Tuesday, March 30
Wellington, South Africa
Diemersfontein Wine & Country Estate
So sorry I haven't posted yet, but I've been trying to upload pictures and for days and for some reason it has not worked. Probably the internet speed here. Anyway, very disappointed, but will post pics as soon as I'm able (maybe on trip back). In the meantime, I will give you a brief overview of the trip to date.
South Africa is most definitely a beautiful country and the people we have encountered so friendly, happy and generous from what we have experienced and everyone has enjoyed Cape Town a great deal. We were fortunate enough to stay in a lovely hotel called the Hotel Graeme in Cape Town, run by Dominique Anderson's sister (Dominique is our one of the organization's founders who was born and bred in Cape Town, and is a dear person). The trip over was quite uneventful except for a slight issue with Jimi Cook's (another founder who lives in Columbia) passport...not enough pages left to travel to S.A. so he couldn't board the plane.! After jumping through a few hoops of fire and with the help of some very well-connected people, he was able to finally get it reissued and arrived 24 hours later. A near disaster diverted!
Spent the first day exploring Cape Town a bit...shopping at the local craft market... a trip to Table Mountain (wish I had pics to show you), where we had an amazing view of Cape Town and the harbor below...next day on to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 28 years...another former prisoner recounted his story and took us around the prison...quite a sobering experience. That evening was a glorious party and dinner given by Dominique's other sister and brother-in-law Mick and Jeff...unbelievably gracious and generous people...opened their home to all of us where we were served delectable food and wine and enjoyed the company of so many lovely people. Monday it was on to Wellington and the Diemersfontein Wine & Country Estate...words are not enough to portray the beauty of this property...lovely rolling vineyards surrounded by the Paarl Mountains (means Pearl)...a symphony of birds serenade us all day...Guinea fowl run through the fields...horses graze, flowers drroop from the trees and cover the grounds and everything is generally just lovely here! Some of us went on a morning horseback ride and then a wine-tasting (only the adults!)...and then yet another delicious meal. Seth, Amanda, Abbi and Katie (the teens) braved the cold water in the outdoor pool while the adults sat around the OUTSIDE of the pool, lounging and sunning (It's probably in the 80's!). The kids have been a delight to have around!
Tomorrow it is back to Cape Town where we will fly to Durban and then a road tripnon to Mthatha to start the hard work. Everyone is very excited to get there and begin...it has been a wonderfully restful several days to get us geared up for 10 days of building.
There may not be much access to internet once we leave here, but hopefully we can get into town a time or two to update! Hope all is well back home!
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