We had to attend a non-profit symposium in a Town called Paarl.
Long straight roads that stretch for miles on the way, with a blue misty mountain range in the distance.
Paarl is the Dutch word for Pearl, and the town was named as such due to the huge granite boulders that glisten like pearls after a rainstorm. We traveled to the town a day early in order to miss the traffic on the next day of the scheduled symposium, and of course I also wanted some time to take photos of the area.
Come travel with us.
Some life at last, and I think that if one has to down that big bottle of wine in a hurry, then sick leave will be mandatory from work for a few weeks:))
Finally, we neared the mountain range. We have not traveled on this particular road before, and it was so refreshing to see all the new sights and compare it to our own town.
A big river runs through the town, and I took this shot towards the left-hand side of the river.
And this is what the right-hand side of the river looks like.
Yep! Same as our town. Many farmlands surround the town.
A lovely view of farmland at the foot of the mountains.
At the safe Wikipedia source link below, you can see pictures of the town, and read interesting tidbits about the town and its history.
Paarl gained additional international attention when, on 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela walked, with live international television coverage, out of Victor Verster Correctional Centre (now known as Drakenstein Correctional Centre) in Paarl ending his 27 years of imprisonment, and beginning a course to South Africa's post-apartheid era and, notably, to multi-racial elections. Mandela spent three years in prison here living in a private house within the walls. Today, a bronze statue of Mandela stands outside the prison.
The Dutch East India Company, under the leadership of Jan van Riebeeck, established meat-trading relationships with the Khoikhoi people on the Table Bay coastline. In 1657, in search of new trading relationships inland, Abraham Gabemma saw a giant granite rock glistening in the sun after a rainstorm and named it "de Diamondt en de Peerlberg" (Diamond and Pearl Mountain), from which Paarl is derived. Gabemma (often also spelt Gabbema) was the Fiscal (public treasurer) for the settlement on the shores of Table Bay. The "diamonds" disappeared from the name, and it became known simply as Pearl Rock or Pearl Mountain.
This monument below was erected to honor the Afrikaans language.
That church dominates the town and some workers were busy on the tower. You can see them on the scaffolding.
Paarl is also famous for its wine, and they reckon that it's the oldest town in the Winelands. Tours are offered on the winelands route, and if ever you were to visit the Western Cape, then make sure that you book yourself on to one of those tours. Thankfully, the weather held out and there was no rain over the two days that we spent there, and I was also able to take photos on the second day before and after the symposium. Once it was done, we took a slow cruise back home, passing through Franschhoek, Pniel, and Stellenbosch. All of the small towns in the Western Cape province have long histories stretching from the 1600's. Settlers from France, and other European countries, also settled in the towns and that's why many of them have a European tinge to them. We are happy to say that we still have much to explore, and I will continue to share our travels in the future with all of you.
I hope that you have enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
Thank you kindly for supporting this post.
Such a magnificent view! It must be super cool to travel on that long straight road with your car at full speed like there's no tomorrow. :)
I used to love traveling on those long and straight roads with my motorbike many years ago. It gave me great feelings of freedom :)
!PIZZA
This article is very interesting and full of information! I really enjoyed the description of Paarl and its rich history, especially how the town's name comes from the granite rocks that gleam after the rain. The photos are also stunning, especially the views of mountains and agricultural land.
@papilloncharitas Thanks for sharing your travel experiences, Zac. I look forward to reading more of your travel stories in the future!"
Thank you, and I like to keep my post comprehensive, as there are so much history and context in this area. So, if something like the gleaming rocks catches my attention, then I am sure the I and many others would like to know the origin of the tale. I am glad that you liked the photos and thank you for the appreciation of my posts.
!PIZZA and !LOL
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Paarl is a beautiful town!
We went there after my Dad passed away, took Mom on that trip. One of Dad's older brothers lived there, he used to be the school principal of Paarl Gymnasium for many years. He was in his 90s, but still drove!
The town was such a delight with the vineyards next to the main road.
What a lovely sight at the end of that long straight road!
I agree with your view about the Paarl, as it is really a lovely town.
An interesting story about your dad's brother and glad that you took your mom along on the visit.
I think that people can get very old in that town, as it is peaceful, and the place where we spent the night, was a very cute cottage in the yard of a heritage old house, that had one of those old watch towers.
!PIZZA and !LUV
What a beautiful building! I truly fell in love with the town when we went there.
Dad's brother lived in a gracious retirement home when we visited him.
He lost two sons, one in a freak accident when a golf ball hit him on his head. He apparently was fine afterward, but died in his sleep that night, very tragic. His second son was married with young children when he died of cancer. Uncle Robert's wife had passed on, but he had a strong faith and a positive outlook on life.
We were surprised when he introduced us to his lady friend, who served us tea in a beautiful fine china tea set. They were both dressed up as if they were having VIP visitors, so sweet <3
He drove his car to the very end, had gone to the bank, got into his car, and someone found him slumped over the steering wheel.
One of our regular guests who is a researcher, lives in Paarl.
I hope you've shared more of this beautiful town, will pop over to your blog!
We also love the heritage buildings and the old houses in the towns Lady Lizzie..
So that little cottage was great behind that old house.
You seem to have had a very interesting life with many stories of the past, and I can only imagine how hurt uncle Robert felt each time when he lost a son. But I know one thing for sure, his faith carried him through. I wonder if that cute and well-dressed lady, was only a friend, or a girlfriend of uncle Robert. As they were both dressed up to the nineteens, it seems to me that uncle Robert was planning to marry again :)) He chose a good way to die, as he was doing what he loved to do. I hope that I will depart in the same way, as retirement is not for me.
Now there you have it! A guest that lives in Paarl, is a message that you must visit us. There are many timeshare places here and we can take you around.
You will only see roads and landscapes of the town in my post, as we didn't have time to explore the town.
!PIZZA and !LUV
The Garden Route is still a very special part of the world! 😎
Oh yes, that garden route is famous for its beauty!
!PIZZA