Blown Away

There are a number of things that have struck me on this little get away. I hope to get them all down on 'paper' before too long and there's definitely more parts to this post still brewing...

One of the first things I picked up on was the 'South Easter' that has prevailed from the time I set foot in Cape Town and has not let up since. I spotted Cape Argus headline declaring "Winds batter Cape Town" on one of our drives around town on Monday, so there is some solace in knowing that it's obviously usually not sustained for this long.

As a Jobur'g boy, I associate this kind of wind with exceptionally cold fronts in winter, so if I were driving through the area and never got out the car - the dry vegetation and strong winds would lead me, by default, to bundle up with at least three layers before exiting the car. It's a bit of a mind warp, to say the least.

Almost every tree is more dense on one side and the stems on the Agapanthus I've seen seem to be on steroids! I think I now understand why the endemic vegetation is so darned different to the rest of the country.

Maybe my jaded Jozi ways make me less inclined to see the hospitality of some of the gestures I've seen, or perhaps it's my overly pragmatic approach these things, but the locals all seem to take personal responsibility for The Cape Doctor. Now, unless there's a huge affinity for baked beans and broccoli in the region - I can't for the life of me think why they'd apologise for the winds. Perhaps we Gautengalengers have embedded a perception that all we could do in Cape Town is sit on the beaches a soak up every last ounce of solar radiation that we can. One and a half hours on a private deck was sufficient for me than you very much!

There's tons of stuff to do here. The fact that CV and I must have spent a total of 15 minutes on the beach at Hout Bay in an experience mildly akin to sandblasting has made this holiday no less enjoyable. We have spent time at so many wonderful places and engaged with so many amazing people, the wind although omnipresent was the least of my worries. I've had a wonderful time and leave considering retiring into a career of viticulture near Franschhoek, nestled amongst the majestic mountains in this area - I just gotta come check it out in the darkest depths of winter.

The fairest Cape has won a place in my heart this week, I've been quite literally been blown away!