February 19, 2020

Azamara Quest Cape Town to Athens 

Pre stay Day 7

Food Tour

Today we have a food tour scheduled. We will meet the tour at a coffee house. It is not too far away, but we have received conflicting reports regarding the safety of walking there. We will use Uber.

The app worked like a charm. David picked us up on schedule and delivered us 6 minutes. This ride cost us $3.00 including a nice tip.

Justin met us as we got out of the car and checked us in. He was acting for 4 more people when we join 4 people already upstairs. They arrived as we headed inside. It turned out that a couple from Reno and we will join Quest tomorrow. 4 others were on Quest now and chose this tour for their day in Cape Town before disembarking tomorrow. The final couple both work for the state department and are stationed in Central Africa for three years. They are here on holiday. It is a very congenial group, and Justin is a superior guide and host.

In the coffee house, we learned about how they brew coffee with a siphon. We also learned why and how they chose the beans. They specialize in a well-balanced coffee that is fine if drunk black. Alice agreed that when she drank this coffee black it was very smooth and she did not miss her milk.

We walked to our second stop, Cafe Charles. Here we experienced bobotie. This is a mild Malay curry served over yellow rice. It is accompanied with sweet chutney and sambal which was very mild. The combination of flavors was very pleasant. Time to walk on.

Now we stopped at Beluga. This beautiful restaurant seats 300 inside. We sat outside in the breeze. and enjoyed beef carpaccio &  chicken peanut pot-stickers paired with a glass of Boschendal Brut. The beef was thinly sliced and garnished with thin greens. The pot-stickers were fantastic. They had been fried on one side and then place in a steamer basket for final cooking. Chopsticks were the order of the day unless you requested a fork. One of us had a fork. Both of us had enjoyment. The champagne complemented the meal nicely.

After touring the inside of the restaurant to observe how fine it was we moved on.

This walk was a little longer and took us to Cafe Extrablatt. Here we sampled a lager, an Amber Weiss and Imperial IPA. All were good and a welcome respite from the heat. Most of us agreed that the Amber Weiss was the hit of the trio.

Now we walked to The Butcherman. This butcher shop specializes in fresh cuts of beef, pork, and lamb. Of course, chicken is also available. The butcher works behind glass at the back of the shop. Cooler shelves stocked with fresh cuts line the walls.

A specialty is dried beef in different forms. Some were chewier than others. Some had been dried with different spices. All were tasty and refreshing. These are items that travelers without refrigeration could use for good nourishment.

After sampling these we sat down to enjoy beef sausage. These fat sausages Were amazing. They were very lean and very tasty. Our breakfast bar offers beef sausages, but I have been getting the familiar pork sausages. I won’t tomorrow.

We passed through the university campus and arrived at the V&A Waterfront near the aquarium. We walked through the Water Shed, past Nobel Square and The Wheel as we headed toward a building close to the mall. Alice and I recognized this  as the building that housed the tourist information office when we stopped here two years ago. 

Now it is Cause Effect. This bar specializes in herb-infused liquor. We had a spritzer infused with an aromatic leafy plant. Cape Brandy with Malva Pudding completed the presentation. The spritzer was flavorful and very refreshing. The brandy was excellent. What a fitting end to our four and a half walk.

Justin did an outstanding job of explaining everything we ate and drank. He fleshed out that telling with stories of the history and sourcing of the product and ingredients. 

In talking to some of the others as we went our separate ways, everybody felt that we had gotten far more than our money’s worth. Justin and Cape Town Culinary Tours far exceeded our expectations.

Now we are back at the City Lodge I will try to assemble the pictures that go with the blog and upload everything before we board the ship. we heard today the internet speeds onboard are less than desirable.

For now, we are pausing to pack up our Cape Town gear, and ready our bags for tomorrow. Check out is 11:00. We will Uber to the pier. The only challenge is to get a car large enough for 4 suitcases.

It is now 10:45 Wednesday night, and I have just finished adding the pictures and publishing this blog. I am having fun. I hope you are too.

February 18, 2020

Azamara Quest Cape Town to Athens 

Pre stay Day 6

Wine Tour

Today we indulged in another fine breakfast before we were picked up for our all-day one tour at 9:00. 

Our driver, Bruce, picked us up on time. 5 others were already aboard the minibus. We stopped at the cruise terminal to pick up another couple from Azamara Quest. That is the ship we will be boarding on Thursday. This couple disembarks on Thursday after spending here.  They were from a suburb of Seattle. Another couple was from Nelson Bay, Australia. The final 3 we're cousins. A young man and woman from Vienna, Austria were visiting their cousin, who works for Accenture. She just moved to Johannesburg where she has been assigned for 3 years. 

Bruce explained that we would visit 4 wineries including a lunch stop. Two of these would be in the Franschhoek region. The remaining two would be in the Stellenbosch region. It would take about two and a half hours to get to the first winery. He pulled away from the cruise terminal and we were on our way. 

Sure enough, we arrived at the first stop at 12:30. Here we enjoyed 6 wines paired with cheese. 

A small bowl of hibiscus sauce was available for dipping the cheese. We all seemed in agreement that this sauce coupled with the herb coated cheeses made an excellent appetizer. 

Each wine was explained. After swirling it and sniffing it we drank some. Then we ate some cheese and drank more of the wine. We were all surprised at the change in wine flavor this created. After making our way through the wines and cheese. We were invited to visit the shop. We would bring our selection back to the wine bar and, if desired, add wines to the purchase. After paying we took our receipts to the wine counter where our selection was boxed and handed to us. The whole process was very efficient.  Alice and I purchased a bottle of the hibiscus sauce and a bottle of Broken Barrel, the last red wine we tasted. We agreed it was the smoothest and most full-bodied of the 6 offerings. We look forward to drinking it on our veranda on board Quest. 

At this stop, we learned that Mike and Kathy from Washington prefer red wines and have a 900 bottle wine cellar. They travel to wine growing regions and like to ship home cases of wines not available in the US. 

The very friendly Australian couple are our age and share our simple tastes. The “youngsters” have eclectic tastes and chose several wines to party with. We all enjoyed this. 

As we drove to the second stop, Bruce had us indicate our lunch selections on a menu. He would place the order for lunch after the second winery. 

At the second winery, the process was repeated without the cheese. Our moods were mellowing and we purchased less. 

For lunch, Alice had a chicken wrap. It was very large and half of it made its way home for our dinner. I had a Malay chicken curry. It came with rice and a small bowl of sambals. I am a fan of Indonesian Sambal. That is a Hilo paste. This sambal was chopped red and green chilies in oil. It was hotter but very good. 

After lunch, I commented to Alice that the tour company name was African Story Wine Tours and Bruce’s last name was Story. When we asked him about this he confirmed that this was his company. He has been in business for 15 years and loves what he is doing. He grew up poor and was deaf until the age of 10 when he had surgery to correct his damaged eardrums. He worked at many jobs including as a circus clown before discovering wine. His goal is to educate us about wine while entertaining us with it. 

At wineries 3 and 4 we learned more about the grape growing and winemaking processes. We enjoyed the company and had fun with the whole proceeding. 

Here is a small selection of the many pictures we took. Don't want to bore you.

CHEESES AND ORDER FORM

A BOXED WINE HERE IS GOATS DO ROAM

ANOTHER TASTING ROOM

OUR TOUR GROUP

COBWEBS LEFT FROM 1977 AS REQUIRED
NOTHING MAY BE CHANGED

At 6:30 we were back home in City Lodge. 

Well done Bruce!

Now we are looking forward to our African food tour tomorrow. That will be our last tour and our last full day in Cape Town

February 17, 2020

Azamara Quest Cape Town to Athens 

Pre stay Day 5

Aquila Game Drive

Ashley arrived with a minibus to pick us up. This would be a 9-hour tour. We joined 2 other couples already onboard. This was our first shared your and we all got along well. 

Ashley explained that the drive to the game reserve would take 2.5 hours including a half-hour mercy stop. Upon arrival, we would get a welcome drink followed by a buffet lunch. At 1:20 we would meet for the drive.  It would last until 3:45. After a mercy break, we would board the bus for the return to Cape Town. 

The drive to Aquilla Game Reserve was very pleasant. We drove past many vineyards and observed mechanical harvesters picking grapes from neatly organized rows of grapevines. We also saw fields of table grapes. These are supported on trellises and have to be harvested by hand. 

At one point Ashley pointed out a roadside sign indicating that we were entering a fruit fly control zone. In this area, fruit tree orchards were covered on top and sides with a netting. This was so thorough that the flies would be kept out. That prevents them from laying their eggs in the blossoms before the fruit starts to grow. If eggs get into the blossoms the larvae eat the fruit from the inside out. This is not visible until it is too late. 80% of the crop is for export. The arrival of a rotten container of fruit has proven devastating to the ability to sell the harvest in the past. They never want to suffer that again. 

We arrived at Aquilla at 11:20 and received our welcome drink. After walking around to survey the lodge and facilities, we returned to the restaurant for lunch. Both a cold table and a hot table we're excellently presented. 

After this plentiful lunch, we went to the meeting place for the drive. Ashley led us to our vehicle. It was a 20 seater, but we were among the first to board and got excellent seats. Ours was the lead vehicle for a group of 6. Departures were staggered so we would not bunch up. The benefit of being first was that when we spotted animals if they ran off, we did not miss out on the experience. 

The reserve is quite large. The trails are narrow and rocky. Our driver/narrator was excellent in both tasks. We were close enough to the front that we had no trouble hearing him. 

We first found the rhinos. Then we spotted hippos submerging in a pond with their ears showing. Patient waiting resulted in watching heads rise above the water as they came up to breathe. A little later we found a mother hippo with her 5-day old baby. As we encountered animals our driver did a fine job of explaining them. He included diet, size, speed, and habits. 

We eventually encountered springbocs, wild beasts, zebras, water buffalo, elephants, a giraffe, and lions. These were not located in a shared area, but rather they were scattered throughout the reserve. The lions were in a large spacial area protected by an electric fence. This was to prevent them from decimating the population of other animals. 

STRIPES ARE THEIR FINGERPRINTS

JUST 5 DAYS OLD

SPRINGBOC

Shortly after entering the lion zone, we spied a female lion lying in the sun on a high rock. After watching her watch us we saw movement behind her. Slowly a majestic male crept forward. He looked at her, looked down at us and turned around. He disappeared behind the rocks. The people in the vehicles following us never saw him. Our thanks to Ashley for positioning us so well. 

From here we exited the lion range and headed back to the lodge. On the way, we stopped to observe two elephants playing with each other as they pulled up large clumps of grass to eat. These huge beasts were the closing act for our exciting and satisfying ride. 

We were not disappointed that the thousands of dollars we saved by coming here instead of flying to someplace like Kruger will be available for future travels. The day was fun and it took us to partsSouthwest Africa that we had not previously visited. 

Ashley delivered us to the food court of the V&A mall. We had a light snack and walked home. We were in our room by 7:15. This was another long and enjoyable day. 

February 16, 2020

Azamara Quest Cape Town to Athens Pre stay Day 4

Private Township Tour and Robben Island

We are recognized in the restaurant at breakfast now. It does not seem like many people stay here for an extended time. That is just fine as the food is good and with familiarity, the service gets even better.

At 8:30 Mbyui picked us up. The tour description had said 2-14 people in a minibus. It turned out to be just us in a comfortable sedan. 

Our first stop was at District 6 after passing the District 6 Museum. From 1966 to 1982 the government removed 60,000 blacks and colored from District 6 and relocated them in Cape Flats about 15 miles away. The apartheid government wanted to segregate the various races living there. 

You can imagine the impact that it made because the city center was deserted. You no longer had a population of people who could use the shops, use public transport, etc. The downtown area of the city became a ghost town after 5 o’clock in the evening when people left work.

Besides the violations of peoples’ rights, it was bad for the city and the local economy. The people that moved away from the city found themselves in places with little infrastructure. Very often the homes were not built properly. There were no schools. They were far away from places of work. Before, they could walk to work from their homes to their places of work in the city. Now, they had to commute for two hours, and there were problems walking through the dangerous bush.

Repeated plans for the redevelopment of District 6 have been scrapped for economic reasons or as the result of corruption. We stood overlooking a vast area of rubble.

Mbuyi explained that he would now take us to Langa, a township that originated in the early 1900s. 

Langa was built in phases.  The former structures were shabby, with unpaved roads and no electricity supply.  The township was completed and officially opened in 1927. Langa is located on the Cape Flats, 11 km south-east of the center of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province. 

What we saw today was a broad range of housing from shanties, to poorly constructed 2 room buildings, to hostels like barracks, to typical conservative houses and homes with swimming pools. Mbuyi called the latter Beverly Hills. 

The streets were crowded with kids playing and young people gathering. There were also many people on their way to church. They were dressed in their Sunday finest. 

We visited a craft stall where items made by local youths and young adults we're being sold. We found some things to buy that had been made by kids in a program to teach them and keep them off the streets. The agreed-upon price seemed high, but we felt the money was needed here more than in our pocket. They were very grateful for our support and said so. When we passed them a bit later, we got a big thumbs up. Glad we could help. 

Now we drove by a large shantytown. Access was only by foot on dirt paths. Electricity was available and lines were everywhere. Mbyui said many were illegal hookups. These had no plumbing and sanitation was managed by carrying buckets to central point. Likewise, water had to be carried home from a pickup point. Satellite dishes were mounted on many shanty roofs. These were the poorest of the poor yet someone was earning to pay for entertainment. Mbyui said the country is crazy about sports, so the dishes are necessary. 

Our final stop was at a Baptist Church. This is where all the well dressed folks we're going. In a large room filled with chairs, ushers directed tourists and congregants to seats. On a stage, at the front of this hall, an excellent 9 woman choir was warming us up with hymns. Video screens positioned around the hall displayed the lyrics. We were rocking. 

After 15 minutes a lady preacher took the lead and picked up the tempo even more. She interspersed her message in the lyrics. Mbyui said this would continue for two to three hours.    After 35 minutes he led us out. Several large groups of tourists left at the same time. Ushers were outside to accept our contributions. This represents a significant benefit to the work of the church in the community. 

It was time to go to the Clock Tower on the waterfront. Mbyui gave us tickets for our tour of Robben Island and showed us how to get to the ferry. He also pointed out some good lunch spots. We had an hour for lunch before boarding the ferry. Mbyui showed us where we should meet him at 5:00 when we returned. 

We had an OK pizza and shared a Castle lager before boarding the 1:00 ferry. On the island, we were bussed to the prison. There a former inmate, 1264, would lead us and explain what we were seeing. He started by telling us that he would have the elderly set the pace because it was us who got the youth here. He insisted that Alice and I join the group at the front. Clearly, we look older than we feel. 

1264 showed us the medical facility, the exercise yard, the punishment section, and the single-cell section. We heard that many imprisoned here we're political prisoners sentenced for their anti-apartheid activities. Nelson Mandela was foremost among these. 

1264 made sure that each of us saw Mandela’s cell.  Then he took us to the limestone quarry. That is where the prisoners passed their days at hard labor. 

This was a somber experience that has motivated us to learn more about the horrific history of segregation in South Africa. 

1264 bid us farewell as we boarded the bus to tour the village. The village is where the administration and staff, who ran the prison, lived. Now the Museum staff live here. The housing appears to be well maintained. The school has been closed due to low enrollment. There is no store. Students take the ferry to Cape Town. The ferry is also the means of transportation to do shopping. 

CAPE TOWN FROM ROBBEN ISLAND

We boarded the 4:30 ferry. At 5:00 we met Mbyui. 5 minutes later at our hotel, we thanked him and went to our room. 

After cleaning up, we went down to have our first dinner in the hotel restaurant. Alice ordered a bunless cheeseburger. I ordered beef curry, a Malay dish. 

The burger turned out to be 2 patties stacked on top of lettuce with tomato and bacon in between and the cheese on top. This came with coleslaw and fries Alice loved it. 

My beef curry was shredded beef in a medium-hot curry with a side dish of yellow rice. The portion was ample and delicious. 

We went out for a walk after dinner and returned to our room at 7:15. Another very good day. 

February 15, 2020

Azamara Quest Cape Town to Athens Pre stay Day 3

Private Tour to Cape of Good Hope

We had booked a private tour to the Cape of Good Hope through Viator while at home. The schedule called for a pick up at our hotel at 9:00. We had an early breakfast and were seated in the lobby at 8:30. Shortly thereafter I noticed a car pull up. A guide came in and stopped at the Travel Desk. I could not hear their conversation, but the guide soon went to registration. After about 5 minutes he returned to the lobby and stopped to ask if we were the Finns. Because we had not booked through the hotel they had not been much help. 

Peter, our guide, reviewed the plan for the day with us before taking us to his very nice and comfortable car. He would be with us until 5:00 if the touring took that long. We would drive in a southerly direction toward the Cape.  

We passed Green Point and the large sports arena, Bantry Bay, Clifton, and Camps Bay while on our way to Hout Bay. Peter was an excellent driver. He shared stories about the places we passed, and he explained the history. We learned that he was a 27-year-old foreigner from the Republic of Condo. The laws would never allow him to become a citizen. He could not get any form of credit, and because his documents have to be renewed every six months he cannot even sign a lease. He has to have a roommate. 

At Haut Bay, we stopped to take a boat ride to Seal Island. This cluster of rocks around a point from the harbor is home to a large population of seals. It was fun to watch them playing and lazing around. It was also fun watching the captain spinning the wheel so we would not be badly bounced or sprayed by the high waves. Peter had secured us good seats. 

Back on land, we continued our drive. We drove up Chapman’s Peak highway. This marvel took 7 years of hard labor to build. It provides magnificent views of Hout Bay and the seal island. Peter did an admirable job of keeping us on the road while explaining the views. 

Our next stop was Simon's Town for a visit to Boulders Beach. This is home to a large number of African penguins. And we did see a large number of them. We watched a dad feeding a juvenile under him. We saw another penguin incubating an egg. There was a lot of scurrying around these two. This was a treat to see. 

THERE IS A PENGUIN IN THE WATER

The only downside was the wind whipping across the sand. Our cheeks felt like pincushions from the sting of windblown sand. We could not help getting some in our noses and hair. It was tenacious, and required a shower, when we got home, to liberate us from it. Peter drove the car around to the parking lot so we would not have to climb the very steep hill we had walked down on our arrival. That was a godsend. 

Next stop, the Cape of Good Hope. An easy drive brought us to the park entrance. Here we joined a long line of cars waiting to purchase tickets. Finally, we drove to the parking lot. It was a long way up to the observation point at the lighthouse. A funicular ran halfway up to it, but from there over 100 steep steps had to be climbed. Peter advised taking pictures at our level in order to save our knees. We demurred and walked to the restaurant. 

CAPE BABOONS

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE

CAPE LIGHTHOUSE

We asked Peter to join us for lunch. He ate like a bird, but the conversation was most interesting. This is when we learned about black on black crime. Some blacks indigenous to South Africa view black foreigners as a threat. They view them as competitors for their jobs at a time when unemployment is at 30%. This has led to murders in some instances. Peter tries not to think about this, and he carefully goes about his business. 

We left the restaurant and walked to a viewpoint to capture this special visit. On the way, we dodged a mother baboon with her baby on her back. We had no food, so she left us alone. 

We headed back to Cape Town where Peter gave us a driving tour of city center. Then we went to the Po Kapp neighborhood. We parked and walked a few blocks to admire the colorful houses of the Malay. 

BEACHES ON THE WAY HOME

BO KAPP COLORED HOUSES

Before long this full/day tour came to an end.

Peter returned us to our hotel where we expressed our gratitude, wished him well and said our goodbyes. 

After going to our room where we wiped sand out of our ears and brushed more out of our hair, we walked to the waterfront for ice cream. That was supper. Our excellent lunch was our main meal today.

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE MOUNTAIN

YARD HAS BEEN BUSY PAINTING 

REFLECTIONS IN CANAL IN FRONT OF OUR HOTEL

ANOTHER VIEW