Nov 27 - Dec 3: Our last week in South Africa

The time has come for us to begin thinking about ending this grand adventure. Our departure date is Monday, December 4th. That gives us just one more week for work and play. Much to do to wrap things up and to tell these wonderful folks goodbye. Here's how the week went.

Monday

• Time to check in with Home Affairs to see if our visa extensions are ready. After a few tries I was able to reach someone in the Immigration office who tells me they are not yet ready and call back later in the week. Not a good sign, but we still have a week before we must have them.
• Marcia continues working on her database and has another approach to try. That will keep her busy beyond the time we leave. That actually isn't a problem as she wants to keep working on this project once home. Edward is finishing his revisions of the ID guides he has worked on and making copies of files he will need at home.
• The highlight of this day is dinner with all of the CREW folks--Ismail, Caitlin, and Wendy--at Rooti's Cape Malay Restaurant on the waterfront. We even get to meet the rest of Ismail's family, his wife Zaitoon and young son Uthmaan. And in perfect African/CREW fashion Marcia and I are the only ones there anywhere close to the actual time chosen. No matter, it was a beautiful night on the waterfront and we had just purchased a clock that presented "Africa time." That's: eventually, shortly, just now, whenever -- you get the idea!
• Once everyone had arrived and Ismail had explained the food items we didn't recognize, we ordered and then enjoyed our meals. After eating they presented me with a really great going-away gift, a beautiful book about the fynbos. And the accompanying card made me feel very good about how I had spent the past three months. Thanks for the kind words, the book that will make me think of all of you when I read it, the time we have spent together, and this very nice evening!

Tuesday

• More work on the ID guides and then the afternoon and some of the evening filled with constructing the ID guide for the Caledon Swartberg trip on Wednesday. Did as much as Caitlin and I could at work and then did a bit more at home this evening. Still some holes but mostly complete. Caitlin will pick it up on her way in on Wednesday morning and then print to use on the trip. This trip was to be my last time in the field with Ismail and Caitlin but the length of the trip prevented me from going. That's why the trip to Romansrivier last week was my last.

Wednesday/Thursday

• Both of us kept working on our projects so they would be ready to be left.
  
• Not sure on which day I called Home Affairs, probably Wednesday, but the response was not encouraging. There would be nobody in the Immigration office to answer the phone until the following Monday, Dec 4th, the day of our departure. If I needed something I would have to go to the office in person. Signs are not getting better!

Friday

• To work as usual except only Marcia stays. I head to Home Affairs office to check with Immigration on visa extensions. I see the same woman who took our applications. The manager has been out all week and only she can approve the applications. Only thing to do is come back on Monday, not first thing. Then they should be approved. Very interesting! So back to Kirstenbosch I go.
• Today is the day of the GISP Christmas luncheon. It is at Simon's in Groot Constantia, a very large wine estate in the Constantia valley just southeast of the gardens. All but Philip, who is away on a business trip, are there. Beautiful setting and busy restaurant filled with a number of party groups. A bit loud but good food and good company.
• Marcia and I left a bit earlier than the others as there was a CREW photography workshop taking place this afternoon. I was a bit late and missed most of the lecture material but what I did hear and the time spent taking pictures and discussing how to construct them properly and why they came out as they did reconfirmed I have much work to do in the photo-taking area. And I am making use of so little of my camera's capabilities! As I told Ismail, this course should have happened when I first arrived, not as I was leaving!!
• Packed up and headed home to see if this evening was a good time to get together with Diana. Still have to give her the Evita t-shirts. Turns out we are without Internet service at home and so will have to try on Saturday. Without the Internet we are truly disconnected. Time to start at least thinking about how everything will get packed. Tonight I start with the more delicate items and try to decide what will be packed in a suitcase and how and what will go in the carry-on bag. It's a start.

Saturday
A very full day that is most enjoyable as it is shared with many of our special friends.

• First up is a run to the gift shops at Kirstenbosch before picking up Caitlin for a trip to The Africa Music Store. She will help me make selections of good CDs to take back to VA, both to keep and to share. Seems I have been infected by Africa time as I get too involved in the insect book at the gift shop and am late in picking up Caitlin. Oh well! Had great fun choosing CDs, though probably did buy a few too many. But they were all so good. How could I not bring them home with me!!! Great morning. Thanks for sharing, Caitlin! Keep sending me suggestions on what music I need to hear.
• Once back at the cottage we called Diana from Jenny's phone as the Internet was still out. The decision was that NOW was the time for us to come to St. Ives to visit. Diana and Jitty would find something for us to have for lunch and we would be able to see Diana's house. So off we went. One more time on what has become a very familiar drive for us, down the M3 to the Main Road along the eastern side of False Bay. With the help of the gardener we got Marcia into the house. What a beautiful place Diana has, and the pictures of the family and the old homesteads were such a delight to see. Lunch was wonderful and the delightful pink bubbly was a real treat. But best of all was the company!
  
  But then it was time to be on the move again as we had another engagement to make. Diana gave Marcia some guinea fowl and flamingo feathers to take home. Such fun, and great reminders of things we saw and did. And then goodbys had to be said, at least for this time. Diana, our sincerest thanks for all the special things you have shared with us. And more importantly thank you for your friendship and love. Until next time!
  
  
• When we get home, there are Dorothy and Robyn waiting for us. It is time to head back to the waterfront to go to The Two Oceans Aquarium. We have tried for weeks to do this and now is the time. I drive and Dorothy directs and fishes we go see. A nice aquarium that helps differentiate between the fauna and flora of the two oceans. The visit ends at the predators tank. And when we get to the bottom we see in the tank a very large AIDS ribbon. Very impressive. Yesterday was World AIDS Day. Unfortunately, the statistics about AIDS in South Africa are also impressive. Staggering the impact this disease has presently and will have for many years to come.
  
  
• Back home we go. Still no Internet. More packing is done or at least contemplated. And the weather is changing. The clouds are forming and the wind is beginning to blow. Doesn't bode well for tomorrow.

Sunday
Marcia's account:

• We went on an outing today with Jenny Ross, the owner of The Garden Room, and one of her daughters. We were going to lunch at Vergelegen (pronounced FAIR-hell-lay'-hen) wine estate but first Jenny needed to make a stop at a church where she's going to be arranging flowers for a wedding in 2 weeks. I said that I'd like to go to church with her, since she was planning to be there for a service. So we all set out (Jenny, her daughter Storm, Edward and me) at 9 o'clock Sunday morning to be at the church (which was a distance away) for the 10:00 service.
  
  Despite the rain, it was a pleasant drive. We went in 2 cars, since Storm was starting a new job and needed to leave right after lunch. Jenny drove and Edward followed. As we drove, we realized that things were looking familiar. We were near Stellenbosch and as we followed her, Edward said, "Wouldn't it be something if the church is the one Diana showed us the other day?!?"
  
  Well, you guessed it -- it WAS the church Diana had showed us the other day, so we all attended the Eucharist at St. George's Anglican church in the South African Diocese of False Bay. Edward photographed the lovely church and the flowers before we left. The church was built in the traditional Cape Dutch style with bricks which were then plastered on the outside and whitewashed. The roof was thatch.

• Then we went on a scenic drive through Stellenbosch, past the university (and some buildings we hadn't seen before) and came back around and went through town past Oom Samie se Winkel and on to Vergelegen. It was absolutely beautiful, despite the gray day! The sun kept trying to peek through, but only for very brief intervals and then it would pour again. It's a good thing we weren't trying to picnic at Boschendal today!

• Our meal was stunning -- and we even managed to try the desserts. Jenny and I shared a summer pudding that was perfectly delicious. I had hoped they would have malva pudding on the menu, but the summer pudding was equally satisfying. And-- Jenny has offered to give me her foolproof recipe for malva pudding so I can make it at home. We also had fun while she described a variation of bread-and-butter pudding made with croissants and chunks of chocolate. Edward would LOVE that! He's not much on bread pudding (which I adore) because of course it has raisins in it!
• The rain let up enough for us to wander through the gardens to the manor house filled with magnificent floral arrangements and beautiful furniture, and then on to the gift shop. Katie and Juli had asked us to get a bottle of dry red wine for Juli to give her Dad for Christmas. This was the perfect place to find one since Vergelegen is one of two champions in the Biodiversity Wine Initiative, a program that works to preserve valuable ntural habitat while still allowing for ecologically sound management of vineyards.
  
• Now I want to take you quickly back to Jenny's church, St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Newlands, a suburb of Cape Town. I have never managed to take you back there to see the pictures of this beautiful stone church and of the flower arrangements the Altar Guild had done for the weekend of the church bazaar. The theme for the flowers was 'A Prayer for Africa' and so all the floral arrangements were done in the colors of the South African flag. Up in front of the altar was a floral representation of the flag. Of course, LOTS of proteas were to be seen in all the lovely floral designs. If you look closely, though, you will see in each arrangement at least one beaded flower -- a very South African symbol. Beaded flowers and all sorts of imaginative items are made from beads and wire by the disadvantaged (previously or otherwise) as a means of earning an income.
  
  
  
  Every day, hawkers stand at all the major intersections peddling their wares: flowers, beaded wire figures, newspapers, magazines, fruit in season, cowboy hats... The list goes on. They take advantage of the fact that there's a captive audience waiting for the lights to change as they work their way up and down among the idling cars, peering into car windows and looking to catch your eye to offer you a special deal! We did our share, bargaining for strawberries, calla lilies, and beaded birds-of-paradise. The hawkers quickly see 'sucker' blazoned across Edward's forehead and know that they will do well!

• Once home the real job of packing takes place. There are 3 suitcases that we need to squeeze everything into. Fortunately, we already have shipped a full box of books and papers so everything SHOULD fit. Once this is accomplished, we head off to bed. Monday will be a busy and emotional day.