Returning to Hout Bay with our rental car gave us another chance to enjoy the beautiful coastal road
(including a stop at Rocklands to see the art close up!)
In the morning, we were much better prepared for the day to come. We had a sturdy, wheelie cart each, all the shopping bags on the boat, including insulated ones for cold stuff, and of course, The List.
Grocery stores are increasingly not set up for sailors provisioning for long trips. Most self-checkouts, which is to say almost all of the total, are set up to have just enough space for one person to transfer one shopping basket of items into one bag. Even the three remaining checkouts with staff, of which there is ever only one that is open, rarely have big conveyor belts. Instead, we are expected to unload our two overflowing shopping carts onto a space the size of a bedside end table. The cashier then passes the items over the scanner and puts them on another end table-sized space for us to bag up. Since the bagging area inevitably begins to overflow before the first cart is empty, one of us will end up standing in the middle of an increasingly large circle of bags on the floor, waiting desperately for the empty cart to be pushed through. This does give us somewhere to put the bags, but invariably blocks the way for anybody else to get by as no part of the store seems to be designed to allow enough space for two big shopping carts to pass. On one trip, we had a guy behind us who had no items. He only needed to cash his paycheck. We were already through our first cart when he arrived, so there was nothing for us to do but smile at him apologetically.
We usually need to do this three or more times at different stores, because each one has different stock (or, more accurately, doesn’t). This means we often end up buying one category of items on one trip and different ones on another, which can give the impression that we have a very weird diet. We’ll have a cart full of nuts, then a cart full of crackers, then a cart full of UHT milk.
On one unfortunate occasion, I ended up perusing items in the spice aisle next to a guy dressed in a chef’s outfit, minus the toque. He had a tiny cart filled with fresh meats, leafy vegetables and still-growing herbs and spices in pots. My giant cart looked like I was in a bet with some unseen friend over who could get type II diabetes the fastest. Over a base of canned foods was a layer of squirty cream, which was topped with a sprinkling of dessert and snack items; Fat-Os, Sugarlings, Choco-Crisps, and well, pretty much Choco-Everything Else in the Store. I tried my best to look like I was buying Christmas Party foods for a local shelter for homeless children, but what do homeless children need with fourteen boxes of antacids?
We like our spot in Hout Bay, but the marina is not the best for provisioning. Somehow, the ramp between the fixed pier and the floating pontoons managed to be designed with big stairs on each end so that everything has to be carried over by hand before it can be packed onto one of our carts. This is not that big of a deal if we are only trying to carry one sail, for example, but is quite another if trying to unload a whole car full of heavy food. It was quite a relief to finally get the last of it aboard, where it looked like we would never find space for it all. We’ve been here before, so Maryanne sent me to get diesel and propane to keep me from freaking out while she performed her stowage magic trick.
I was thrilled to find a place that would fill our foreign (Australian) tank. Then the very nice man told me he couldnt.
"Load shedding. Come back at noon."
That wasn’t so bad. I used the time to get diesel from a station with a backup generator. You aren’t permitted to pump your own fuel in South Africa. For reasons I never fully understood, all of the staff there seemed to think it was hilarious that I showed up in a tiny, gasoline-powered car and then produced two diesel jerry cans from the trunk for filling.
With a day of chores done, we were ready to spend a couple of days over Christmas at Tracey’s. Then she messaged Maryanne to say she was sick (she assured us that she wasn't sick of us, just 'normal' sick) and it was best not to come. We will get together again later.
We wished her well. I was settling in for a free day on the boat as a lonely Christmas orphan when Maryanne announced that she wanted to go to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope with the car. (They are separate, but on the same peninsula). It was a beautiful day. That did seem like a much better idea.
The drive from Hout Bay to the Cape had plenty to enjoy (along the dramatic Chapman's peak drive), and we stopped to enjoy most of it (including lunch treats)
There was, of course, lots of stunning scenery, including the impressive Chapman’s Peak drive carved out of the cliff to get us there. I think the most fun for us was just as we were about to turn and make for home. On the road to the Cape of Good Hope, we saw ostriches. We have been lucky enough to see a few in the wild before, but never in such numbers. The thing that kept making me giggle was the location. I’ve just always thought of ostriches as animals that live on dry grasslands far inland. These were Beach Ostriches, stripping the leaves off of the fynbos with waves crashing behind them. Just like the Beach Kangaroos in Lucky Bay, in Australia, it had just never occurred to me that I would ever see that.
Enjoying the ruggid scenery of Cape Peninsula (with the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point) - oh.. and Ostriches
We didn’t actually end up being Christmas orphans. As soon as Shana heard about Tracey not feeling well, she invited us over to her house for Christmas dinner with her family. We had a really nice day. They were all so good to us that the only time we would remember we weren’t part of their actual family was when the Afrikaans started flying back and forth. Unlike Spanish or French, in which we can usually get the gist, Afrikaans seems totally incomprehensible. Knowing them, they were probably giving us way too much credit for being lovely guests.
While we missed another Christmas with our own Families (the picture is Maryanne's family), Shana stepped in at the last minute to let us share with hers - we had a great time
Shana’s brother’s children were all pretty impressive, particularly considering their youth. The oldest daughter, Mia, for example, sings like an angel, plays ukulele, and soundly trounced everyone in several trivia contests and subsequent rematches. Even so, the three of them were interested enough in us that we invited them to Begonia the next day to see where all of the magic happens, so to speak.
Maryanne and I are so used to living on a boat that it feels like a perfectly normal thing to do. It’s always fun to get a chance to see our lifestyle through new eyes. They explored the boat and asked a zillion questions. Unlike talking to other cruisers, even the newbies, who have mostly already had some kind of life-changing revelation, I was well aware that we were dealing with impressionable youth in their formative years. There was a good chance that we were inadvertently being a bad influence. I mean, even if Maryanne and I are living the life we had dreamt of and planned for for so long, what parent wants some schmoe telling their kids that their upcoming turn in the rat race might not be the road to happiness that all the marketing says it is? On the other hand, what parent really wants their children to lead “lives of quiet desperation?’
We tried to include that our educations and careers were fulfilling in their own ways and that they are what gave us the opportunity to do what we are doing when we had finally saved enough to duck out early. Still, if one of those kids ever ends up taking a five-year gap year because of something that happened on their visit, I will be both proud and mortified in equal measure. Stay in school, kids! But, also; Don’t let The Man keep you down!
We saw Mia (Shana's niece) one more time. Very early the next morning, Shana drove her up to join us for a hike on Table Mountain with a few other friends who were also visiting from out of town. The hike was organized and led by Tracy (not to be confused with Tracey from our previous outing to Table Mountain). Tracy has hiked all of Table Mountain’s trails and had chosen the day’s route as having the best scenery per effort of them all, particularly for those like our group, who aren’t accustomed to doing steep hikes several times a week. Tracy was very enthusiastic and arrived fully prepared for any hike on the mountain in any weather.
We had a great hike on one of the main trails on the flanks of Table Mountain
We didn’t end up encountering any calamities. The hike was a short climb followed by a level stroll past a lot of gorgeous scenery. It was as if Table Mountain’s clifftops were at only a third of the height.
Once we were finished with the actual trail itself and since it was such a beautiful day, we all walked back to our cars through heavy traffic that had been totally gridlocked by a lack of road space for either two-way traffic or to turn around. It was good to be walkin’.
Since we had started so early, Maryanne suggested we drive to Simon’s Town to see the African Penguin colony there. Toward the end, we got stuck in heavy stop-and-go traffic ourselves and decided to duck into nearby Kalk’s Bay for a break. Kalk’s Bay is beautiful but, as Maryanne remarked, “clearly beyond capacity” on this busy day. We were trying to thread our way back out of town when she spotted a parking space just big enough for our tiny car. Take that, Humvees! Small is good.
We fell in love with the small fishing town of Kalk Bay (and a great restaurant find: Cape to Cuba)
After walking a few blocks, we came upon Cape to Cuba, a gorgeous restaurant overlooking the bay. The décor was so well done and the atmosphere so tropical and laid back that it was a bit of a shock to be snapped back to reality from our reverie every now and then by an overheard snippet of Afrikaans. I almost started my order in Spanish when I realized I would have better luck in Xhosa, which I can barely even spell. I’m sure our waiter would have been well impressed if I had pulled that one off.
While the food was delicious and the Mojitos were flawless, the ‘beyond capacity’ thing was a real problem. We waited ages for everything. Our recently-hired waiter copped to all of his failings and even went so far as putting a note on our bill before we got it so the Manager would know as well. Okay, some things were his fault, like no Tabasco (What am I supposed to drink?), but the kitchen was backed up, the bar was backed up, the dishwashers were backed up. I don’t think there really was much else he could have done for us. Still, the place was wonderful enough that we would both happily go back on a non-jam-packed-full day.
Despite the delays, through which it was hard to feel put out in such a fine location, we did manage to have enough daylight left to finish our drive to Simon’s Town and visit its adjacent penguins.
Unless you’re a mackerel, it’s pretty hard not to think penguins are adorable, with their tuxedo wetsuits and their waddling. From a distance, African Penguins look a lot like Chinstrap Penguins. They are about the same size, but the black line under their chins curves downward more like a dickie than a bow tie. We spent a happy hour or so watching them frolic in the surf or cuddle up with each other on land.
Penguins live free and protected in Simon's Town
(one ticket gives you access to two great viewing sites)
At the end of the reserve, they even have a beautiful public beach interspersed with big boulders and private coves. The penguins tend to move out when the humans are there, but we did see a few holdouts darting their way through the swimmers. Oh, if only we had our snorkel gear! That would be so much fun!
We spent another day in Cape Town - this time to see what we'd missed of Kirstenbosh and to visit the 'Castle of Good Hope'
I had been feeling a little worn-out, so Maryanne agreed that we could have a low-key day doing boat jobs at home the next day. We still had more to do than time in which to do it, so we were still plenty busy, we just drove and hiked less.
All the back-to-back days were starting to wear on me, though. The morning after our Christmas Dinner, I woke up stuffed up and with a mild headache. Uh, oh. That doesn’t happen very often. It has been ages since I have had a cold. Off the top of my head, I’m thinking it’s been something like more than ten years. That worried me enough to do a Covid test (we have dozens aboard in case that we'd purchased in Australia expecting that we'd be required to test regularly to enter various countries). It was negative, which was a big relief. We have been doing lots of stuff around bigger groups of people than we have seen in years. My immunity to colds might not extend to all the previously unencountered strains in Africa, so it seems like my long streak without one is over.
A few days later, Maryanne was feeling the same way, so we did the same thing. Her Covid test was positive. I took another one and it was also positive. Aw, Jeez! My symptoms were practically gone already.
So, I that puts a quick end to our tourism and socializing in South Africa, and to our New Year's Eve party plans. What a shame. We were really looking forward to our last few days here. Now we’ll be isolating. At least the view is nice. It looks like we will be getting out with just enough time to return our rental car and then move Begonia to Cape Town for outbound clearance (by which time we were both feeling much better and with negative covid tests), but that’s about it.
So, without having anywhere to go, I finally have time catch up on the blog and write a fond farewell to South Africa. We both really, really love it and our time here was made so special by all the wonderful people who went out of their way to show us around. We can’t wait until next time!
An early start for a sail to RCYC to officially clear out of South Africa
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