3 January 2011
The sun shines out of a clear blue sky. Paul and Suzana returned today from an icy cold Britain. Here the temperatures are into the high thirties, the hottest yet. They joined us for a sundowner, along with Basia. They have a new crew member on board, Les, who will help them sail their boat to Brazil. But there are only nine boats from the rally here, less than half. Spring cleaning came early to Voyageur. I have spent the last two days with my head upside in lockers.... cleaning. Then all the cushion covers were washed. The new genoa was delivered on time. Everything is in order. Voyageur is like a new pin. We are all set to go.....
A champagne and mussels reception held at the yacht club was an excellent start to World Arc 2011. The mussels, in a delicious cream and mushroom sauce were cooked by local yacht club members. David and I had an early night, the day had been very hot, 38 degrees C, and we had worked on deck most of the day.
We thought we were saving the last tasting with the best. With Jenny, John, Chris and Leila we rolled up to Asara wine estate, a few kilometres from Stellenbosch. Lining the driveway leading up to this sumptuous establishment, huge heads of bright blue Agapanthus bend over in their greeting. The quality of the tasting rooms and surroundings just gets better and better but the lunch at their restaurant, Raphael's, was having an off day. Although the food was fabulous, the service was not. I had but one last winery on my wish list, Delaire, and this one is as good as it gets and every bit worth the extra 20 minute drive to get there. From its beautiful wrought iron gates at the entrance, the drive winds its way uphill through pristine landscaped borders, a botanical garden in itself, on past a parade of oak trees, and voila! we arrive to behold a stunning view of the Groot Drackenstein and Simonsig Mountains. Wow! As we retraced our steps back down to the main road I noted the Agapanthus were beginning to wilt. Along with the Bougainvillea, Hibiscus, Jacaranda, Oleander, Geraniums and Roses, their flowering is coming to an end. We have had the most wonderful two month stay here in South Africa but perhaps it is now time to be leaving after all.....
Oh, you poor blog less followers as my brother Peter puts it in a plaintive email. He was getting tired of Blog Holiday! Missing the blog were you? Well, I promised it would come thick and fast once the New Year was over and I think and hope I have since delivered. Now we have to get down to the serious business of passage planning, David's department, provisioning, mine, and preparing for a long sea journey. Trouble is we have simply been too busy enjoying ourselves. This country has a lot to offer the tourist and while we have endeavoured to do and see as much as we could in the short time available it is simply not possible to do and see it all.
David and I chose this route to sail around the world not just because we had no desire to go through the Gulf of Aden once more but because we could visit South Africa. It has lived up to our expectations and more. When I think how hard it was to get here, looking back we can regret none of it. I always said I would never sail here again but our two months here have proved once again that bad memories are short lived while the good times and happy memories endure..... It has been a most wonderful experience.
I am so sad about leaving South Africa. I think that David and I have enjoyed our time here almost more than anywhere else. We have stocked up on Rooibos tea, our favourite non alcoholic tipple, filled Voyageur's cave with our favourite and bade farewell to our friends. Now we face 3600nm of ocean with a three day stop at St. Helena if we are lucky and it is a daunting prospect for us.
Susan Mackay