2009-09-25 – flying high into the sea of feathery pink

Urgh. We had to get up at 5-ish in order to be ready for pickup for our balloon ride with Oudtshoorn Ballooning. We thought it would be something like Bill Harrop's, well over an hour's drive into the countryside, but it turned out that they used a local rugby field as the ballooning field. So we could have walked. But we still would have had to get up as early as we did... bleh ;-)

The balloon itself was smaller than the one we rode in before; we watched and took photos while they inflated it (kind of like our RoFs for the time being). There were two other couples on the ride – one South African couple, and one Dutch couple. The ride itself ended up being a perpetual state of hovering over Oudtshoorn, because of the wind (or lack thereof). The dogs in the area were not amused, and kept barking and barking and barking. Even when we were 1 km up, we could hear the dogs, barking and agitated. We could also see people coming out of their houses, in their bathrobes, looking up and seeing a big balloon heading towards their gardens. Some ran in to get their camera phones, others just stood and waved, and others just ducked back into their homes and didn't turn up again. I suppose it could be a bit annoying when you wake up early in the morning to find a big balloon hovering over your place hehe...

While we were hovering over some random houses, the South African guy proposed to his South African girlfriend. I was taking photos, and I suddenly saw this guy on his knee, placing a ring on the girl's finger. She was absolutely thrilled; tears were running down her cheeks, and they both embraced and were just so happy. It was rather sweet :-) After we landed, I took a look at her ring, and it was a really nice one. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it wasn't one of those boring diamond solitaire rings. It was a more elaborate and interesting design, and something Ms. Penguin wouldn't mind having... (hint, hint, Mr. Penguin ;) (fat chance, Ms. Penguin! :-P )

Anyway, because of the shifty wind, Charl, the balloon pilot, had a difficult time figuring out where to land; his ground crew was faithfully following (stalking) him in his vehicle and trailer (the photos we'll eventually put up will “explain” this a lot better than words). At one point, we were flying towards a church, and Charl mentioned how fun it would be to place a rubber ring over the church tower. I suppose it would also have been fun dropping ostrich eggs on people's houses :-P We finally flew to some bush area, and landed there. A sort of soft landing at first, but then the basket tipped over, and we had to crawl out. No big deal; we are here for a bit of adventure and excitement, right?

Since we had breakfast included with our tour, the two of us and Charl went to a local B&B/café for a tasty breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, mealie pap, bread, and coffee. Yum...

After breakfast, we headed back to the backpackers, took showers, sent our laundry to be washed, and headed into town. Ms. Penguin made a shopping stop at Nini's, where she bought a fantastic boa in 2007. This year, she bought two boas. One über-pink boa, and one 50-50 white and pink boa. Lots of pink. You can never have too much pink (yes, you can, Mr. Penguin declares). They are just fantastic boas. Ms. Penguin can't wait to use them. She also checked out some of the ostrich leather purses that they sold, but they were a bit on the expensive side... bah...

Next on the agenda was a trip to Kango Wines. When we got there, there was a whole busload of people inside, doing a tasting. Grrrmf. But it seemed like they were just finishing their tour, to our relief. So we didn't have to wait long to do our tasting. Unfortunately, we were a bit disappointed this time around. The last time we were at Kango, we found some really nice wines, especially the red blend. This year, they all seemed thin, boring, and bitter. I hope this is the result of just a bad year, rather than changing a formula that worked. Or is it our taste that has changed? Hmmm. As opposed to last time, we ended up not buying anything...

By then, it was approaching lunch time. We chose a café that served traditional South African food and waffles. We won't dwell on this and bore the reader with a long description of the concept or food that didn't live up to our expectations. Long story short, the food was mediocre, as was the house wine (Drostdy Hof = bleh)...

After lunch, we walked around a bit. Mr. Penguin noticed a place called Beauty Rescue Lounge, and wondered if Ms. Penguin could go and get a pedicure there; Mr. Penguin was getting tired of Ms. Penguin's itchy scratchy talon-like webbed feet :-P So we went in, and Ms. Penguin talked to the staff, and lo and behold, she got an appointment for a pedicure a little later on. Yay!

So between then and Ms. Penguin's appointment, we walked a bit around town, around a market square with blaring ghetto blasters, as well as a minibus stand and street hawkers. We stopped at a sports clothing shop (where Mr. Penguin bought a hat in 2007) before heading back to the main street to stop at a café called Pancake Bizarre for lunch #2 – pancakes filled with apples, with ice cream on the side. Washed down with coffee. Now this was good stuff... yum yum!

We walked around a little bit more, and then it was time for Ms. Penguin's pedicure. Ms. Penguin had a nice chat with Laurika, the young woman doing the pedicure. She had literally opened the salon that day, and already had several walk-in customers; she was pleasantly surprised by this as their planned grand opening is next weekend. Anyway, if you're in Oudtshoorn and want a pedicure or any other kind of beauty treatment (facial, massage, manicure, etc.), then do visit this place. Beauty Rescue Lounge – located on Church Street (next to Poetry Coffee Shop), telephone number 076 822 1918. Oh, and Ms. Penguin is now happy with über-pink talons, and her webbed feet are no longer itchy or scratchy :-D

While Ms. Penguin was getting her pedicure, Mr. Penguin went back to La Dolce Vita for some beer quaffing and relaxation. By the time Ms. Penguin was done with her pedicure, both penguins were quite tired. So we went back to our room to take a nap before dinner. Ms. Penguin was rudely awaken by someone playing religious music at full blast. Blah.

Tonight's dinner was consumed at Kalinka; it is owned by a Russian woman. It's a very cozy restaurant with a friendly staff. Mr. Penguin didn't get a starter, but Ms. Penguin did – she had the Karoo Caprese salad with local goat cheese. When it was served, both penguins were reminded of the standard caprese with mozarella cheese. But Ms. Penguin thought it was a nice touch with the goat cheese, as it had a bit more flavor, even though it was a rather mild goat cheese. The tomato slices were big and flavorful, and South African olive oil was used. It was all very delicious. Grade: :-)+

Both penguins chose the quail as the main course; it was served with honey and soy sauce, with wild mushroom polenta and quince. Two waitresses brought our meals, which initially was covered with one of those fancy lids; these lids were lifted simultaneously and we were faced with our wonderful feast. The quails were cooked perfectly – nice and tender meat and crispy skin. The sauce was very flavorful and tangy and was a nice complement to the meat. The polenta was nicely cooked, and contained good-sized pieces of mushroom. It was so delicious! We even got each our own finger bowls with warm water and lemon to wash our fingers :-)

Now, Mr. Penguin isn't really crazy about polenta at all. But even he ate everything on his plate, and gives this entire dish the grade :-D And Ms. Penguin agrees.

The wine we chose was an excellent match with the quail. The wine was:
Terra D'Aria 2007 (from Durbanville)
color: opaque red-violet

nose: leather, earthy cellar, alcohol, dark berries

palate: full-bodied, but light at the same time. Fruity, flavor of blackberries and forest berries, with spiciness in the background.

Grade: :-)+

We were quite stuffed by then, but our RoFs demanded dessert. So it got dessert. Ms. Penguin got ice cream – a scoop of butternut with cinnamon and a scoop of hazelnut. This was very obviously homemade, and very, very good. Mr. Penguin got an amarula crème brulee, served with candied pear and amarula fruit on the side. Delicious, delicious. There is no other word for it.

Tomorrow's breakfast will be at 8:30 am and will include ostrich egg. Yes, despite how stuffed we are, we're still thinking about food. ;-)