Wah wah wah. I know, world's smallest violin, or whatever.
In point of fact, we had quite a good time in Franschoek and Stellenbosch, which are towns about 45 minutes east of Cape Town, and are surrounded everywhere you turn by vineyards, beautiful mountains and sad giraffes (more on that later).
We rented a cottage in a vineyard:
It was as cute as one could hope for, but here's the thing -- South Africa is a mostly hot country, so their homes are built to do everything possible to keep the heat out... I appreciate this need, but in the two months of actual coldish weather, this plan means that there is no way to attain actual warmth... You have no choice but to huddle under the blankets, fingers too frozen to even operate the remote, thus dooming yourself to watch V for Vendetta from start to finish (Nathalie Portman, that Phantom of the Opera tortured you for months - days? - timelines were unclear - I really doubt you'd forgive him that quickly).
Still, when we attained a sufficient internal temperature to allow movement, this was our view:
Given the miserable weather and the scuttling of our walking and vineyard touring plans, we settled into a nice pattern of seeking out food and eating it. I justified this change partly because the blood vessels to my brain were frozen and thinking of another alternative was too hard (are there blood vessels to your brain? There must be, right? Though didn't I read something about there being no blood in brains? If that's the case, how do strokes happen? Aren't those blood clots to the brain? Mrs. Oliver's Grade Nine Biology Class fails me again). And partly because the area is famed for its food. This was certainly the case with Violet's impressive "kiddie" meal of fish cakes (it's just tuna fish, Violet, straight from the can, just like at home, I promise):
As it turns out Jerry was the only giraffe being "saved" and he seemed to lead quite a lonely life (giraffes are herd animals, right) in this desolate field immediately next to the N1 motorway.
Moody, artistic shot capturing the fundamental ennui of existence embodied by Jerry (or Amy unable to figure out why that happens sometimes when she takes photos -- something about lighting?)
After the intense depression brought on by seeing Jerry's existence, we decided to forego both the monkey sanctuary and the cheetah habitat that were also in the area and the next day (still raining, still gale force winds) we headed to Butterfly World. I was dubious about this one... I mean butterflies are okay, but I am not confident that their entire world would be interesting... Still, I was much more willing to see insects mistreated in some depressing enclosure than mammals.
As it turns out Butterfly World was quite awesome. It was inside (hurray) the butterflies were pretty, there were also all kinds of parrots and birds, plus snakes, monkeys, mongooses, and assorted spiders. All of the animals (except the actual butterflies) had been rescue pets and seemed to have sufficient room to move and enough activity to keep them occupied. Super bonus, the cafe was really good too.
Super best bonus? This sign in the ladies' room:
I love how explicit it is. Also, the turd and the toilet paper get faces, but in the hierarchy of public restroom art, the puddle of urine doesn't...
Our last day in the Wine Lands we splurged and had a great big fancy lunch at a big vineyard. It was great, the sun shone briefly, there was a play structure and peacocks to look at, the food was possibly the best we had and the wine was tasty.
Vineyard -- note the sun has already disappeared again:
That's pretty much it for Cape Town -- goodbye South Africa, hello MALAWI!
1 comment:
Despite the rain....fabulous Amy! In my ignorance, I didn't know much about what South Africa had to offer, it'll have to go on the long list of places to see.
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