Now she been to a shebeen...

So after our day of winery hopping, we kind of felt like we wanted to keep the party going. So, at the recommendation of our wine servers at Englebrecht Els, we decided to visit the famous Mzoli's in Gugulethu. Mzoli's is a butcher shop owned by Mzoli Ngcawuzele. It sits in the heart of the Gugulethu township and is a popular meeting place for the community there. Now, to some this might seem like a dangerous move. However, we were assured that we would be safe - tour buses regularly visit and we would be in the company of our driver (slash bodyguard) Mark.

After locking everything in our trunk (with the exception of my small point-and-shoot camera and a R100 bill), we made our way out into the street party and located Mzoli's shop. Mark found Mzoli himself and introduced us. Mzoli suggested we grab some beers at a local shebeen and return to sit with him and his family back at his shop. A shebeen is basically a bar that is located inside someone's house, so we hit the one directly across the street. Inside a small living room we saw a old man asleep in a chair in front of the TV while a woman served cold beers from a fridge just a few feet away. In the kitchen - local women were holding court, inviting us in to dance and party with them. We purchased a couple of large sized Carling Black Labels and I gave them the entire R100. They were so nice and welcoming; it completely put me at ease. Back at Mzoli's we spent time with his family and friends and enjoyed a free platter of meat that Mzoli cooked up especially for us. As we were still pretty full from our visit to Steers, it was a challenge to put it back but I did try the sausage and enjoyed it. (I'm not too sure what the other meat was). When it was time to head out, Mzoli sent one of his men to escort us back to our vehicle. A very Soprano's-esque experience.

After a quick power-nap, we met up with our new German friends Mitch and Suza for dinner and drinks at the hotel and then succumbed to a very well-deserved sleep.