Around the World in 128 Days - Cape Town Day 1 - Winelands Excursion

 

Travel Day 106 - April 18, 2024 - 9,222 Steps

The fog had moved back to the port overnight.

And the fog thickens.

Looking at the ship as we head out toward the Stellenbosch area. With only 20 people on the excursion it was going to be a great day once we drove beyond the fog. 

Housing varies all over the place. but as in other countries it reflects the economic status of the owners.

One area we passed was know for its blueberries, which are grow in these protective structures.

Grape country at last. The mountains surrounding this valley makes it very picturesque,

Our first stop.

Still a slight chill in the air as we began walking around the beautiful grounds of the estate.

Confirmation they distill their own brandy.

Filling the barrels to begin aging the wine. Being in the southern hemisphere the seasons are the opposite of ours.

It takes a flashlight and a sharp eye to not overfill the barrels.

There are aging barrels, then there are aging barrels.

Two the barrels in the above room had intricate carvings on the front.

While 10 am is a little early to be drinking wine, it's not too early to be tasting wine.

The wine he is pouring has Linda smiling in anticipation of tasting it. Thanks to our dear friends. Val and Jeff, we know how awesome ice wine is.

At the other end of what Linda likes, the doesn't like end, was the sparkling wine.

Linda in the wine glass.

From left to right: Cap Classique Sparking Wine, The Anchor Man Chenin Blanc, The Brew Master Bordeaux Blend, The Motorcycle Marvel Rhone Blend and Noble Late Harvest. as a bonus we later tasted the Pinotage. The ice wine being a given, the other ones I liked were the Chenin Blanc, the Rhone Blend and the Pinotage.

Bird by Linda.

More berries being grown under cover.

Nelson Mandela statues can often be seen. He truly was a great man.

Always there is the requisite church to visit.

Me thinks there will be a rock from South Africa somewhere in Linda's luggage when we return home.

Second stop, this one dates from the 1600's.

Our box lunch, which in this case was actually served in a box.

Linda demonstrating her unboxing technique. 

Just the tiniest bit of the food that was in the box. There was literally enough for three meals, and all of it, at least the little bit of most and a lot of some was really, really good. The photo shows my two favorites, the perfectly baked chewy bread and the succulent chicken. Linda said she had never tasted chicken as good as this and I agreed with her.

Bob's bird photo. Linda wins the bird photo contest hands down.

Bottles of each shown below.

I really didn't care that much for any of these wines, but I had to pick one I liked, I'd say it was the Chardonnay by a nose over the Pinotage.

The beauty of the country beyond this, at the time, whites only cemetery, contrasts with the horrors of it's apartheid past.

The townships were where those other than the whites were forcibly resettled.

Our guide talking about the township experience. The video may be distracting due to the buildings flashing by, but the audio is definitely worth listening to if you look away from the video..

While there has been a effort to replace the housing in the townships with modern builds it is but a mere drop in the bucket compared to the millions of people needing better housing.

Returning to the ship, the fog was gone again during the day.

Our day from the time we gathered for our excursion in the morning till we returned to the ship in the evening was 10 1/2 hours. This was the scene in the cruise terminal cause by the moving of the ship from one berth to another just as everyone was returning from their day out. It definitely didn't endear us to Holland America Lines. 

At least we had a different view from our verandah tonight as Table Mountain loomed over this hotel.