(1/21) Wine lands in Stellenbosch

We awoke this morning to the thrill of adventure ahead: a biking wine tour. We took two different trains (one directly into downtown and the other out in to the wine lands) to Stellenbosch. We made our way to the Bikes’N Wine travel company to pick up our bikes and meet the guides. We biked through beautiful valleys with mountains in the backgrounds.

It may have been 40 C (104 F) at the hottest time of the day, but everyone had a blast. We biked 11 miles through the region stopping at 3 different wine estates, as well as the Van Ryn Brandy Cellar. I actually learned quite a bit about wine and brandy, and can officially taste the difference between a 10-year and 12-year brandy. Needless to say by 11:30 I may have been a bit drunk on a bike. Not the safest combination, but not complaining. Our last stop was to a dam, but it was defiantly just a small retention pond. Being a bit too rambunctious for my own good, I was amongst the first ones in and also one of the first one’s out after discovering we had leaches all over our bodies. They were tiny, but disgusting nonetheless. We all were rolling in the hard sand and rocks to get them off. I don’t think I have taken a more thorough shower in my entire life. The tour ended with a free bottle of wine and excellent advice for future trips around Cape Town. All in all, Stellenbosch is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my entire life. It may have been the wine, but there was something exhilarating stirring through my blood that day.

Today was a significantly contrasting view of South Africa then yesterday’s. Each day I spend here I realize the thousands of different faces to South Africa.