Day 1 - Are We There Yet?

Daybreak came early at 7 AM this morning. With curtains drawn, many of us slept much later, catching up on mist sleep during the last 24 hours of transit. Betty, Kathy Virtue, Belle, and I all arrived at about 5:45 PM last evening. The sun is slowly setting as our aircraft lands, showing us some beautiful late afternoon, views of Table Mountain, and the city of Cape Town After an easy trip through customs, we were greeted by Alexis and Chad, who loaded up our bags into a midsized Toyota charter bus, and drove us out to Stellenbosch.

Because we are south of the equator, the days here are actually shortening as they grow longer by minutes each spring day in the northern hemisphere. While it is fall here, the air in the climate and the environment reminds me of California, especially the Santa Inez Valley north of Santa Barbara. Like that wine region, Stellenbosch is the heart of South African wine industry, and is a huge generator of tourism as well as agriculture for the country. The air is dry, the evenings are crisp, but the daytime temperatures move quickly into the mid to high 80s. I feel like I am at home in California.

Our host, Wilhelm, greets us as we come on to the property. And a long drive lined with sycamore and oak trees, arriving at a white stucco, dutch inspired villa, with strong, modernist touches, but in a classical form. Beautiful in its simplicity, but elegant as it brings the outside very much in with an inner courtyard, open to the sky, as well as bedrooms surrounding it, each of which open to a beautiful view of the mountains, or to the vineyards and gardens surrounding the villa. It is a stunning place, Something that could easily be found in Architectural Digest.

We enjoy the first of several nights of dinners outside in the beautiful evening air, under the stars and a grapevine covered trellis, sharing stories, laughing and being welcomed by our gracious host. His two housekeeper/chef/servants, who have been at the property since it was constructed over 30 years ago for an English family, are pleasant, very talented and capable, and gracious in their service. Dinner is tasty, and the snacks in the kitchen are a harbinger of the future challenge to anyone on this trip who is seeking to lose weight during their stay :-)

We all turn in and after figuring out the eccentricities of foreign electrical circuitry, as well as lighting switches in the bedrooms, sleep comes quickly. Tomorrow is a rest day, and then our friends from Young Life Africa will soon arrive. It promises to be a wonderful week!

-Bob Voyles