Neville, my senior by a number of years, was such a man. He stopped by for a chat more than once during my short time at the Onrus campsite. The nature of his questions showed that he was and will remain an adventurer at heart. I really appreciated his chats.
Breakfast was a quick cup of coffee and two rusks at ... the Coffee Shop Arabikaz.
My next stop was to be Stanford. A few years ago my wife and I spent a week in the Hermanus area and Stanford was one of the places we visited. There was a certain restaurant cum coffee shop we had visited that I thought I'd like to see again.
Just outside the restaurant, a German couple politely stood to one side so I could enter first; a gesture that I politely declined, seeing that they were my senior by a number of years.
Once again I was made aware of the amazing kindness of people on my trip. The German couple asked me to join them at their table and a wonderful conversation ensued. They were married for sixty two years already and I delighted in the quiet gentleness with which they interacted.
On the road, once again, I headed for Swellendam where I envisaged spending a day or two so that I could get my washing done and ... visit my favourite restaurant, viz. Penant Wing.
At the Municipal Caravan Park in Swellendam I pitched my tent and went in search of supper. To my dismay my favourite restaurant was closed (I discovered that they are only open during the day).
I stopped at a place on the Main Street (possibly because I noticed a BMW GS 1200 standing outside) and ... the place was open. Its patrons were boisterous with cigarette smoke wafting everywhere.
Once I found an outside table towards one side of the stoep, I ordered my meal, sat back and started checking my mail, etc. I was completely taken aback when a female voice jolted me back to my immediate surroundings. A very young smiling woman stood in front of me saying something about how wonderful it must be to travel the way I was. She looked incredibly young, was quite attractive (in a girl - next - door type of way) and seemed to be waiting for a response from my side. All I could do, however, was to think how young she was and wondering what she was doing in place like this.
She must have realised that I wasn't going to be accommodating, turned round and went back to her table.
Why am I sharing this? I mentioned my experience to the owner of Penant Wing the next morning, to learn that this young woman was known to proposition men. It is sad. How did she come to have this be the way she operated? On the surface of it all she could well be the sweet and cherished daughter of any father.
That night was bitterly cold. At three o' clock the following morning, I got out my little stove, made my way to the ablution block and made myself a hot mug of tea and worked on my blog whilst waiting for the new day.
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| The owners of Penant Wing, Geoffrey and Louie outside their fantastic restaurant. |
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