Gorgeous Sunny Weather, finally

First of all, I'll respond to what everyone has written and then give you an update.
Dad and Jo: I am definitely not a wine connoisseur, but I can let you know the tiny bit I've found out while I'm here. As far as wines go, it totally depends on what type you like. You can probably find some variety of South African wine you'll like. Personally I lie sweeter wines, which they do have a variety of here. If you like white wine, you could try a semi sweet one which are really good with dessert or with spicy food (Indian, Mexican, etc...). One of the vineyards we went to does sell in North America, but I don't know how easy it is to find. We went to 5, and three were really good. Simonsig was my favourite, but it's probably the one you're least likely to find. You might be able to find some from the Fairview vineyard, which has a brand called Goats Do Roam. There is also KWV, which makes som great wines, as well as brandies. They made a really yummy brandy creme liquor that had orange in it and was really amazing. That's about the extent of my knowledge. Hope it helps!
Annie: I want to hear all the details about the show. I tried to call you when you got home from school yesterday like you told me to, but no one picked up! I have to assume you were either on the phone to boys and not picking up the beep or at the mall looking at boys! Either way, bad girl.
Marie: we should definitely get together when I get back. I have a couple hundred pictures already, half of which will pretty much be boring to everyone else. Any job leads? I'll still make sure to keep you updated when I get back if they decide to hire yet at my company.
Val: If you suddenly change plans, let me know!! When are you getting back into Canada? I hope you have a fabulous time jetting around Europe!
So now for the update. I think we left off somewhere around Tuesday.
Jenny and I packed up the car Tuesday morning and left for Clanwilliam. It's about 2 hours north of here in the mountains on the way to Namibia. I think the highlight of the drive though was a sign that said "no hooting, ostriches getting laid." It may be one of those things where you had to be there, but we thought it was pretty funny. It was a really stunningly beautiful drive. We got into town in the afternoon and stayed at the Living Landscape, which is a backpackers' owned by UCT, so really really cheap. The toilets were clogged in the dorms, so we got to stay in the house with the woman who runs it in one of the spare rooms. We drove around and looked at the shops for a while, but it's a tiny town and that only took about a half hour. We decided to go for dinner, but were unfortunately told that the restaurant did not open until 7:15, which as far as we were concerned was a pretty ridiculous time for anything to open. Basically we just sat around for a while as it was too dark too see anything without a flashlight. I must say though that when the restaurant did open, it was one of the most interesting dining experiences I had ever had. We were seated in what we would later discover to be the "singles" section of the restaurant. The lights were pretty much turned off and there was lots of candelight, so as to give the restaurant a "fancy" look. When we sat down, we wer placed across from a table of two very sketchy Africaaner guys. Chairs were removed from our tables so that we actually had to sit facing the two guys. The waitress would then do things like loudly point out that we had ordered the same desserts. Although we were served at different times, we miraculously given our bills at the same moment. We naturally assumed it was a conspiracy. We waited around to give them a nice lead to leave before us. Unfortunately they were waiting for us outside the restaurant, where they said hi and waved as were were very quickly driving away. Now I understand that Jenny and I are ravishingly beautiful and that no man could avoid falling in love with us immediately, but these guys were really really creepy. I guess you'll just have to trust me on that.
So skip to the next day now. My cold had escalated to the point where the woman we were staying with (Tracy)was convinced I had pneumonia and I sort of felt like dying. I will spare you the details (Jenny can back me up on the fact that they're rather gross). Tracy ended up calling around town and finding me a doctor to go see. I turns out I have a pretty significant sinus infection, which is of course always lovely. I got some antibiotics, nose spray and sinus pills, and I am now actually starting to feel better. I would just like to interject with a little digression here. I would like to point out that I am currently very unhappy with the Taal family for not teaching me proper Dutch. Had I known Dutch, I would have: a) been able to understand what the creepy guys were saying about us, b) been able to understand what the doctor as saying to the nurse about me, and c) been able to understand a single word the pharmacist had to say. I just thought I'd add that in there. Sinte Klaas Kapoentje and panekoeke definitely didn't get me too far.
The rest of the day Wednesday was actually pretty great. We went on the Living Landscape tour with our tourguide David to the rock art nearby. It's about an 8km drive on roads that are not really roads but more like paths to a site where there are ruins and then about a 20km hike. I'll describe more about the rock art in person, as it's sort of difficult without the pictures. The whole scenery was absolutely breathtaking though. It was really peaceful and serene. Our tour guide took us on a tour of Clanwilliam afterwards, where we were somewhat suprised to find that Apartheid is alive and well. The town is zoned into white, coloured and black areas, and the hospital is still segregated. It's apaprently better than it used to be, but still not gooed. Black people are working on farms every day for ten hours a day for the equivalent of about $35 a week.
The next day we decided to leave Clanwilliam and head for Citrusdal, which is about a half hour away on the way home. It's a really beautiful area full of citrus trees. We picked up giant bags of the best oranges I've ever had and clementines the size of my fist for the equivalent of about $1 Canadian. We then headed to the Baths, which are hot springs in the mountains. We were the only ones there as it was early afternoon and it was absolutely amazing. The water is natural mineral water from hotsrpings and is kept at 43 degrees. So so nice. We decided to head back to Capetown after that as I had given myself a mild amount of heat sickness and it wasn't really worth the money to stay overnight as this town was even smaller than the first one.
We got back into town and went out for dinner at a fancy place on the waterfront with two of Jenny's friends for the winter specials. I had some really grilled fish.
Friday was Jenny'd birthday, so I took her back up the Mount Nelson for High Tea, which doesn't start until 2:30. We prepared ourselves by not eating all day before then. In the morning we went into Khayelitsha (one of the townships) to pick up a Xhosa doll that Jenny had ordered. We got a littel lost and spent about 20 minutes driving through the townships, which was definitely an experience as we were unquestionably the only white people there. This woman, Lulu, had started a sort of small business where she and a few other women make dolls (as well as other things like pillowcases and traditional Xhosa dress). Lulu had started making dolls a while before, but her abusive husband didn't like this and she ended up leaving with her four children and had to go into hiding in order to eventually get a divorce. She told us a little bit about her life as we drove her back into Capetown for an exam she was taking. I don't pretend to have any kind of full understanding of the social structures here, but domestic violent is extremely widespread. Being in the townships is not something you can really explain. It's sort of unreal. I was extremely overwhelmed by the time we left and was almost in tears. Jenny and I were talking later though, and as she pointed out, it's really amazing how easily women can communicate with each other, despite coming from completely different cultural backgrounds and life experiences. There is some sort of shared experience that leads to understanding and is just immediately there.
Jenny and I headed over to the Mount Nelson later and stuffed ourselves silly with tiny sandwiches, tea and rich desserts. It's sort of like a littel mini fantasy land and was such a polar opposite to the morning. We stayed in for a while as it was absolutely pouring down rain. We were sitting around waching tv, (E! movies) and saw some add for The Pacifier, so we ended up driving down to the Waterfront as it was playing at the theatre there for about $2.50. Even I will pay to see a movie with Vin Diesel for that little money. All in all it has been a fabulous week, particularly marked by the fact that my sinusses are actually improving and I am no longer staying up all night because it feels like my skull is crushing my brain. It is currently Saturday morning and Jenny and I are going to do a few minor things today, but are going out for all you can eat Sushi for her birthday party tonight and then going out later.
Keep the updates coming!!!