I can not believe that I have already been for 2 full weeks. Time flies over here. I have had a really crazy week. I am working really long hours at work- from 9-6, but it takes anywhere from 45mins to 2hrs to get to work because of the inefficient public transportation. Sometimes the train will just stop at a station for 45 minutes for no real reason. From the train station I have to take a mini bus (taxi) which essentially packs 18 people into a mini van. They are fun but really annoying when your trying to get somewhere. I am thinking of renting a scooter, they are cheap and easy to maneuver. Work is great though, I get to meet people from all over the world every day. Primarily my job is giving wine tastings, dealing w/ sales, and eventually giving cellar tours. Most people who visit the estate are from Europe, primarily UK or Germany but surprisingly a lot of Americans. I am immediatley recognized as the American and then the young guy who knows something about wine. Generally I make good tips though. There is a really nice family/team aspect where I work. Everyone is very friendly and I am quickly becoming used to the work routine. The South African work style is heavily influenced by individual responsibilities, and there is little room for taking the initiative because you would be bound to step on someone's toes. However, they follow the general rule of if something doesn't absolutely need to be done immediately then it doesnt need to be done at all. Very different from American work habits. I will post some pics below from where I work, it is a beautiful place and very hard to get stressed. I have to take a test this week to test my knowledge on thier wines and the history of the estate. Depending on how I do, my responsibilities should increase. So more to come on that.
This is the view from the top of the vineyard. That white building is the winery.
This is my walk up to the winery at the top of the hill every day.
The grape vines are surrounded by the mountains, which causes huge winds from the ocean on the other side. They have placed Eucalyptus trees to protect them, but interestingly leaves a minty taste with berry, especially the Merlot grapes.
This most recent weekend was good fun as well. Friday started with a wine tasting at High Constantia, right next door to me. They are a bit smaller than Steenberg, but have been awarded the best champagne (Methode Cap Classique) in all of South Africa. It is very dry, but very delicious. It was actually used at Obama's Inauguration. There was a group of about 15 of us, we had a Braai (barbaque) there after which was delicious.
Saturday was followed by a full day excursion. We took the train out to Kalk Bay about 45 mins from Cape Town, hiked about 1.5hrs to the summit of the mountain and caved through the center of it, coming out the other end. Only about the first 20 meters required crawling, then the cave turned into a huge cavern. The view of the other side was amazing. All of Kalk Bay, both the Indian and Atlantic Ocean, and Cape Point.
This is the view from the summit. In the distance is Cape Point (Cape of Good Hope). That area of water/beach has the highest population of Great White Shark attacks in the world. In the winter you can see them breaching because the Seals move in from closer to shore.
This is about 1/3 of the way down the hike from the Mountain Peak. Such an awesome day.
On Sunday I went out to Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, regarded as one of the most internationally acclaimed botanical gardens in the world. It was awesome, unfortunately most plants were not in full bloom, but the area was massive and still beautiful. They have huge gardens, benches everywhere for you to enjoy the scenery or have a picnic, and massive forests to explore. Definitely could get lost in there. I am glad I got to see it, but wish the flowers were blooming a bit more. It is so expansive that it is extremely difficult to maintain. The estate covers roughly 530 hectares. It was packed because every sunday in the Summer, they have a sundown concert in the garden.
All in all, I am still having an awesome time. Miss all you guys at home, but there is so much stuff to do and see here that I can keep occupied. This week should be another busy week at work, and then who knows what the weekend will hold. Unfortunately I only really have the weekends to explore because of work during the week. Anyway I actually gotta run now, but hope all is well with you all back in the States and hopefully will talk soon. Keep checking up on the blog next week sometime.
