Cape Town and Cape Point

Cape Town and Cape Point   …   Thursday 30 - Friday 31 May 2013

Thursday

The weather continued to be windy with heavy rain showers so we decided to take a mini-cab down town. We had noticed the hooting and cat-call whistles from the passing mini-cabs the night before and just assumed that they were just being obnoxious – but it turns out that all this noise is just to grab potential passengers attention and simply how they do business. We hailed one down, squeezed aboard and paid our 6 rand (60 cent) fares. Tash and Gloria got a seat at the back. I was next to the door and had to jump up and out of the van several times to let people on and off. At one point we had 17 people in this little van and Tash says she has never seen anyone turned away. We arrived at the downtown mini-bus terminal in about 20 minutes – it was quite the experience. We wandered around outdoor markets and a busy shopping area. There were hundreds of great photos to be had but I felt so out of place and certain that the sight of my big camera would cause some uproar that I left it in my bag. We the strolled around “The Company Gardens” – we think these were established by the Dutch East India company, as was the first European settlement here in Cape Town. The gardens are quite lovely with formal lawns, borders, lilly ponds, and a wide selection of specimen trees. It would have been even nicer if it hadn’t been pouring, so after a while we walked back to the shopping area and an Ethiopian restaurant that Tash knew. I have to say this was excellent and by far the most different dining experience I’ve had in years. We sat on low stools around a small drum shaped table, with individual side tables for our drinks. Tash and I had some honey wine (delicious) and Gloria some spiced tea (not so popular!). Then the waiter came with a kettle of warm water for us to wash our hands with. We ordered three dishes – chicken, ground beef and chickpea, as well as a side dish of spinach. When the food arrived it came on a large tray that just fitted the table, and the tray itself was entirely covered with a pancake onto which all the dishes were tipped. We were given additional pancakes but no utensils, so we dug in using pieces of pancake to pick up the fillings. The food was fabulous – each cooked in regional spices and all very different from one another. After this wonderful meal we caught a University of Cape Town bus from the down town campus back up to the University and then walked the short distance back to Tasha’s house and our guest house. In the evening we went round to Tasha’s, cooked pasta and “Vegetable scampi” and met her house-mates, who seem to be a very nice bunch of people.

Mike

Friday

We met Tasha after breakfast and set off for Simons Town and Cape Point.  While there was some cloud around we were thrilled that it wasn’t raining - in fact it turned into a beautiful day. At St. Simon’s we stopped to pick up food for lunch.  Then we drove further through town to the penguin viewing spot.  A colony of African (Cape) penguins is resident on Boulder Beach.  We were lucky enough to see both adults and juveniles still covered in the downy feathers.  The adults look pretty clumsy on land but once in the water they are amazingly agile.  In the beach area we saw a mongoose and something called a dassy—a groundhog sized mammal that is related to the elephant (despite it’s rodent-like appearance). 

Traveling further south we entered the Cape Point National Park.  The road winds it’s way through the park giving astounding views of the sea and cliffs. From the first stop we took a short walk and spotted a small antelope.  We sighted the first troop of baboons crossing the road.  Then we drove along to the lighthouse, walking up the path with half the world (it seemed).  Again we had amazing views down to the sea on both sides of the point.  It was amazing to look of from the Cape of Good Hope. On the return trip northward through the park we ventured down a side road and were rewarded with more wildlife sightings.  We saw four zebra shortly after turning off the main road.  In an area that had recently burned we saw our first bontebok and two ostrich.  A bit further along we saw the second troop of baboons.  The road ended at the beach where more bontebok and ostrich were photographed.  On the beach itself we saw many birds including some sacred ibis, many Egyptian geese, a pair of blacksmith plover, a three-banded plover (resembling a killdeer) and a few unidentified peeps.

Leaving the park we headed up the west coast of the peninsula along the Chapman’s Peak road.  This impressive road seemed like a marvel of engineering, running along ledges and under rock shelves.  From the high point of the road at Chapman’s Peak we looked down into Hout Bay.  Luckily we arrived before sunset and could enjoy the view of the sun reflected in the water.  We drove down to the town of Hout Bay and went to the market.  This combination of craft market and food stalls provided us with a great dinner in lively atmosphere.  This was clearly a popular spot—we saw all manner of people from young kids to old duffers (such as ourselves).  The drive back was a bit hair-raising as the headlights only seemed to illuminate the road for about ten feet in front of the car.  We arrived back at our B&B at about 8 pm after a fantastic day. 

Gloria

Umbrella ceiling at the Ethiopian Restaurant

Adult Penguin

Baby Penguin

East side of Cape Point National Park

Bontebok - in an area recovering from fire

Baboon

Ostrich

Orange Breasted Sunbird - endemic to the Cape area of South Africa

Lighthouse at Cape Point

Fisherman on west coast - north of Cape of Good Hope

Road at Chapman's Peak

Sunset at Hout Bay

Tash and Gloria - Chapman's Peak

Departures and Arrivals

Departures and Arrivals   …   Monday 27 May - Wednesday 29 May

We dropped Ali and my mum back at Dulles airport, Washington at about 2.30pm on Monday afternoon. It was sad to see them go - we really enjoyed the two weeks we spent together. They had a long wait at the airport but Gloria and I also had to make the 260 mile drive to New York. As it turned out the traffic was horrible, probably due to Memorial weekend, and it took us 7 hours to get our hotel near to JFK airport. We managed to re-pack our gear, get some decent sleep and were checked out by 7.30 am. We weren't sure how long it would take to work through paperwork at Enterprise as a result of the ding to the right rear door. In fact it all went pretty quickly and we were on our way to the airport in no time at all. The 15 hour flight from JFK to Johannesburg went better than we expected. We watched a bunch of films and then managed to get some sleep. The connection to our follow-on flight to Cape Town was a little tight on time because it took so long for our checked baggage to come through, but we did make it. A 2 hour flight and 15 minute taxi ride brought us to the Carmichael Guest House - our base for the next week. This is a lovely two story Victorian building - we have a very nice large room and it's only 100 yards from the house Tasha is living in. After a quick cup of tea to revive our flagging bodies we went round to meet up with Tasha. It is fantastic to see her again, she looks great - remarkably so considering she just pulled an "all-nighter" to finish up her last course work! We spent the afternoon walking around the University of Cape Town which has a nice looking campus in an impressive position under Table Mountain. We met Pippin who has been Tasha's advisor during her semester at UCT and then walked up the initial slopes of Table Mountain to a memorial of Cecil Rhodes and a cosy tea shop. It seems that there is a lot to see and do in Cape Town and we are looking forward to visiting Tasha's favorite spots.

Mike

Gettysburg

Gettysburg   ...   Saturday 25 - Sunday 26 May, 2013

On Saturday morning we awoke to bright skies with a temperature of 28 degrees.  While the wind had abated to some extent, it was still a cold morning.  We left the Shenandoah National Park by the road to the west and headed for Luray.  Breakfast at Uncle Bob’s was hot and hearty.  By about 10 am we were underway to Gettysburg.  Consulting the map, we realized that our route would take us through the eastern portion of West Virginia.  Never having been to West Virginia before, I was not quite sure what to expect.  From the highway, anyway, West Virginia doesn’t seem any different than Maryland.

Once we arrived in Gettysburg we were astonished at the traffic congestion. We found our “hotel”—really more of a suite or apartment.  After unpacking the car and having a short rest, we proceeded to the visitor’s center at the Battlefield National Park.  A short film helped set the battle of Gettysburg into the context of the Civil War and gave an overview of the three days of fighting.  After a short time looking at the ‘cyclorama’ painting of the battle, we headed for the museum.  Only the announcements regarding the closing of the museum, dislodged us from the building. We all thought the displays were excellent.

This morning after breakfast in ‘our kitchen’, we headed off to do the battleground drive.  We were struck by the beauty and tranquility of the battleground—such a sharp contrast to the horror and carnage that would have been witnessed on those July days 150 years ago.  Touring the area, I could see the Seminary Ridge, Cemetery Ridge and the other features that I’d read about in the past.  Suddenly it was clear why the Union positions were so strong.  One look at Little Round Top and you know you wouldn’t like to be part of an assault on that hill.  The presence of so many regimental memorial markers gave us a sense of the battlefield as a huge cemetery. We were shocked to read that during the course of the civil war some 620,000 men were killed and more than 500,000 more were wounded.

Gloria

During our travels it has been fascinating to learn more about the history of the United States and to try and understand how different events relate to each other and how they have shaped the way the country is today. Over the past several weeks we have also spent a lot of time discussing to what extent the United States remains a divided nation and whether we are better placed today to resolve differences and create a clear path forward than we were 150 years ago. We have developed some impressions, but also have more questions now than we started out with. Perhaps we'll try and write these down in a future blog.

Mike

July 1st 1863 - The first Confederate troops approached from the west - Union soldiers fought to slow the advance - reinforcements arrived for both sides and after fierce fighting Union forces were driven back through the town of Gettysburg to high ground

July 2nd 1863 - Attacks by Confederate forces at both flanks in the areas of Culp Hill to the north and Big and Little Round Top to the south, were narrowly stopped by Union forces. A view here of Big Round Top from Confederate lines

July 3rd 1863 - A full frontal infantry assault followed hours of artillery exchange - now known as "Pickets Charge" - 12,000 Confederate soldiers in lines a mile wide advanced across the fields into murderous fire and were stopped by 7,000 Union troops in one of the most notorious actions of the civil war that sealed the outcome of the battle. Shortly thereafter Confederate forces retreated and headed back to Virginia. When the 3 days of fighting were done 53,000 men were dead, injured or captured and the tide of war was turned.

Tranquil Farm House

Barn with shell damage still visible at the bottom of the brick gable end

Monument to the men from New York State

Monument to the men of Pennsylvania

Exploring Shenandoah National Park

Exploring Shenandoah National Park   …   Thursday 23 - Friday 24 May 2013

Breakfast consisted of coffee / hot chocolate and pastries at the resort dining area. We are way too cheap to spring for the full breakfast, but this worked out just fine. We then took a lovely walk along a wheel chair accessible trail called "Limberlost". It was very tranquil in the woods with only the sounds of birds and the gurgling of the stream at the end. After about half a mile we came face to face with a deer making its way along the trail, and then a little further along we were thrilled to come across a black bear. He (she) wasn't that big, maybe 150lb, and we suspect he was a one year old. It was just great for Edyth to be able to see this from her chair. We also saw Chestnut sided warblers, Hooded warblers and American redstarts. In the afternoon we took one of the access roads west out of the park and drove through the villages of Shenandoah and Luray. The countryside was dotted with farms and we crossed the south fork of the Shenandoah River a number of times. This is the area that Stonewall Jackson and the Confederate army ran rings around the Union troops. We took a brief walk around Luray but decided to head up back to the Park for dinner and we ate in the restaurant with an outstanding view out over the valley  … and had a very good meal. In the evening Mike went out in the car to take a few more photos. As he returned a storm rolled in and the driving conditions became really difficult with heavy rain and mist.

It continued to rain most of the night and when we got up this morning it was blowing a gale (literally) and the temperature was 37oF.  After a similar breakfast to yesterday we decided to spend the morning exploring the northern part of the park by car. The views were great but it remained extremely windy. We chose a scenic pullout for our picnic lunch and Mike prepared sandwiches in the trunk of the car which we ate in the relative warmth inside. After returning to Skyland, we (Mike and Gloria) took a hike up Stony Man mountain. The trail was fairly easy and protected from the wind by the trees. Not so much at the top, where it was difficult too stand upright, but the views were spectacular. Ali and Edyth, who is not feeling too well again, decided to have a restful afternoon in their room. Tomorrow we head on to Gettysburg.

Chestnut sided warbler (female)

Black bear on the Limberlost Trail

White tailed deer at dusk

White tailed deer in motion

Approaching storm on Skyline Drive

Looking east from Skyline Drive

Looking northeast from Skyline Drive

View from Stony Man Mountain back to Skyland Resort

McGuffey Art Centre and Skyline Drive

McGuffey Art Centre and Skyline Drive   …   Wednesday 22 May 2013

We figured out this morning that we didn't have far to drive to reach our destination in Shenandoah National Park so we decided to spend the morning doing something quite different and visit the McGuffey Art Center. This is an old building in the historic downtown section of Charlottesville that is being used as a location where artists can rent studio space and display their work. We spent a couple of hours wandering around looking at the display areas and talking to a number of artists whose studios were open. The top floor had an exhibition of regional high school work that was very impressive. We also thought that the quality of the work being done in some of the studios was really good. Two artists in particular caught our attention. Jeannine Barton Regan does "encaustic" work using bees wax colored with pigments and worked onto a panel or paper - very interesting. unfortunately we didn't meet her. We then got talking to a lovely lady called Jane Paul Angelhart who for many years has worked as a portrait artist, firstly using watercolors and subsequently using oils. More recently she is trying to move away from the fine detail of her previous work and create abstract paintings using only a palette knife. These may not be her exact words, but she claimed that anyone can do the portrait work if they practice hard enough. I'm no art expert but I've seen enough bad paintings to know this isn't true and Jane's portraits are beautiful. 

     www.jeanninebartonregan.com

     www.Angelhart-Portraits.com

After leaving the gallery we had a quick sandwich lunch in the heart of downtown Charlottesville and then jumped in the car and headed west to the Sheandoah. We entered the National Park at the the southern most point and drove north along Skyline Drive for 60 miles. There are many pull-outs and it's a lovely drive. We arrived at the Skyland resort at about 4pm and checked into our rooms. The accommodation is somewhat rustic but very comfortable. Ali and my mum have a view from the balcony of their room that is quite astonishing. The hills drop away to the west and from their room you can see directly to the Shenandoah valley 3000ft below. Gloria and my room also has a balcony and a pleasant view, but not quite so stunning. This evening we "enjoyed" a lively thunder storm that had been threatening all afternoon. I found out today for the first time that my mum is really scared of thunder and lightening and has been since she was a little girl been. I had no idea. She says she always tried to hide it from us kids because she knew it was irrational. Tonight It took some persuasion to get her to hold on to the iron railing going town the steps to her room. I told her she'd be fine ... well I was holding her other arm so I had a vested interest!

Mike

Street Artist - downtown Charlottesville

Hazy view from Skyline Drive, Shenandoah - hopefully following the storm tonight the views will be clearer tomorrow

Charlottesville and Monticello

Charlottesville and Monticello   …   Monday 20^th and Tuesday 21^st May 1213

Yesterday we left Williamsburg and drove to Charlottesville.  In the afternoon, we walked around the pedestrian mall and then went to visit the University of Virginia.  We had heard that the old portion of the University, designed by Thomas Jefferson was a World Heritage Site.  We were bowled over with the beauty of the rotunda and the “academic village”.  It was such an unexpected delight. 

Today we visited Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, a few miles south of Charlottesville.  We spent a lovely day exploring the gardens, the house and the museum.  I think that I had failed to appreciate that Jefferson’s interests and influence were so broad reaching.  While I knew that Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the USA, I didn’t realize that he also served as Vice President under John Adams and as “ambassador” to France. He ran his five thousand acre plantation and had a strong interest in agriculture and botany. We saw a plow that he had designed, read about the grain thresher that he built based on a model sent from Europe. Jefferson had a life long interest in science and it’s application.  For 17 years he was the president of the philosophical society, a forerunner to the National Academy of Science, and he was the driving force behind the Lewis and Clark expedition.  On a personal level, he recorded the weather each day and carried a thermometer and compass in his pocket wherever he went.  We read that in the course of his life he wrote over 19,000 letters using a ‘polygraph machine’ to make an exact copy of each one. All of this and I haven’t really mentioned his contributions to American architecture.  He was an impressive individual.

On a lighter note we must mention dinner. After a hard day and some fine steaks at a local restaurant, Mike’s mum fell asleep after finishing her meal. We too were very full and ready to get the bill when up she bolted, wide awake and insisted on ice cream for dessert … and I think this made her day!

Gloria

Rotunda - University of Virginia

Cloisters

Pillars - abstract

Ceiling lights - abstract

Edyth at University of Virginia

Monticello

View from the garden pavilion in the vegetable garden

Cicada (?)

Poppies