Arrived safely in Port Elizabeth. So far, I've spent 50 hours in the air, and I'm at my destination for my 4th marathon.
It's pretty amazing so far. Yesterday I arrived in Cape Town (Kapstadt in German and Afrikaans) and was met at the airport by Kim, one of Hans' staff. She dropped me off at Hans' house--more of a villa, actually. Beatrice (the cook/housekeeper) made me a sandwich and some tea, and shortly, S'jane (Hans' wife) came home. She's a ball of fire--wanting me to experience as much as possible in the short time I'd be there. We started at the winerys--first to Groot Constantia, walking around the grounds and through some of the buildings. Then a drive around another winery.
Here's something interesting--at the end of each row of grape vines, they plant roses. It is supposed to ward off diseases and keep insects away from the grapevines too. Plus they look pretty. Then she dropped me off at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens so I could see the Bob Dylan Hard Rain exhibit and wander the grounds a bit while she picked up one of the boys from school.
Back to the house, and Hans was home. Hans and I met only once before, on a trip to the North Pole in 2003. They had to go to an art function of some kind at 7:00, so still it was a bit of a rush. But S'jane had a plan. They dropped me a Table Mountain so I could take the cable car to the top. From up there, you could see the Cape of Good Hope, the dividing point between the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. I watched the sun set over the Atlantic Ocean for my first time.
A quick taxi ride took me down to the waterfront to Ferryman's Tavern, which just happens to have (believe it or not) a brewery. I had a couple pints of Ferryman's Ale and some smoked salmon, and soon Hans and S'jane joined me.
Back at the house, Hans and I sat and enjoyed a glass of wine and discussed our adventures, past and future. A nice end to a nice day.
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