Couldn't get any internet so we didn't do our daily reading of the Times and the Washington Post. The power actually went out as we were leaving the apartment.
Our first task was to find a bank in Constantia to deposit some money in Lucy's account since we didn't have enough rand to pay her last week (so embarrassing!). Took us about an hour to get to Constantia because we drove over Ou Kaapse Weg, which is Afrikaans for Old Cape Way. It is a mountain pass that connects the southern suburbs of Cape Town with the Fish Hoek Valley. It traverses the Steenberg Mountains. The summit, from which I took photos of the valley in which Constantia is located, is 1,033 feet.
We descended to Constantia Valley, the oldest wine-making region in the southern hemisphere. There are a number of award-winning wine estates. Wine estates are different than wineries, we learned: all the fruit on an estate is used in making wine; a winery buys grapes from others to make wine.
Despite being taken to a weird place by Google maps (we call it BB - bossy bitch), we found the bank location after getting directions (yes, we're not proud) and made our deposit.
Then we headed to Groot Constantia. We chose it because it is the oldest wine producing estate in South Africa, creating award-winning wines for 330 years. "Constantia" is after the Latin word for constancy or steadfastness.
Lots of history, much of which you can find here: https://www.grootconstantia.co.za/#home-history
The renowned Groot Constantia Grand Constance is South Africa's oldest wine and is the finest example of the famous "Constantia Wyn" as drunk by emperors and kings from Frederick the Great of Prussia to King Louis Phillipe of France. Charles Dickens celebrated it in Edwin Drood, Jane Austen's character recommended it as a cure for a broken heart (!) to heroin Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility. The MOST interesting thing was that Napolean Bonaparte was allowed to drink wine made at Groot Constantia while he was exiled on the island of Saint Helena from 1815 until he died in May 1821.
Okay, so I want to be exiled to Saint Helena because it is a volcanic tropical island in the South Atlantic Ocean 2,500 miles east of Rio de Janeiro. And I want to drink Groot Constantia wine while there. Ha! Actually, Saint Helena is Britain's second-oldest overseas territory after Bermuda. Several other people have been imprisoned there including Dinuzulu kaCeshwayo for leading a Zulu army against British rule and more than 5,000 Boers who were taken prisoner during the Second Boer War.
We didn't try Grand Constance during our wine tasting, probably because it's still the wine of emperors and kings - not common people.
I do need to tell you that as we drove through the estate, there were warning signs about baboons (there's signs in Simon's Town warning people of golfers). We had read earlier that seven baboons were legally hunted and killed by winemakers because they were raiding the vines and restaurants. We did not see a baboon, unfortunately, but Groot has not applied for a hunting permit that would allow two baboons to be killed a day. Groot assured the public they do not use lethal force to control baboons but they don't monkey around - they have baboon monitors (as does the apartment where we're staying). Groot actually is an official World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Conservation Champion.
On to wine tasting - we got our own wine glass that, of course, is not coming home with us because of the restrictions on luggage when we get to Durban. I'm a red wine fan so I tried all the red wines except the shiraz. Beth tried several white wines. By the time the tour started, we were feeling pretty good.
Then the tour began and we climbed about three stories of stairs to get inside the winery. We definitely needed to use the handrail. The tour was interesting, especially if you're a wine connoisseur. We are not connoisseurs but learned a lot, too much to convey in a blog. We did learn that there are no indigenous grapes in Constantia Valley but Groot's grapes are of French origin, and they buy French oak in which to keep their wine. The most pressing thing for me was whether it's better to get a wine that is corked or a wine that has a screw cap - and I was assured that the screw cap actually is better because it seals the wine, and corks could let in air that molds the wine. Ha! Suffice it to say that we know more about winemaking than we did before the tour.
We proceeded to the Jonkershuis restaurant (Young Man's House) on the estate to eat lunch because it was the "relaxed" restaurant on the estate. We started with Ostrich Carpaccio.
It was delish. We saw Ostrich steaks in the grocery store the other day, and we're hoping to actually grill them on a braai when we get to our Hermanus whale-watching cottage. I got the pork belly roast, and Beth had a salad with toasted apples, arugula, toasted walnuts, fennel and some really good goat cheese. And, of course, we each had a glass of wine.
We were very contented.
We didn't walk around much, as the weather was getting ugly. The wind was really strong, which made it feel a little chilly. Can't even imagine what's it like living here during the middle of winter when the winds are apparently ferocious!
So we drove leisurely back to Simon's Town along the coast, stopping only to take some photographs. We did walk around the marina in Kalk Bay where there were several fishing boats.
It began sprinkling just as we arrived back to apartment, and it got really, really ugly. Strong winds (not gusty but constant), and we couldn't see beyond the road below us to False Bay.
This evening, we put into practice water conservation, savinig the dish water to use to flush the toilet. Our hostee here, Marie Louise, suggested we do that if we were willing and we are. And thank goodness, we have a propane heater!
By the way, the warning about golfers was not because they (we) are dangerous like baboons, but because the course crosses the road.
Why did the golfer cross the road? Hah. :)
Looking out over False Bay early in the morning.
This is a Cape White-eye.
Don't know what this bird is - it resembles a cardinal with a little tuft but it has an extremely long tail and, of course, it isn't red. Duh.
Some kind of caterpillar - there were tons of them in the tree.
Constantia Valley from the summit of Ou Kaapse Weg in the Steenberg mountains.
Someone working the vineyard in a tractor at Groot Constantia.
Beth's first glass of wine at the wine tasting (before she got a little tipsy).
Barrels of Groot Constantia Chardonnay.
These are the stainless steel vats in which they make the wine.
These are 500-litre barrels of red wine. They are kept in the basement at a cool temperature and low light to help keep the wine's temperature steady.
This is one of the buildings on the estate that houses the Jonkershuis restaurant (Young Man's House), where was ate a delicious lunch.
This is a Glossy Ibis that roams the lawns of Groot. It also likes areas in which sewage is located.
These are cabanas we spotted on the ocean between Muizenberg and Kalk Bay. I think we'll see the more iconic ones Thursday when we head to Hermanus.
A guy paints his boat in the harbor at Kalk Bay.
A colorful boat in Kalk Bay harbor that has cages on it, maybe for trapping lobster or crabs.
Some kind of albatross that was hanging around where they cleaned fish in the Kalk Bay harbor.
The end of the wharf guarding the entrance to the Kalk Bay harbor where the fishing boats are moored.
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