Escape to the Cape

Greetings from Cape Town and the Garden Route!
The Bond’s are traveling again-this time to Cape Town, The Cape Peninsula, Franschoek, The Garden Route, Tsitikamma National Park, and Durban. Peace Corps Training pertaining to Lifeskills for AIDS Orphans and Vulnerable Children brought us close to an airport where we hopped on a bargain Nationwide flight and were in Cape Town to enjoy the delights of South Africa’s favorite city. The parallels to San Francisco are too numerous to mention-the cool sea air as soon as you disembark the plane, dramatic mountains that cradle the city (Table Mountain is only one of hundreds of mountains that form the backdrop for the southern half of So Africa.), a city with concert halls, live music in the street, museums, a waterfront to delight any jaded tourist, restaurants, cathedrals, botanical gardens, tarted up painted lady Victorian buildings, fine Cape Dutch homes, resident’s pride in their city, close proximity to wine country, and the gorgeous Cape Peninsula where one is almost blown away at the southern tip of Africa. A highlight of the 4 days in Cape Town was attending Mass at St. George Cathedral, Desmond Tutu’s church, and experiencing the beauty and deep spirituality when the rainbow nation joins as one in worship. The message of forgiveness for all and the compelling organ music brought peace to my soul.

After church we hurried down the Cape Peninsula to join the other gawkers at the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, which was a fantastic spectacle, but required every once of strength to hike to the view point against the fierce winds. The drive down the cape was unexpectedly beautiful as it is a national park with fynbos (wild flower tapestries and scrub), baboons, ostriches silhouetted against the rough surf, and dramatic views at every juncture. The towns along the way were darling beach resorts with antique shops, cafes, and charming gardens. We stopped to visit the South African penguins at Boulders and found them cute to watch but not the commanding presence that the Emperor Penguins promise in Antarctica.

After four days in Cape Town we headed up through craggy mountain passes to Franschoek- Napa Valley set in the middle of Glacier National Park!This is the foodie capital of South Africa and the guest houses all try to outdo each other with their upscale comforts (picture a bathroom bigger than our flat at the hospital with heated towel racks and soaking tubs, down comforters, coffee presse, biscotti on demand and views of the duck pond and vineyard.) Ironically Franschoek was settled by French Huguenots in the 17th century escaping religious persecution in France. They brought their wine making and culinary skills with them as well as their Calvinism. The restaurants were exceptional and met world class standards. After a day of high living we were ready to tackle the mountains and hiked up Mount Rochelle to find fynbos in bloom with our first look at wild pink and yellow protea dominating the side of the mountain. Protea are the national flower of South Africa and grow wild only a few environments on earth. The tapestry of flowers, colors, and scrub with pinks, oranges, plum and purple flowering natives against the jagged geological formations and amazing views down into the valley below were a great payoff for the uphill clim