The Mountain, The "Girls" and Still No Whales

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Today's Vocabulary word: gogga - bug

Question: How many of you realized you can feed the fish? I like to drop lots of food in one corner and watch them all race over to get it.


It was kind of cloudy and looked like it might rain so we weren't sure what we wanted to do today.

On our way out of Hermanus last time, we stopped at a wine shop for Bob to peruse a huge selection of South African Wines.  I was struck by some ceramic statues they had sitting at the check out counter.  They were all hand made and were of tribal women from the Zulu and Xhosa tribes.  When I asked the shopkeeper where they came from he told me they were from The Hornbill House, which was an art studio in the same complex.  Unfortunately, it was Sunday and the place was closed.  ( Wine shop open - Art gallery closed)

I tried to forget about them but I couldn't.  We have just moved into a new house and there is a niche over the fireplace that is screaming for something.  I have been looking nonstop for just the right thing to put there and these fit the bill.   I called the next day and found out that the gallery sold to some high end design stores at the waterfront so I went over to see.  What I found out was that they marked them up two and a half times the price she charged for them (and she charged quite enough as it was).  That would mean another trip to Hermanus.  One more chance to see the whales, I thought.

Bob was up for another stunning drive down the coast so off we went.  The Hornbill House was a great experience and I am glad we went back. (http://www.hornbillhouse.co.za/)  We got to see all of her creations.  It is a real working gallery and they sculpt, fire and glaze right there.

Mind you these look way better in person.  Each one is different because they are all done by hand.  We got one like the third one from the left (in the back row) and then one just like the second one from the left only she has the black coat.  They are bigger and taller than they appear in this picture.  We both like them a lot and can't wait to put them in our house as a reminder of our trip.

If you look behind "The Girls" you can see a window that looks into the restaurant where we had lunch.  It is the prettiest outdoor cafe and we had a great meal there.

                                                                                                                                                                 

                         

I had sweet potato soup with spring rolls and a pear salad with walnuts and blue cheese. Perfect!

Bob had a seafood curry.






After the great meal (and Zulu women in tow) we decided a little more whale watching was in order. We got an ideal seat looking out over the bay and it was a much calmer day than the last time we were here. Still, there were no whales. Bummer. 


Hermanus is so beautiful that even without whales it is worth the trip. But we did get an unexpected treat while trying to find them. Remember the cute little critters that live on Table Mountain called Dassies. (Dusty without the “T”). Apparently, the mountain is not the only place they live. While we were perched on some rocks waiting for the elusive whales, we started to notice Dassies running all over the place. I guess the rocks get warm and so do they! They got so close to us we could have reached out and touched them.
There are three of them in this picture but they blend in with the rocks so well, sometimes you don't even see them until they move.

 
The beauty of the shore here (whales or no whales) made us want to stay just to soak it all in.
 

Notice the wild Jade that grows everywhere here.
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
On the way home we saw another troop of Baboons. They were just along the road. We pulled over to take some pictures and as soon as we did they crossed the road (looking both ways first) and came so close, I thought they were going to jump in the car with us. Bob kept saying, “That’s enough Christine, get in the car now please”.



 

We headed home no worse for the wear. For dinner we returned to the waterfront.  A restaurant called Willoughby & Co. claimed to have the best seafood in Cape Town. Considering they have some of the best seafood in the world here, that is a hefty claim to live up to. We were not disappointed.
 

 
 

 
We also had Kingklip again but we must have been so hungry that we forgot to take the picture.
 
All in all, a wonderful day.  Tomorrow we are going to the Botanical Garden.  Stand by!!
 
Love to all,
Christine