Shanties and Wineries
Day 5, Monday, March 25, WTRD 9
Today is a day of visual contrast between the "Have Nots" and the "Haves". Those who are poor, uneducated, migrants stuck in sub-standard living conditions, and those who are privileged enough through birth and opportunity to own cars, eat three meals a day, travel the world, and drink fine wine. But I am personally agonizing between the extremes. Life is not fair, and the stark contrast fills my glass with guilt and empathy for those less fortunate. Where does one begin with such a huge problem? How does one stem the tide of class and racial divide?
Our FF travelers drive to the wine country along sandy-vegetation-covered-dunes. The land is dry, sandy, windblown, and not suitable for life, but this is where the South African poor live.
Khayelitsha housing developments began in the 1950's, segregated housing for various racial/economic groups and if you were of a particular class you were forcibly moved into segregated housing developments. By 1985 with the influx of African immigrants with no jobs or casual work, flooding into South Africa, and overcrowding of the cities, squator "Shanty Towns" of corrugated metal shacks sprang up, covering the inhospitable land outside of the cities and near the Khayelitsha developments for poor Africans for as far as the eye can see.
These people are crammed into poverty housing with a single shared toilet with five or more families. Most are without electricity, but some do have minimal electric. There are also medium type houses for those with a bit more resources, and expensive homes with high security fences to keep out everyone else. Income and educational gaps between Have Nots and Haves are wide, and there is no real plan to close the gap.
The government that was once affluent has been riddled with corruption, overpopulation, dwindling resources, and deteriorating infrastructure and social services, appears to be more of a hindrance than a help. The contrast is stark and the gap continues to grow between hope and hopelessness. Poverty encourages deviant behavior from those who have no legitimate livelihood. Drugs and theft are prevalent, and those who can afford to do so build walls around their homes.
We stop at the Spier Winery for wine tasting. We stroll the manicured grounds to the tasting room and conference facility.
Along the way, we pass through a lawn gallery of Interactive sound sculpture that hums when you bring your hands up to the sculpture.
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| Rita from Montana |
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| Helen and Harriet from Cape of Good Hope Friendship Force |
When we arrive at the tasting center, we are given several wines to taste with an explanation of each. Some folks buy bottles of wine. It is tempting, but too bulky and heavy to go on safari with us, so we give it a pass, but we do buy some silicone re-useable straws.
Love the Repurposed Plastic Bottle Succulent Sculpture
Conference Center Facilities
Outside of the conference center there is an art an craft market. We were fascinated by the intricate bead work of some of the sculptures.
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| Beautiful but too big for our luggage! |
Back on the bus we we go to Stellenbosch, second oldest Dutch city where we have time to walk about before lunch.
Robbed in Stellenbosch !!
When we stopped for our walk about, Russ and I wanted to get some local currency. We went to the bank to get some Rand. There was a security guard standing by the ATM machines. Good, it looked safe enough. We checked the machine to make sure the scanner was attached. I hovered near Russ on his left side to conceal our transaction and the Security Guard, a short young woman, stood on his right.
A big burly well dressed guy pushed in between Russ and the security guard and grabbed at our credit card as if he wanted to help us. He looked like he shoved the card into the scanner, and punched a button, but he had very discreetly palmed the card. Not knowing this, we nudged him back and told him to go away, the security guard tried to thrust her arms between him and Russ and told him to move away.
Whatever button he pushed disabled the screen, and he was gone with our debit card. Another security officer came out and told us to call our bank immediately and stop the card. We called our bank within two minutes and cancelled the card. Bummer! An incident like this really put a damper on our walkabout and demonstrated how the HAVE NOTS create their own conditions to make a living. The security guard standing outside the bank was either incompetent or in on the scheme.
After our walk and robbed-about, we went to the Spice Route Winery where we enjoyed a terrific meal, and a leisurely stroll around the property visiting the ice cream shop and chocolate shop.
It was time to go home. We arrived back in Cape Town about 5:30. Margi picked us up at the end of our bus ride and drove us home to participate in a dinner party she was hosting.
On our way to Margi’s, Helen needed to stop at her daughter’s home to pick up her potluck contribution. Helen wanted us to meet her daughter and son-in-law. We went into her home, but only stayed a few minutes for an introduction then had to leave to get to Margi’s. The guests had a arrived before us. The table was laden with traditional African foods including lamb curry and bobotie, a minced meat dish.
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| Our Host Margi (Right), and her Sister Anne, (Left) |
By now several others were already in line for the toilet. Margi led me to the back of the house, and across the courtyard to Anne’s apartment. By the time I returned, some had sat back down at the table or living room and others were preparing to leave. (10:30 or so).
It was quite late by the time the house had quieted down and we prepared for bed.
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