Sunday, 5th December 2010
Up early, another beautiful day in Cape Town, Aileen made the now usual porridge for breakfast while Neil and Skipper toddled up to the shower rooms which are top class on this marina.
09.00hrs Jeremy Peacock arrived again, this time to redo the relay for the new 12v/5amp/8litrepm pump for the refrigeration cooling system. It took some time to fit the pump as it was a different make to the last one, so we had to drill new holes for screws and all that sort of thing, eventually, after 2 hours, we had it all done and working to our satisfaction.
10.45hrs Knock, knock, who is there? Its Robin Clapham (Kevin Dwyer's first cousin). Robin promised to take us out for lunch, so here we are. Neil was meeting some of the others and going present shopping before he returns home to Ireland next Tuesday, the end of another chapter. Meanwhile, Skipper, Aileen and Robin took off in his car and collected Irene, before taking a scenic route to a beautiful waterside restaurant for lunch.
This restaurant has to be described, because it would be impossible to get planning for such a gem in Ireland, due to the narrow view taken by planners on such developments, no matter how beneficial they are to local economies or tourism in general.
The building was basically a large glass structure sitting on a stone base to blend in with the rock outcrop it was sitting on. It was overhanging the sea, the dining room being about 40ft above the waves, which were continuously breaking over the rocks below, the sound of the breaking waves, mixed with laughter was intoxicating and we knew before we started, that this was going to be special. Irene had a very old fashioned posh accent, and it was so pleasant to listen to her relate to stories about the place, even the story about it being totally washed away by a wave during a storm a few years ago.
Soon after we arrived, and tucking into the wine, we were joined by more of Kevin's cousins (actually just one more). This time we were joined at the dinner table by David and Mary Legge, who now also spend most of their time in this extraordinary country.
We all had fish of one sort or another, and it was excellent. Skipper is not really into fish, but this was great. Prawn starters, Kinklip fish for the mains, and all sorts of human killer deserts later. All in all, it was a wonderful experience.
We left the restaurant suitably satisfied and Robin drove us past some wonderful beaches where there were lots of surfers out there in the freezing surf enjoying themselves. One of these beaches was used to finish "Ryans Daughter" as Ireland ran out of waves.
We later returned to the boat via the Muslim quarters in the city and had a goodbye cap on board (as opposed to a night cap). Some time later, we said our goodbyes to Robin and Irene and relaxed having had a great day.
Skipper caught up on blogs & emails while Aileen continued packing her bags for Christmas. Its hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner (Gawd more punishment, oh no!)
Well, that's it for today.
Signed :- Stephen Hyde ( Skipper )