“Good Friends, Good Wine, Good Music”

Lots to update you on over the last few days. Things are going well in Cape Town. The weather is beautiful and we’re trying to fit everything in which means we’re constantly on the go. We finally figured out the secret to truly loving a CCS program—eating out! You will see lots of new pics of me (and the girls) eating. Really good food is VERY affordable (e.g. I had an entire filet entrée—with veggies and sides—for $15), and as I keep repeating, so is the wine!

Here’s the update:
Thursday:

We had a CCS “program” after our volunteer placements which included a trip to Bo Kaap for lunch and a museum tour. Bo Kaap is an area of Cape Town which is populated with a largely Muslim population. The Malay people living there now are descendants of the Muslim’s brought to Cape Town as slaves back in the 1600s and 1700s. Really beautiful architecture—very much Dutch inspired (which is interesting because these people were largely Indian/Asian).

After that, we walked around downtown Cape Town (Long Street, waterfront), and Stephanie and I had a great meal at The Green Dragon in the waterfront. I had prawns and crayfish (lobster)—both were huge, delicious, and had their eyes. The food was fantastic! But it was tourist central so a bit more expensive than usual…

Friday:

Had a great day at work. I was asked to attend the board of directors meeting for Sibanye. We were developing vision statements for the organization and developed a pretty detailed SWOT analysis. It was great to meet the board—very, very intelligent people who are involved in numerous NGOs across South Africa. What’s difficult to see, though, is that these board members are so stretched that there is very little day-to-day support for the organization. And it’s needed. That said, they are very serious and committed to making this organization a success.

After that, we hit the beach at Kalk Bay down on the Indian Ocean (in False Bay). After searching out the sun, we were able to lay out for a while (the weather in cape town at the beach is so odd—every quarter mile can have completely different temperature, cloud cover, wind, etc.). After the beach, 6 of us hit a South African tapas restaurant called Fork on Long Street. The food was fantastic and I tried Ostrich for the very first time. It was really well prepared—although I do feel a little funny about eating an ostrich so I’m not sure that will become a regular part of my South African diet.

Saturday:

Jo-lene, the director of Sibanye, came and picked us up and took us to an organic market in Woodstock (funny, right?). There was amazing food and really talented local artists selling glass, furniture, art, pottery, etc. I did a little damage at that market…

In the afternoon, we attended the J&B Met horse race, a huge annual event in Cape Town. I was the BIG WINNER here. I bet on lucky number 14, “Our Giant” in the big race and won 145 rand (about $20). Our Giant was chosen in hopes that Eli Manning and the NY Giants won’t have a horrendously sad game against the Patriots. Based on my winnings, I’d say we have a shot…

It was a lot of fun. It’s the most dressed I’ve been since I’ve gotten here – putting on a dress was really kinda nice…

Sunday:

WINE TASTING!!!! So fun. We left around 9am—our regular tour guide Farid, who also drove us last week to Cape Point, continued his reign as the best tour guide in South Africa. We hit the 3 primary wine regions in the western cape: Paarl, Franscheok, and Stellenbosch. All three were beautiful. We made it to 3 vineyards: here’s my analysis of the South African wines we tasted. (feel free to take this or leave this)

Location: Paarl: “Good Friends, Good Wine, Good Music” is their motto in this region

Vineyard 1: KWV

Tastings:
1 – KWV Chenin Blanc – very dry white. Didn’t do much for me. A little too fruity.
2 – KWV Reserve Sauvignon Blanc – also too fruity (hate fruity wines)
3 – Café Culture Pinotage – Pinotage is a type of wine native to South Africa. I don’t love them but I did like one or two. This one was more like a desert wine—heavy banana and chocolate flavors. It’s a new wine so it may mature over time (only been out for 5 months). For a desert wine, it would be great. But, you wouldn’t want to drink this with dinner.
4 – Cathedral Cellar Shiraz – Very strong with a lot of bite. I love Shiraz but didn’t love this one.
5 – KWV Tawny Port – Very sweet but I enjoyed it. And I typically don’t like port.
6 – KWV 10 year old brandy – what do you think???

Location: Franscheok

Vineyard 2: Chamonix

Had lunch here at the cutest outdoor restaurant. It was picturesque and I had a huge filet (much needed red meat) with asparagus and potatoes. For desert (because I’m currently binging on food), I ordered the chocolate mélange—chocolate cake with raspberry sauce, white chocolate mousse, and chocolate sorbet. Very, very chocolaty and just what the doctor ordered!

For wine, we had a bottle of 2005 Pinotage. Really good with a very smooth finish.

Vineyard 3: Solms Delta

Tastings:
1 – Vastrap – a “cape” blend of Chenin Blanc, Cloiretto Blanche, Semillon. Didn’t love this—too fruity.
2 – Solms Lekkerwijn – Rose. It was very tasty.
3 – Solms Amalie – a great, dry white. Bought a bottle.
4 – Hiervardaan – Shiraz. Very smooth with a great finish. Bought a bottle.
5 – Africana – Shiraz. Also great. Stronger flavor than the Hiervardaan with a very smooth finish. Bought a bottle.
6 – Koloni – Muscatel. Good if you’re eating spicy foods. Acts as a neutralizer.

Other random points of interest:

-Saw the prison which Nelson Mandela was released from

-Saw the Unisys South African headquarters on the way to the vineyards

-No one mans the train station office most of the weekdays and weekends so the city of Cape Town is losing millions of Rands because they are not charging people to ride their trains

-I now know how to say hi, how are you, and what is your name in Xhosa. There are 3 kinds of clicks and I sound "special" when I try to speak the language

So, that’s my update. It’s been busy and really fun, but back to work tomorrow.

Hope all is well!

Love,

C