later.

We leave on our first AMA tour tomorrow so the alarm is set for 6:00 am. It will be either a scenic drive to “penguin town” or a cable car to the top of top of Table Mountain and a drive through wine country.

Barb wanted a light jacket and I needed to restock medical supplies to treat my paragliding injuries so Bonga, a hotel employee, walked with us to a lively shopping area. We stopped to watch a group singing traditional African songs for tips.

More South African Food and Drink on a walking tour

A mistake (not our first): after sleeping in following a very filling yet fun evening at the Gold Restaurant, we went down for breakfast about 10 am. Hard to pass up those croissants.

Then we remembered: we leave on a 4-hour “Essential Foods Walking Tour” at noon. Oh well, I’m sure we will walk off breakfast during the lunch walk-about.

The hotel car will take us to the start of the tour at “Bokaap Deli” and pick us up 4 hours later at the “Firemen’s Arms”, the Cape’s oldest sports bars.

Two hours later:

Barb’s two cents worth

We managed two of the four stops before the heat, the narrow sidewalks and cobbled streets took their toll.

At the Bokaap Deli we enjoyed some very good local Rooibis tea, tea that is only grown in the Cape area. We also tried some “koesisters”, a traditional spiced donut.

On the walk to a local spice shop we saw several mosques in this Muslin area of Cape Town.

At one time Muslim law required all buildings be painted white to symbolize purity. All the people also dressed in white clothing. Over time things changed so the color palette in Bokaap is now just the opposite:

Residents have also used their houses to express personal statements :

This elephant is made of recycled bottle caps:

And who could resist this complex tree in the middle of a boulevard separating both sides of a major street:

Our second stop was Zannes Fare, famous for its “bobotie” (curried mincemeat with a beaten egg top), served with apricot chutney, salsa, saffron rice and a mystery sauce. We were given a packet of spices and the recipe for making bobotie:

A glass of cold local Steenberg Sauvignon Blanc hit the spot.

Olivia our tour guide took this photo of all six food walkers (newly weds Kate and Henry from Chicago and retirees Richard and Gloria from Australia):

Henry took our picture before we realized we could not continue on the walk.

Olivia kindly called the hotel to come pick us up and waited with us until the hotel car arrived.

Back in the hotel room I began chatting again with a Cox tech. The issue: Even though I signed on for Cox’s international calling plan a week before we left we were unable to make any calls when we arrived in Cape Town. I had spent several hours chatting last night but three levels of Cox reps could not resolve the problem. Today Andres from Cox Mobile Support discovered international calling had never been added to our phones after all. He worked his magic and now we have calling ability.

Phone problem resolved we settled in for the evening, showered, and enjoyed a cheeky bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Eikendal Vineyards in South Africa.

Dinner will be room service: hamburger and BLT, both with fries.

Barb’s two cents worth:

Can hardly believe this is my life at 85. We are having a great time, but the heat this afternoon brought me to a stop. Only enjoyed 2 of the 4 stops on the walk-about before grinding to a stop. We and our clothes were wet with perspiration, similar to summer in Oklahoma, but we don’t go for a walk in the summer afternoon heat in OKC. We decided it would not be wise for us to continue on the cobblestone streets of Bokaap, Cape Town. Our guide called our hotel for a driver to pick us up and stayed with us until the car arrived.

Our first nights in South Africa have been fun. Niles’ comfort level is to arrive a couple of days prior to the beginning of a tour. Others will arrive tonight and/or tomorrow.

We expect to meet 13 couples tomorrow evening; who will be joining us for two weeks through Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. It should be fun. We’ll keep you posted.

First day on the town

Feeling very refreshed following a good night’s sleep. Took down the laundry last night so no rush this morning. Woke up to a bright sunny day and a temperature of 57. Located everything in our suitcases and put out what we would use in the next 6 days in Cape Town.

8 am and off to breakfast.

60 minutes later…have you ever had the flakiest croissant, the most scrumptious mini crème brûlée, the best cappuccino and the juiciest kiwi fruit ….all in one meal!

Barb: The staff is so helpful and friendly, especially Letshia: she called me Barbra Streisand. I agreed to an autograph but would not sing.

Mid-morning we started our walk along the Marina area toward the Two Oceans Aquarium (named for the Atlantic and Indian oceans that meet at Cape Town).

Two hours later…

During our walk we couldn’t resist this nature-framed shot of some pricy condos on the marina…

We found the aquarium but bypassed it for an open area mall for local artisans called The Watershed.

The Watershed local artisans mall

Barbara’s two cents:

Feeling so grateful at 85 to be in South Africa following the long day (24hrs) to get here. OKC to Chicago to DC, 2 layovers then 14 hr flight. Left home on Monday. Arrived here on Tuesday and today is Wednesday. Whew!!

Niles: We bought a couple of “Guardian Hats”…

We both had iced lattes and later split a grilled cheddar, tomato and pesto sandwich.

On the return walk we passed some gorgeous iris…

and a view of Table Mountain, this time on a clear day, with prime real estate condos on the waterfront…

…before arriving back at the hotel…

“Just because” category:

If we were going to move to Cape Town we would have to invest in some “fixer-upper” properties…. like this beautiful maid of the seas…

…or this cozy bungalow:

This evening we venture to the Gold Restaurant for what they promise to be an “African Experience” of food, music and dancing.

The Gold Restaurant lived up to its billing. First we got some face art:

Then the whole audience, a drum for each person, played along with a drummer on stage for 30 minutes.

Tasting menu courses came 3-5 at a time.

In between courses performers danced and played traditional African music on stage,

Our server kept the tasting courses coming.

A 14-course (generous) tasting menu began with ostrich filet salad (spinach, beetroot and mixed seeds and a mustard dressing). Followed by Moroccan Zeilook (dip made of roasted aubergine, tomato, garlic and olive oil), South African Roosterkoek (a braai -grilled- bread with tomato dip), Malawian Kandolo balls (sweet potatoes), Mozambiquan chili chicken wings, Cape Malay Bobotie samosas, Namibian venison (Springbok) pie, Zanzibar fish and prawn curry, East African spinach cooked in coconut milk, Ethiopian sorghum, rainbow slaw, Congo mango and lime chicken, topped off with Cape Town ice cream and a Cape Malay biscuit.

I’m nearly breathless trying to remember it all!

By 9 pm we were stuffed and lucky to get out early to meet up with the hotel van driver.

We decided to keep our face paint on until after the walking food tour tomorrow afternoon. Wonder how much will come off on the pillows. Oh well, it’ll come out in the wash.

What a trip from Oklahoma City, USA, to Cape Town, South Africa! I’m still trying to tally the hours I’ve been awake.

Let’s see: woke up at 4 am Monday. Ed picked us up at 5 am for a ride to the airport. Then at 7 am a 2 hour flight to Chicago, add a 3 hour lay over there. Then a 1 1/2 hour flight to Washington-Dulles Airport, and tack on another 2 hour layover before boarding United #1022 for a 14 hour flight to Cape Town.

Oops…I forgot returning to the gate in Washington when we were close to taking off…seems luggage of 20 passengers had just caught up with them as we were leaving so I’m glad for them we went back to load up the cargo hold.

But back to the 14 hour flight. 14 hours is a long long long time. Even with 4 meals, snacks inbetween meals and a seemingly endless supply of movies to watch.

We were watching “Twisters” when the captain urgently asked everyone, including all flight attendants, to sit down and buckle up. A few seconds later we were flying into a thunderstorm at 37,000 feet and that plane was rocking for several minutes.

About that time multiple (movie) tornadoes were sweeping into El Reno adding to the drama.

Deplaning was a breeze. A delightful young lady took us from the plane to immigration to baggage claim and to the reception area (where we met the AMA tour company representative) and then to the parking garage where the hotel had a car waiting for us.

Riding into town gave us a wonderful view of Table Mountain swept with clouds.

The Cape Grace Hotel is gorgeous, sitting right on the waterfront area.

Our room has a great view of the marina.

The room itself is spotless and luxuriously furnished.

And the hotel’s restaurant (“The Library” sans books) awaits (although we’ll do room service tonight if we can stay awake long enough).

Tomorrow morning we start recovering from the long trip here…probably just walk around the marina area.

Tomorrow night we have dinner reservations at Gold Restaurant..14 courses from countries all over Africa (the recipes, not the meals themselves).

Barb’s two cents worth: Air travel went well. I had expected the long layovers at Chicago and DC to be tiring because we started without a full tank. Only had 3 or4 hours of sleep the night before.

But as usual Niles had done his research, and learned that our first class tickets would get us into the Polaris lounge at both stopovers. Bright, light, quiet spaces with various dining options. Ordering from the menu or buffet. Our waiter, Lisa, was a delight. Similar experience in Washington.

Our choice of aircraft for international travel is the 787 Dreamliner. Each passenger in first/business class has an individual cubical with tv/movie screen, headphones and seats that will lie flat with feet raised. Those comforts make a huge difference in the overall tiredness of the body. In our eighties we wouldn’t still be traveling internationally without the Dreamliner. Most airlines have them.

Monday, October 28, 2024

Did we get three hours sleep last night? With all the packing and repacking, added to the 5 am pickup trip to the airport…3 hours sounds about right.

Despite my dire concerns, check-in went smoothly. Security was a breeze. On the small plane to Chicago the sun streamed in the window: we discovered the window shade was missing the bottom part so we improvised with the plane’s Bistro menu:

Sun-blocking menu (this is a window, not a urinal!!!)

We had four hours to wait for our connecting flight to Washington and chose to spend it in the United Polaris Lounge. Conclusion: very nice!

Brunch at the Polaris was a special treat.

From the Libbey glassware..

To the Italian Pinot Grigio…

…to a decadent chocolate chip skillet cookie with ice cream:

We landed at Washington-Dulles on time and with another two- hour layover it’s off to Cape Town on a 14 1/2 hour flight.

Luckily we can endure that long trip on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner:

Friday, October 25, 2024

What am I forgetting? Am I taking too many of some things? Am I taking not enough of others?

To repeat: packing can be a pain!

With two days to go does this look like progress?

At least the ride to the airport is all set: we leave the house at 5:00 am Monday morning …assuming the private car driver doesn’t use his GPS which will take him to the exit gate where he’s stopped in his tracks. Would love to know how to change that error in GPS directions.

But until we check in, pass security and get to the departure gate I won’t stop worrying. Always been a travel worrier until we get on the plane. But in this case we have never left this early. There are 24 flights leaving between 5-7 am….that’s 2300 passengers passing through security during those hours.

Saturday, October 26, 2024

Feeling better. Bags packed, weighed and zipped.

Discovered I had doubled up packing some clothes so that helped meeting the weight limits. Weight of bags is only an issue with AIRLINK Airlines which we take from Cape Town, South Africa to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe: 20 kilos for the checked bag, 7 kilos for the carry-on bag and all bags must have at least one flat side (no duffle bags). Miss any of those limits and they send you to a “re-packing office” where you pay fee to right the wrong…even to adding a “flat surface.”

Barb’s brother Ed took a load off my mind by offering to take us to the airport at 5 am. What a guy!

One more day and we’re off on our great South Africa Adventure.

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Fun is planning the trip. Fun is anticipating the upcoming adventures you will soon experience.

But packing is not fun. Not when packing for 6 days in a modern urban city of 5 million. Not when packing for 4 days on a ship and four days on a train. Not when packing for two land safaris and three water safaris.

It’s like packing for three trips in one: dress up city events, dress middling for the ship and train and dress down for open top 4 x4 Range Rover dusty rides over barely existent bumpy roads in search of lions who are probably hungry and elephants who need little excuse to run you over.

But then there is the picnic in the middle of the Botswana Savanna, the paragliding from Table Mountain in Cape Town, the mist washing over your face at the edge of Victoria Falls and the village school children singing when you visit their dirt floor classroom.

Well, maybe all the packing is worth it after all.

So many things to do when you are leaving in the Fall/Winter and arriving in the Spring\Summer.

So many clothing choices to make from savannah safari clothes to sophisticated Cape Town urban chinos and short sleeve shirts to dressy affairs that require coat and tie for upscale city restaurants, “look back” dining on the Rovos Rail vintage train and the ornate Livingston dining room in the Victoria Falls Hotel.

Added difficulty: suitcases must weigh less than 44 pounds.

Two weeks to go and here’s where our packing stands today, not including what’s hanging in the closet:

And then the issues of finding a rentable travel CPAP machine, ordering South Africa “Rand” currency from the bank, setting up international calling and texting plans for our phones, notifying the credit card company that charges from Africa should be accepted.

And what gifts for the children when we visit a school in Zimbabwe, and the elders of the village?

Eating will be another experience…dishes with strange names and perhaps strange ingredients. Like koesisters (spiced donuts), bobotie (curried mincemeat with beaten egg topping) with apricot chutney and sambal (Malaysian chili paste), ostrich fillet, springbok goulash, chakalaka (spicy vegetable casserole), and bunny chow (hollowed out bread loaf filled with curried meat, chickpeas and potatoes.

The word that reappears is “spicy”.

Back to packing. As they say: if you don’t absolutely need it, leave it out.