Halfway 'Round the World - Blog 8

Stellenbosch

Leaving Sutherland after a spectacular night at the SAAO, we made the run from the sheep country in the remote reaches of the Karoo to the world renowned wine district of Stellenbosch.  Trailing along the single railroad track used by the British to support the Boer War effort in splitting the Afrikaaner forces and nation, we inched south where the landscape began to green and patches of fruit trees and vineyards dotted the side of the road.  We eventually climbed a winding pass and dropped precipitously down the other side into a valley fully dedicated to wine production.  As we passed through, razor thin black men risked life and limb to coax drivers to buy clusters of red or green grapes that were appropriated in some manner from the adjacent fields.  While most of the vines were in deep shades of rust, orange and crimson and clearly at the end of the season, there were still a few crews at work harvesting the last from the hardiest of the grape vines.  It was appalling to see the price paid for these wines by the black farm workers who lived in squalid little shanty towns away from the grand estate house of the patrones and huddled along the road.

Shanty town for black workers

 

We had no detailed map of Stellenbosch and only a vague idea of where our B and B was, so I resorted to my usual technique - ask a college student on the street. The University of Stellenbosch students constitute more than half the population of the city and can be found all over town walking to or from class or some other event. Sure enough, the one I asked consulted his Blackberry for directions and hopped into the backseat of our car to be sure we arrived safely at "The Beautiful South" – turns out we were only one long block up and a half block away.

Katarina Stigsson was just pulling groceries out of her car when we pulled up alongside her.  She welcomed us warmly and led us into the B&B where she turned us over to her husband, Peter.  Peter, an ex-champion Swedish bicyclist who was recruited by the Seven-Eleven Cycling Team, had retired and decided to forsake the long cold, dark winters of Sweden for the subtropics of the Cape.  Interestingly, when queried about leaving Sweden, he waffled in calling South Africa home; he said that they retained their home in Sweden just in case things degenerated here.

Eager to make our stay memorable, Peter asked what brought us here and what we might want to do.  We said – “we're here for the wine, of course.”  He suggested two older wineries – the Delheim and its sister the Muratie.     

The Delheim winery was founded by a German family that chose to escape Nazi Germany in the 30’s before the rush of events led the country down its path to war and destruction. They were winemakers and the transition to a premium winemaker in South Africa was, while not an easy task, it was manageable.  Nora was a granddaughter of first Delheim immigrants and for whatever reason became our personal hostess.  While others were limited to six wine tastings, she continued bringing a full lineup, and when we found one we liked, she would pour a second sample "on the house."  Nine or ten samples in, we lost count somewhere along the line, we suggested that we had hoped to have a meal at their restaurant.  She personally ushered us over there like we were foreign dignitaries and gave instructions to the manager – a young black man – to serve us and give a personal history of her family, her tribal roots and how she came to be here.  She was from the East Cape and a member of the Xhosa tribe (the “X” is a sound like popping bubble gum, using your tongue against the roof of your mouth and sort of snapping it down – easier said than done); she had been college educated and this position was well down on her resume of previous jobs.  She clearly looked to be an ambitious person, but we had to admit that manager of this small operation seemed an under utilization of a promising college talent from the Black community.  We had to wonder if this might not be the new sub rosa for discrimination – an illusion of advancement while limiting advancement and remaining under direct supervision of a white overseer.  

By the time we had completed the wine tasting and enjoyed a mouthwatering lunch (did I mention So. African food is fabulous?) we all but closed the gates to the Delheim and had no time nor inclination to visit the other winery. With a light buzz and filled to near bloating, we headed back to our B and B for a quiet evening.

The next morning started as a grey and uninviting day with low clouds shrouding the jagged peaks around Stellenbosch.  We went to breakfast and hoped for the best.  Joining us for breakfast was a very tall couple from Amsterdam. They were very friendly and we had a great discussion over the Dutch being the “Californians of Europe” – fun loving and more liberal than many of their neighbors.  

Not willing to spend ALL of our time tasting wine, we asked Peter for a suggested route along the southern shore, and thus we ended up on a  63km long ocean shore drive past Bettys Bay.  It was the South African equivalent to California’s Highway 1 drive between San Simeon and Cambria.  But unlike the Highway 1 drive with the vast Pacific extending endlessly to the horizon, here Table Mountain and Cape Town are in the distance across the immense False Bay.  I have no idea why they called it False Bay, its only flaw that I could see is that it is so large that it might have provided early mariners with a false sense of security when the Indian Rollers came roaring in from the east; the bay’s open side.   Or perhaps more logically, it fooled the uninitiated captain bound for Europe from Asia to think this was the Cape Town Bay.

As the old saying goes, “It’s an ill wind that blows no one any good.”  Along with a near jaw dropping coastline and intermittent rain squalls, the drive provided us with the opportunity to watch two endangered species in the wild at Stony Point – the African Penguin (also known as Jackass penguin) & a small colony of Cape Cormorants.  We were the only visitors, so we had them all to ourselves.  We took many pictures and only gave up when a rain squall chased us back to our car. 

We hadn't TOTALLY given up on the wine tasting, after all Stellenbosch is world famous for its wineries. And Peter had also recommended two wineries to try on our return trip– so we found ourselves with 5 more bottles as we left Uva Mira Winery with the door lock clicking just behind us yet again.  It was a great day of touring!