Stellenbosh, Wine and a Friend of Nelson Mandela
Our travels today took us about 90 minutes from Cape Town to the South African wine country.
We stopped in the lovely town of Stellenbosch which is home to Stellenbosch University, one of the oldest universities in South Africa, The Main Street is lined with boutiques, galleries and cafes. We did a little shopping at some shops that had hand made goods made in Africa. We also stopped at a Hi-Tec Sneaker store that has a display of the actual shoes worn by Nelson Mandela. Unfortunately the shoes were being restored but I did get a picture of where they are displayed.
From Stellenbosch we traveled a short distance to Boschendal Winery, one of the oldest wineries in South Africa. Here we got a chance to try some of their excellent wines along with a delicious buffet lunch. The food in South Africa is quite amazing. Every meal we’ve had has been excellent.
Following lunch, our guide Jameel began telling us a story about Nelson Mandela and one of his guards at Robben Island prison, Christo Brand who became a close friend of Mandela’s. They remained close friends until Mandela’s death in 2013. Jameel described the book Brand wrote about his relationship with Nelson Mandela called Doing Life with Mandela My Prisoner, My Friend. Unfortunately the book is out of print but Jameel said they had a guest who could tell us about the book, And then he introduced Christo Brand. Brand talked to our small group for about 30 minutes about how he came to meet Mandela as his prison guard and how they became close friends.. It was a very moving talk. At the end of the talk there were copies of the book available which Brand signed. Most everyone, us included purchased the book and had it signed. Brand posed for photos with everyone at the end of the signing. Hearing his story and getting to meet him with a very moving experience.
After a brief stop in the winery store we headed back to our hotel. We needed to get our bags ready for pickup. Our bus driver will be driving them to George, out next South African stop. We will fly to George early tomorrow morning for a full day of activities in George.
