An entry in the TFS Travel Journal
Enjoyed a leisurely morning, then feasted at the buffet of plenty, dining outdoors in the perfect warmth with a nice breeze.
We then drove to Stellenbosch, about 25 minutes away. The town is delightful — a college town (the largest and best Afrikaans Kollege is here) with all that implies, many shops of African art and crafts, all in a town full of traditional Dutch cape-style gabled buildings dating back hundreds of years.
Our first stop was the museum, which is actually four houses, each filled with furniture and accessories from a different period in S. African history (1690-1720, 1750-1780, 1820-1850, 1870-1900). Quite fascinating to see all the pieces as well as the architectural changes. (we were not happy, though, with two particular accessories in the 2nd and 4th houses: stuffed (as in taxidermist) house cats, one cutely curled up on a bed and the other on the floor)
We then walked around town, not being too tempted by any of the local art, but enjoying seeing it and the vibrancy of the town. (We did pick up a candy bar called the Nosh bar, which goes on the list of funny names along with Crack (a candy bar) from Argentina)
It was then time for our beauty treatments, so we drove back to Paarl where Wendy had her nails done, and Milton got a buzz cut (it’s just too hot around here) at the eminently affordable Barbel’s Salon. Milton then drove back to the GR, where he went for a bike ride along the river and across the narrow valley. We then went to the poolside dining area to have drinks with Chanda, as she had lived in Knysna (tomorrow’s destination) for two years and had offered to give us advice on what to see and do there. We ended up enjoying a light dinner (with an upright/uptight waiter) and received much advice on the Garden Route, and gave much advice on relationships and life.
We then went for our reflexology sessions, which turned out to be diagnostic as well as therapeutic. Retha de Wet Visser (member of the International Institute of Reflexology) was fascinating — informing Milton that some of his liver enzymes weren’t functioning and recommending the appropriate supplements and advising that to avoid arthritis later in life he should always drink copious fluids, go light on meat, bread and coffee, and should eat lots of pineapple. Wendy, happily, came away with a clean bill of health. We also learned about the South African practice of de-worming, which all people do (or should do) twice a year, by taking some over-the-counter pills for three days, which gets rid of the microscopic parasites that we all supposedly have. Quite educational, we’ll be following up at the local pharmacy for more information tomorrow.