The drive was only about 45 minutes outside of Cape Town but the atmosphere is very different. Stellenbosch is a quiet community nestled in rolling countryside you would imagine when thinking of wine country. We found the tourist office and rented a two bedroom apartment for two nights. It's a cute place with a balcony off one room and an en-suite in the other with another bathroom off the full-sized kitchen.
Johann was a fitness teacher in a school in Bloemfontein years ago and one of his former students is now going to university here and Johann contacted him a while ago to meet up with us. While staying at his mother's house, he pulled out a Men's Fitness magazine and went to the middle spread and said that was Izak, the boy he used to coach.
Johann called him and told us he was going to join us and show us the city along with another friend. Izak and his friend Pieter showed up a few minutes later. Forbes and I had a hard time concentrating on anything for a little while. Both are 22 years old and the most adorable kids you'll ever meet. Very personable. And straight. Johann is not out to anyone in his life in the UK or South Africa except for Forbes. I am fairly certain everyone knows, especially his mother but nobody will discuss it with him. I think the only person who might be uncomfortable about his being gay is himself. Both Izak and Pieter both speak Africaans as a first language so they were eager to talk to Johann and catch up. They even hinted to Johann that they knew about him but the subject was quickly changed (by Johann).
The lads...Pieter, Johann, and Izak.
The lads took us for a stroll around town and we went through two museums, one that cronicles the history of the town, and the other an art gallery. Stellenbosch is one of the first Dutch settlements in the country.
From the museum: a sledgehammer used by the slaves and chains used to bind them.
Next they took us for a stroll through their university. Izak is studying law (yes, looks, personality, brains...he got it all) and Pieter for Industrial Psychology which is sort of what we would call a business analyst. The University of Stellenbosch is the only Africaans language university left in the country, not to mention the most prestigious. But the Africaans only bit has caused quite a stir because of the political ramifications of Africaans only studies. It is the madated language during Aparteid and associated with oppression by the whites.
We stopped off at a local pub, a fun university hangout and had a pint. On our way back to the apartment, we stopped at a bottle shop and got some wine and beer. The five of us had a glass or two of wine to chat and then Johann, Pieter, and Izak went to the patio to catch up more in Africaans. Forbes and I watched tv (or more like I watched tv while he fretted about not doing something and there's gotta be something we're missing because we're not doing it right now...he has a hard time relaxing) while they drank and chatted. Pieter left to go to a dance sort of thing with friends and the other four of us went back to the pub for dinner.
As soon as we started walking, I could tell Johann was hammered. And then he said "I'm really hammered". When we sat down he was slurring his words and he kept apologizing for being that drunk. The term we've been saying is we've "been at the dentist". In Bloemfontein Johann went to the dentist and we couldn't understand him for a couple of hours because of the shots.
He ordered three cokes, two red bulls, and a very large steak. Eventually he came back from the edge of drunkendom. This allowed Forbes and I to talk to Izak. Izak has been doing modeling for several years and has appeared in many magazines and even a soap opera here. Currently in addition to his modeling, he's the host of a cable show that's something like a variety show. He said he's getting more and more people stopping him on the streets for pictures. Hell, I would do it just for the picture of him not knowing who he is.
Finished with dinner, came home, and went to bed.
Today was another early day as Forbes and I had booked a wine tour. A quick breakfast at a streetside cafe and Annelee, our tour guide, was at the arranged meeting place at 9:30. We picked up two more couples, both British, one of which was on their honeymoon, and we were off.
Rustenberg was our first stop. This winery is an example of old money and has been in the family for generations. The buildings are old plaster walls and thatched roofs but the insides contain modern equipment. We sampled six wines, three white and three red. I wasn't bowled over by any of them.
Some grapes from last year still left from last year's harvest.
The next stop was Tokara, an example of new money. The owner is the CEO of a banking network in South Africa and decided he wanted a winery. Annelee said you don't go into the wine business to make money; rather, you make money and then make wine. Seems most wineries don't make money but that part of the business equation isn't of concern to the owners. I liked the wine better here and bought a bottle of their shiraz. The owner's wife (their last name is Ferrara) decided she needed a hobby too and opened an olive farm across the road so I sampled some. They were very delicious so I bought a bottle of kalamatas.
The view of the winery at Tokara.
Delheim was our lunch stop. The sun was shining, there was a slight breeze, the beautiful green-covered mountains all around us. Magical.
Last stop was Vergelegen and is pronounced like your life is dependent upon clearing the largest obstruction your throat has ever witnessed. I dehydrated just from saying it twice. The "g" in Africaans is a back-of-the-throat "h" sound but harsher than the german variety. The first time Annelee said it we were dripping with saliva. The winery was okay, we only sampled four wines. Our hostess at Vergelegen was a short, pudgy Africaans lady with a fair germanic disposition. Though we did get her to smile while trying to pronounce the name of the winery. Finally we headed home. We were dropped off at 5pm.
The tour group at our final stop of Vergelegen.
The tour was fun and it was nice seeing how the vines grow and how they care for them. However, I am certain the hoity-toitys who make up the descriptions of the wines sniff glue and have burned all their receptors so they make shit up as they go. No joke - a description of one of the wines was to look for white peppercorn and lead pencil. Another was cigar box. Really? At one point the stoic frau said one wine was 60 percent housed in smoked oak barrels and the rest in stainless tubs. Forbes said deadpan that he disagreed and sensed it was 61 percent oak barrel. Another guy on our tour immediately chimed in with a guess of 62 percent. I was embarrased for them. But I still laughed.
We got back and went to the tourist office. The lady helped us book the next leg of our journey which is the Buffelsdrift Game Lodge. We will be staying two nights in tents on a game preserve and doing safaris during the day and night. She said there are hippos living in the water right next to the tents. Should be exciting. We leave tomorrow morning.
HERE KITTY KITTY!!!
