Life on the Western Cape: Pinotage on Tap

I COMPLETELY forgot to mention that last week I semi almost-ish got hit by a car/walked into a moving car. It was bound to happen as cars do not really follow the “robots” (i.e. traffic lights and signals) when on the road. I have had quite a few near misses where Vivian pulls me back before I manage to get myself hit. The good news is the cars aren’t going that fast on the roads I walk on (I don’t walk the N2 or M3), so it hopefully wouldn’t be as severe if I actually got hit. However, Vivian has returned to the UK and is no longer around for my personal safety. What happened was it was raining out so I had my bright green hood up which impedes my peripheral vision. I was crossing a side street outside work that intersects Main Road which is a popular thoroughfare. The side street goes up maybe 500 meters than has a gate so cars hardly ever turn left (remember cars drive on the left side of the road). I looked but thought all of the cars were going straight so I could cross the empty side street since they had a red light (so I had a green walk). Well the car was turning left and their passenger side mirror hit my arm. If I were one step ahead, the car would have hit me. It definitely startled me since I was right there and the car could clearly see me, but I lived and I am hoping that does not happen ever again.

The highlight of this work week was somehow managing to miss my bus not just one day, but almost again the second day. On Thursday we had to stop at multiple places and run errands on the way to the bus station, which somehow got us far behind schedule. We walked up to the main terminal and realized our bus had left us which was sad. Instead we went to a different pick up point to wait for any bus that was taking Main Road as that would drop us off near our work locations. It fortunately only made me 10 minutes late to work, which everyone thought was really funny.

Friday we got to the bus station at 7:37 (which the bus usually leaves at 7:40). Walking by the other buses, the security guard looks at us and said, “You guys are going to miss your bus again.” Somehow he recognizes me and knows what bus I take every morning. This probably is because I am in my bright green raincoat, and not many Americans nor white people take the bus. I am a definite minority and must stand out more than I think if this guy knows me. Then our bus promptly pulled away from the curb as we stood 20 feet back on our way towards it. This time instead of walking to the stop and catching a random bus, we ran. The three of us sprinted across the Grand Parade and parking lot back to the stop, breathing hard and beating our bus there by 10 seconds since it had to go around the block to head down Darling Street. We flagged it down all sweaty and climbed in. Somehow in my first four months I never missed the bus once, but then it happened twice in one week. I am resolved to leave earlier for the bus now so it doesn’t happen again.

Orlando Bloom is in town filming the movie Zulu with Forest Whitaker. He has been spotted in several locations across town, including his wife and child on the Sea Point promenade. I am not 100% sure, but outside my apartment building at the Kimberly Hotel movie lights and props were set up three days in row for filming. Maybe they were filming something else, but I choose to believe it was for Orlando, although I have yet to see him and probably won’t.

This weekend was a huge let down as I fell ill. Friday at work I could feel myself starting to not feel that great, but I made it through the workday. By Saturday morning I had a painful cough and a fever. I had already paid for a wine festival called Pinotage on Tap so I attempted to rally and make it to the event. Pinotage on Tap was very cool, and I wish I could have participated more. It was about an hour outside of Cape Town near Wellington in the Cape Winelands at the Diemersfonetin Wine and Country Estate. The festival had many perks, but was popular since it was unlimited Pinotage on Tap. There were 8 wine barrels set up over the grounds for easy access to wine whenever your cup fell empty. One had white wine and the rest were red. Unfortunately I only managed to drink half a glass in the four hours we were there since I felt so awful. We got sandwiches for lunch in a bag upon arrival as well as 3 meal coupons to use throughout the day for curry, lasagna, salads, and other meal options. A room was filled with a long table covered in strawberries and marshmallows with chocolate fountains for dipping them in. A band was playing live music for dancing. The grounds were gorgeous, with ponds, and gardens, and vines, and estate houses. The sun was shining, with no clouds in the sky.

For 90% of this event I just laid on our picnic blanket soaking up the sun and trying to not cough my lungs out. The good news was another girl (due to a hangover) felt awful and was also sprawled on the ground with me. Many people who walked by looked at the two of us and asked what we were drinking because they wanted some. It was kind of amusing. By the end of the event I had actually got a tan (my one plus for the day) and everyone at the event was covered in spilled wine and chocolate. It was so funny to look around and see the disaster that was everyone who had been enjoying unlimited wine on tap. I had wine spilled on my face and hair while I was sleeping, our picnic blanket had quite a few mishaps on it, and the best part was no one cared.

Saturday was also used to raise awareness for the African Penguins. Apparently 80% of them have died in the past 10 years and conservation efforts are in place to try to preserve these creatures.

By the time we got back Saturday I was exhausted. I used the sauna to hopefully sweat out my poisons and went to bed. Sunday I didn’t even leave the apartment. Today I am feeling so much better and am hoping my cough goes away completely as the fever is gone. On the bright side, at least it was this weekend and not next week when I leave on my vacation!