Sept 21

We are now back in Capetown, where we will be until Sept. 30th.  The last few days have been quite special.  On Sept 15th, we headed out of CT for Franschoek, a quaint, picturesque town set in a beautiful valley in the heart of SA's wine country.  For 3 nights, we treated ourselves to some luxury at LaCouronne -- a beautiful hotel, set on a vineyard and perched above the Franschoek valley.  Our room with a view (and a thing that heats your towels in the bathroom) was lovely and the gourmet food was excellent (including the wine that came with dinner).  The hotel staff even turned down our bedsheet every night and left 2 mints.  During our stay in Franschoek, we visited several wine estates for tastings -- the wine was good (except for a few wines, of course) and the estates, particularly the flowers and the Cape Dutch architecture, were beautiful. 

The highlight of our visit to F (and of our trip overall), however, took place in the early evening of Sept 16th.  While at LaC, we found a pretty spot on the estate's gardens (part of the gardens overlooking the valley below).  There, we -- just the 2 of us -- exchanged our wedding vows and rings.  Afterwards, we had a very nice dinner -- but not before drinking a bottle of wine to celebrate.  Jenn looked absolutely beautiful.  She would, reluctantly, admit she "looked good for a backpacker."  The truth, however, is that she looked absolutely amazing -- by any standards.  Don't worry -- I took a lot of pictures (thank goodness for a tripod).  We are very happy and are excited to do "it" all over again on June 25, 2005 in Severna Park, MD.

After our stay in Franschoek, we traveled to Hermanus and then Gaansbai.  Despite the rain on Saturday the 17th, we still walked around H and had the chance to see some southern right whales -- they come so close to shore.  In fact, Hermanus is so nice and the whales are so close that we plan on going back (hopefully on a sunny day).

Our last day out of C'town -- Sunday the 19th -- was spent in Gaansbai . . . shark cage diving.  Although the conditions were a bit rough and the visibility was not great, we still had some amazing up-close encounters (right next to the boat) with 2 great white sharks.  Dave DeWaald and I also spent about an hour in the actual cage.  We did not see a lot then, but let me tell you . . . it is quite scary when you see the dorsal fin of a great white only a few feet away.  The cage is very safe, but when you are in it, it does not feel like there is very much between you and the shark!!!!  We also plan on diving again -- hopefully to get a better experience in the cage (better visibility and more GWS's). 

We have been in CT (and the area) since about Sept 8th . . . and it appears we'll be here until Sept 30th.  Soon, I will post about some of the other things we have done in this beautiful city.