Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Scarborough, and then Back Again to Pretoria!

Travelling around, and being a tourist in my own country, is a lot of fun. I enjoyed the fact that everyone told me how it would constantly be raining in the Cape at this time of year, and that it would be a miserable experience, and that I should of rather waited for summer. However, barring for one or two days, there was constant sunshine. I am a hopeful, or a hopeless, depending on the view you take, and have a tendency of doing the opposite to what people tell me to do, especially if I think I am right (which is most of the time... hey, at least I am not lying to myself, and to you).

The Cape was marvellous all the same. Cold, yes, but a delight to go and see again. I met a bunch of new people, strange as they may be (hey, I am a city guy, so everything seems slow and ethereal to me when I am out of my element!). It was quite fascinating to see how people in the Cape are more relaxed (or move at a slower pace), everyone in fact seems to go by their own time frame, service is slow (which drives people from Gauteng, like me, crazy), they seem to think that food does not get cold, and that people are never in a rush. They also seem to care more about enjoying life, and so this to me was a refreshing change. I always get stumped, or surprised, when people cannot seem to enjoy themselves, regardless of what they are doing. If you are not at least going to try and have fun, then why bother doing it? So, that aspect of the Cape really got me, the people seemed to have a sunny disposition.

As I have said before, at some point in my Blog, not sure where, and not sure whether I have really said it, my family is quite small (compared to the huge families you see all over the place), so we have a tendency of adopting family members (basically, if you are a friend, you are part of the family. I am omitting names, because you never know... I am a bit paranoid, every now and again). So it was nice to see my sister again, and my brother from another mother, who is also my other mother (quite the mouth full!). My sister has become quite the chef, having worked at very up-scale (five star) restaurants, and made some fantastic dishes, and won the hearts of the other chefs (She's my little sister, I am allowed to embellish!). My brother from another mother, who is also my other mother, works for some kind of golfing company designing web pages (or was it editing them?), and seems to be doing very well, even if he sometimes gets bored. My sister and he share a flat in Stellenbosch, which they were kind enough to share with us, they even had a spare bed for my brother and an inflatable mattress for me.

We drove down with a friend who was moving to Cape Town to live with his girlfriend, who also happens to be my sister from another mother, who is also my other mother, and the sister to my other brother. Stayed in Colesburg, and as you might have read, enjoyed it.

I am a people person (Most of the time. Some of the time. Well, only to people that I actually like...). So meeting people is what I do. I met my sisters boyfriend (Do not worry, I tried to be nice, and refrained from cleaning, playing with, or constantly eyeing, any weaponry, like some of the previous times! No joke!). He seemed a nice enough fellow, so we let him live, for now. We also met my brother from another mother who is also my other mother's boyfriend (Yes, he's gay. So what? Do you think we would let him 'live' with my sister for so long if he wasn't? Also, he is my brother, he's awesome, and one of my best friends. Some people, really!). He also seemed like a good guy, so we had to refrain from instilling the fear of death into him as well (actually, we are usually very good natured people, I just like to pomp ourselves up a bit, to make the story more interesting).

Well, in any case, so my brother and I (my actual, genetic, comes from the same mother, brother) explored Stellenbosch flat. It was quite the walk from one corner to the other corners. We tried to vary where we ate, and tried all the not-too-expensive restaurants and eating places (we went to the restaurant where my sister works once... and had scones and coffee). Tried to see some of the sites, which there are some in Stellenbosch, but it is a student village after all, so you easily see everything in a short amount of time. Luckily, we met an awkward (an inside joke) German and his girlfriend who took us to go see Scarborough, where her father had a brilliant holiday home. We picked Mussels from the beach, then cleaned and cooked them. They were delicious and we're still alive! We drove past Khayelitsha, one of the world largest informal settlements, and it is huge! 

Image1: The Awkward German and my Brother cleaning some Mussels

Image 2: Sunset on Scarborough

After Scarborough, we got back to Stellenbosch. We decided that a trip to Long Street, in Cape Town, was in order. We went during the day on a Saturday (a mistake as we were later told), it was empty, with only a few places open. It was interesting, but they say one should rather go in the evenings, because that's when it really comes alive (will have to make a note of that). So, I did the whole touristy thing of taking photos and warding away hobos (or Bergies as they are 'lovingly' named).

We had a fantastic time in all. The weather was not too bad, and we were actually very lucky. The people of the Cape were awesome, and I enjoyed all their idiosyncrasies. We stayed there for three weeks and it was time for us to go back home to Pretoria. So we boarded our bus, one of the most uncomfortable ways to travel (will have to avoid it, for future reference), and got back home safely, and in one piece!