Читать книгу We embrace the world - Елена Калугина - Страница 6

«We will be very grateful if you will not use the bath. Cape Town has a freshwater crisis" informs a card in the beak of a cute duckling at the bottom of our large and beautiful bath, which stands in the middle of a huge bathroom. „Well, a crisis is very dangerous thing, if we are so politely asked, we can also stay without a bath, we can use a shower.“» In the shower there is a bucket that stands in the middle, at the bottom of the bucket is another card. «Well, no, if there is a request not to use the shower, it would be difficult to do» the thought arrived. However, the second message contains other information: «When taking a shower, please do not remove the bucket, we will be able to reuse all the water you collect.» Wow seems it is a really difficult situation. And then for some time we thought about how they are going to use this dirty water.

We often hear that water is a very important vital resource, that it should be protected, but for the first time in our lives, we were faced with the problem of water shortage so obviously. It always seems that everything bad, including environmental problems, is somewhere far away, not here, that there will be enough for our century, and then it will be as it will be. However, life also teaches us these lessons. Travel in this sense is an indispensable point of self-education and self-development. We are sure that after the round-the-world trip, we will come back home completely different.

We have a quick breakfast, although it’s not easy. Our hotel and the food in it are so good that it is possible to take your time to spend the whole day here, but we are in a hurry, we only have four days in Africa. Today’s program is busy, the first place where we go is unique, as many other things, and many places here. This is Cape Agulhas, where the two oceans merge: Atlantic and Indian. Janey advised us to visit this place yesterday.

Adri is driving our rental car. The manual transmission and left-hand drive make driving a car a constant exercise for the brain. Cape Town delights in a of green scenery, but as soon as you leave the city, the picture changes completely: you see the sun damaged fields with cut grass, with flocks of sheep, hills, vineyards, then coastal village with light-colored houses. It is impossible not to stop in one of such villages on the coast of the Indian ocean. We are walking along a wooden deck that protects white sand. On the right there is azure Indian ocean, where boats and yachts are rocking. By the way, it differs from the Atlantic Ocean in color, transparency, and temperature. On the left snow-white villas, not large, but cosy, built with taste and surrounded by flowers. We breath the ocean and store in our memory every second… Even if this would be the last trip of our life, the impressions are enough to live with the memories till a very old age.

We have to write everything down in a diary every day, to keep it in memories.

Cape Agulhas – Indian Ocean meets Atlantic Ocean

Well, here we are…Cape Agulhas. This is one of the most magical places we have ever seen. It seems to us that thanks to our endless travels, we have learned to feel the energy of the place. What does it mean? Imagine the raging foamy waves of merging oceans, if you get closer, small drops of water fall on your skin, leaving a fresh smell of salt. Now imagine huge rocks covered with light green and orange moss, so coarse and thin that it can only be found high up in the mountains, and here it grows at sea level. Some stones are rounded, some are sharp, like mini rocks, creating the effect of moving up. Low shrubs, grasses, and flowers grow on the ground. At the highest point there is a red lighthouse. Opposite the ocean on the hilly coast there are white houses where happy people live. This is a picture, from a dream of a white house on the ocean coast in a village far away from everyone and from everywhere, where you can listen and hear the sound of the ocean, look at it and say every day: «Thank God for this day!».

On the way back, we stop at Whale Bay. We have not seen sea giants there, but we took with us in our minds incredible landscapes and impressions, because this is the only thing that you can take with you after death, this is our main asset: places we visited and meetings that enriched us.

We have climbed the highest hill and we are looking around, slowly and silently: the semi-circular bay is framed by sharp stones covered with multi-coloured moss. The colour of the water changes depending on the depth and the presence of rocks, from emerald green to deep blue. This unearthly beauty requires respect for itself, it does not tolerate fuss and noise. You cannot come here just for five days, or rather, if you come for a short time, then till you come back, this place will always call you. (By the way, we haven’t swum in the ocean yet. March in the southern hemisphere is the first month of autumn, and if the air temperature is high enough, the water is already cold). This time of the year the beaches are empty. It is not even the temperature, we are too busy to waste time on the beach.

We are going to a new meeting, a very unusual and long-awaited one. We are a bit in a hurry, because the road was not short, and those to whom we are going can fall asleep. Yes, here they are, coming home from work: a dozen of penguins are crossing the street in a neat row, arranged in pairs.

Not far from Cape Town, there is Simon’s town where a colony of penguins lives. People and penguins are so used to cohabiting in one location that now they have no idea how it can be different.

Not very big black-and-white birds swaying parade on the streets. On the shore there is their part of the city. There they dig their own burrows, lay their eggs, and live their own family life. They are used to the general attention of tourists, they do not pay attention to people with cameras, and even more, they are not afraid of them, but they do not let them get too close, they demand respect for private life. Another dream comes true.

In the evening, we have dinner in our magnificent hotel, or rather in the restaurant at the hotel. The tasting menu offers dishes divided by elements and prepared with local ingredients, and of course the wine is very good. We must say that South Africa has become a gastronomic discovery for us. In short, the cuisine here is international, mixed. There is no bright national flavour here or old culinary traditions, but what local restaurants offer is a very high-quality mix, the cuisine of Cape Town is cosmopolitan, but most importantly, the ingredients they use, whether it’s fish, meat, vegetables or cheese, everything is the top, everything is delicious!

Time to go to bed and prepare for our last day in Cape Town. We are moving to a new hotel, it is a pity, of course, to leave a beautiful palace with a vineyard, but new experiences and impressions call us.

This time we chose a small boutique hotel in the city centre with a huge, stylish room and a private garden with roses and lavender. It seems that this place will be a worthy completion of the African part of the world tour. But first of all, meeting with Jane, a former head of human resources at a large company, who is now a writer and speaker.

By the way, we have hardly seen the centre of Cape Town, we drive around all the time, so we asked Jane to show us the city, to which she replied: «What’s there so special to watch? All the most beautiful things in Cape Town are outside the city. But if you insist, of course, I will give you a quick tour, because in addition to the city centre, I want to show you a lot of interesting places.»

To be honest, Jane was right. Compared to what we’ve already seen here in South Africa, the city itself, doesn’t stop breathing from an emotional explosion, but we would definitely call it interesting and cute. What we remember most about the centre are the Victorian-style houses with carved wooden multicoloured balconies.

But Jane couldn’t wait to accompany us to her favourite vineyard, Cape Point Vineyard Estate on a hill near the city. The grape is almost mature, and the juice-filled bunches hung picturesquely from the large bushes. At the beginning of each row there is a rose bush. All the roses are yellow and suit perfectly the green of the grass and grape leaves. And the prosperity of roses indicates the health of the vineyard. What a beauty! We drive slowly along the road past the vineyards towards a large stylish building made of wood and glass. This is a winery and a restaurant. In front of the building there is a small artificial pond, the restaurant is located on the terrace, which offers a breathtaking view of the white sand beach and the emerald ocean below the hill. How can you make bad wine in a place like this?

After that we have been driving for a long time in the «Mercedes» (all successful people there have a Mercedes. It is a joke), and pass the places where we had already been the day before. Today they seem very different, but no less beautiful. The road we are driving on looks like a classic picture of a car ad: a winding, not very wide strip on one side that opens up a view on the ocean, on the other side there are the mountains, the sun-drenched sky, lapping azure waves – and it’s all yours. Even the strongest wind, blowing you off and ruffling your hair, is also for you, take it!

It is a little bit sad to leave Jane, because we know that we might never see each other again, because we live at different poles of the Earth, although…It would be interesting to meet again with this amazing woman who, after retirement, began writing motivational books and publicly speaking around the world, helping people to overcome various difficulties. Who knows, maybe we’ll see each other somewhere in neutral territory.

The visit to the winery has impressed us so much that we decide to visit a couple more, this time with a tasting. The winery is chosen by Adri, as he knows a lot about wine and his choice is always perfect. The vineyards are spread out under the Table Mountain, you drive along the road between endless rows of bushes, and then suddenly in front of you there is an open space covered with green grass, on which stands the Villa – this is the winery, Morgenster Estate. On the terrace, covered with grapes with red, yellow and green leaves, there is wrought-iron furniture, painted with white paint. Several olive trees are covered with dark fruit. It seems that you are not in the South of Africa, but in the South of Europe, everything is so familiar and understandable.

«What an amazing place! What are you going to surprise us with?» – we ask the girl at the bar. «Try our wine and olive oil tasting. I’m sure you’ll like it.» We haven’t resisted for a long time and haven’t regretted it. The girl tells us that the owner of the winery was an Italian, who had been doing his favourite thing all his life and invested all his knowledge and money in this successful business. He recently died, and now the business has passed into the hands of his daughter, and she flies once a month from Italy to check on how things are going. We are sitting on the terrace, enjoying the gentle wind and tasting the wines, and they are really great, soaked up all the sun, the air and the terrain of South Africa. And also oil is worth telling about it. Actually, for us, there is no better food in the world than a piece of nice bread with olive oil on top, so sharp that you feel it even in the throat, and then a sip of good wine. It is awesome. So, we have definitely appreciated the oil. For sure. And, what about these small tasty olives accompanying the wine, oil and homemade bread. Wow, it is our perfect lunch. We are in an unforgettable place, completed with fine wine and olive oil. What more could you ask for? Meanwhile, the day is running, and there are still a lot of things to do.

Returning to the city, we notice beautiful statuettes with African motifs displayed along the road. We stop because they are worth a better look. Giraffes, zebras, rhinos and other animals and human figures made of stone and wood, made by local craftsmen. We like all of them, but we can’t buy anything, our suitcases are small, and we still have a month to travel. Well, how beautiful are these two giraffes carved in stone. They have woven their necks into the shape of heart and are asking us to take them away. Oh, no matter, we will find some space for them, and the seller has already agreed to reduce the price. Well, giraffes, now you are ours.

Back to the city, we go to the central promenade along the ocean to see off the sun, because it is our last evening in Cape Town.

We are sitting. We are looking at the ocean. The sun is slowly approaching the horizon. Hundreds of people are running along the embankment, they are participating in some kind of charity marathon. We like to just sit here and stare at everyone and talk, some moments of tranquillity are also useful. There is a lot of space and people around. The wind that blows from the ocean begins to increase its force and pleasantly blows on us with coolness protecting us from the heat. We are so happy that we lose track of time and do not notice that the sun has already begun to disappear from the horizon, colouring the water in a bright orange colour. Ten or fifteen minutes later, the huge fireball disappeared into the water. Along with it, people on the street began to disappear. Enjoying the changing colour of the water and sky, we slowly walk along the embankment towards our hotel, not noticing that the streets are already completely empty. Night falls on the city, and it becomes empty and unfriendly. Here and there you can see a black figure glimpsed in the dark, ah, yes, intelligent people warned us that walking in the darkness in Cape Town is dangerous. We are walking with long, fast steps. Our hotel is close.