south africa: capetown

I knew as soon as I booked my flights to South Africa that I would spend some time in Capetown. Every person I know who has ever been to South Africa said Capetown was a highlight, a must see city/place. Though Johannesburg is the capital and has more people, Capetown gets a lot more visitors. I think it could be easily argued that Capetown has more culture, and has/d a larger effect on who/what the country of South Africa is today.

My bus was supposed to arrive a bit after six in the morning, but of course it was late. We arrived closer to eight in the morning. I'd made a booking through airbnb, and kept my host aware of where the bus was.

When I arrived, he picked me up at the bus station and took me to his house. I'm sure I could've walked it, but since I had my pack, the ride was nice.

I got the tour of the house, then my host went to work. While we were in the truck he told me about the neighborhood, as well as a bit about the city as a whole. When we parked in front of the house I looked up the street and realized there was a great view of Table Mountain.

I took advantage of decent wifi, and got caught up on everything as well as charged my phone. Hours later I walked out of the house, armed with a plan.

I used one of my apps to create a map of where I wanted to go that day, what I wanted to see. Needless to say, it did not go as planned. It was going to be a long walk no matter what, but that's always fine with me. I crossed over a set of train tracks, and found out that the exit I thought would be there wasn't available to me. It turned out I didn't work in that particular area, so I didn't have a badge to go through.

This block meant I had to walk quite a ways back, to find a way I could walk. I was annoyed, but there was nothing I could do. When I tried to explain that I just wanted to walk through everyone thought I was crazy for walking in the first place.

I turned around and figured out another way to go. Since I'd had to walk more than my already long plan, I didn't get to everything I'd hoped to see that day. Oh well. I figured I would fit everything in over the next few days. On this new route I walked by a building that had a giant picture of Nelson Mandela on the windows.

Further along I found a cenotaph, though I don't remember exactly what it was memorializing. I like this sort of thing, even though they tend to be similar around a country. Capetown already looked and felt different to me as opposed to Johannesburg and Durban. Close to the cenotaph were a couple rows of green trees. Yes, I know that trees are typically green, but even the trunks of these trees were green.

My first sight ended up not being at all what I hoped for. The name is Gold Museum, but it is no longer a museum about gold. Booo.

It's now a museum about the life of Nelson Mandela. I was disappointed, but walked through anywho. There were a few items on display, but it was mostly quotes and pictures and description of Mandela's life.

I wound my way through the streets to St George's Church, which was lovely. Nothing extravagant, but I prefer less splashy. It felt peaceful, and was empty while I was in there.

Sortof behind the church are the Company Gardens. Lots of little areas in the gardens, so you feel as though you're seeing several different gardens.

There were a bunch of people in the gardens, but with the way it is arranged, it didn't feel crowded at all. It seemed to be a place people come to enjoy their lunch break.

I found a decrepit building on the edge of a parkplatz, upon which was a quote that should be noted around the world: All are equal before the law.

My next stop was the so called artillery memorial. The monument itself was backlit at that point, so I didn't take the photo. There was a small pond in front of the monument, I had fun watching a couple kids play in the water.

Next to the memorial was the museum of one person. This museum follows how humankind came to be, from way back all the way till now. There is a GIANT strand of DNA in front of the museum, it's impossible to miss. I had to be very patient to get the photo I wanted, as people kept walking into my frame. Then, just as people cleared out, a couple ladies decided to do an amateur photo shoot. Finally they left and I clicked away.

I walked back to Strand Street, a main street of sorts. I followed the street toward another part of the city, by the coast. The first part of the walk was uphill, which was exhausting for some reason or another.

At this point there was already plenty of traffic, which always makes me a little nervous. I walked and walked, and finally arrived at the coastal part of capetown.

I walked to the lighthouse, which wasn't nearly as exciting as I had hoped. It's painted red and white, and rather cute.

As I walked along the coast I realized how much more active people are in capetown than in other cities in the country. There were heaps of people out for a walk, or a run, or to do yoga, etc... It was nice to see people out in public.

There were large green areas, and paths along the coast. This isn't a beach area, as there are rocks there, not sand. In one of the large green areas was a huge frame for glasses. Since election day was coming up, someone had put a sign in the frames reminding people to vote.

I walk a lot more, making my way to an area of the city called Sea Point. It's filled with shops and restaurants, one of which is where I had dinner. Sushi, it wasn't wonderful or awful. To get home I used uber for the first time. Easy, convenient, and relatively cheap. I wanted to walk, until I realized it would be over an hour of walking, after dark in a South African city.

The next morning I followed the same path I'd walked the day before, which was a cycle and footpath for part of the way. I made my way all the way to V&A waterfront, passing a small shipyard along the way. I like seeing things built, and I could see where some of the workers were living.

In the waterfront area I could see a clocktower that reminded me a bit of the lighthouse I'd seen the evening before, it was painted red and white. I found the diamond museum, and entered. I tried to pay, but they said I could pay after the tour. To go through the museum one of the employees gives you a tour, explaining the different exhibits along the way.

The museum isn't big, but it describes how diamonds are made, how they're mined, and how they're used. Diamonds are described in terms of shape and cost and uniquemess. At the end, there is a shop if you want to buy something.

In a small area of the waterfront are a couple cannons, they're all that is left of what used to be a fort in the area.

I ended up having a hot dog for lunch, as I wasn't in the mood to stop and sit in a cafe/restaurant. Probably not the healthiest thing I could do, buuuuut.....

My next stop was the medical museum. It didn't seem well known, it's actually an old hospital (the infectious disease unit,) located near the modern hospital. After I pushed the doorbell, I had to wait while they opened the security door for me. As far as I could tell, I was the only person in the museum at the time, and no one paid any attention to me.

There were displays of old medical books, old medical supplies, a mockup of a surgical room, etc... There were also displays of various diseases that had come to this area of the world, along with the stories of specific outbreaks.

When I left, I signed the guidebook, which confirmed my thoughts that this museum doesn't get a lot of visitors.

I walked from there to the Slave Lodge. This building was originally one of the places where slaves were brought to be sold after being imported from east African countries. After the slave trade stopped, it was turned into a set of courts. Now it is a museum all about the slave trade. There is an area set up as the interior of a slave ship, which is horrifying. Sooooo many people were crammed into such a small area. There is a monument listing some of the known names from one of the major slave trading companies.

I won't go into details here, but lets just say that what people have done to other people over history is absolutely awful. No human is any less than any other human being.

One area of the museum had temporary displays; one of these was about music. The display had a bunch of cd jackets, which I loved.

From the Slave Lodge I wanted to go to the District 6 museum, but it was already closed for the day. (Museums in this country don't seem to be open very much.) Instead, I ended up at a place called Charly's Bakery. YUM. Definitely one of the most brightly coloured bakeries I have ever seen.

After stuffing my face with a brownie and a cupcake, I walked toward the city fort. Unfortunately, that was also already closed for the day. Argh. Since I still had some time, I walked back to the waterfront, getting to see sunset while I was walking. I got back to V&A waterfront, and took a few night photos. It's a commercially developed area, there are plenty of people out there every night for dinner, shopping, and just being outside.

From there I walked to the neighborhood known as Bo Kap (sp?) which is known for it's coloured houses. I'd arranged dinner with a guy I met while traveling through Turkey 4+ years ago.

We'd only met briefly, while each of us was passing time at a bus station; we had dinner together back then.

Since Terrence lived in Capetown, I asked him to choose a place, he chose a Malay/Indian restaurant. Apparently this place had been featured on an episode of Iron Chef (or another cooking show along those lines,) a couple years ago. There is a lot of Indian food all over South Africa, but unlike my memories of India, there is a lot more meat involved in South African Indian food. Terrence and I ended up closing down the restaurant because we talked for so long.

The next morning I got up early, even though it was a holiday. It wasn't a regular national holiday, it was Election Day. I love the idea of Election Day being a day off for most people, that way very few people have an excuse for not voting. My host had made plans to hike on Table Mountain with some friends, and invited me along. He said it would be a little technical, but I should be fine. I made sure I had water, snacks, and decent clothing, and walked out the door.

Mark's friends picked us up, and we parked under the bottom of the cable car. I think the original plan had been to hike up, then take the cable car down, but upon arrival we discovered the cable car was closed for annual maintenance.

That meant hiking up and hiking down. Adventures are always fun, right?

When I arrived in Capetown one of the things I knew I wanted to do was hike up Table Mountain. I wanted to be able to say I made it to the top of such an iconic place.

I was happy Mark had invited me along, as it meant I didn't have to do any research about how to get to a trailhead, or what trail to use, or how to get back after hiking. We met a couple other folks at the parkplatz, then started moving.

Almost as soon as we started, I knew I was the slowest of the group. I don't get to hike nearly as often as I'd like, and when I do, I stop quite regularly to take photos and enjoy whateva views I can see. I didn't mind at all that I was the slowest, and I hope I wasn't holding anyone back.

We followed a trail called India Venster. The sign at the trailhead warns that it is a difficult trail, and some climbing will be needed. Talk about an understatement. For me, there was real climbing.

I loved every minute of the hike, even though it was one of the toughest hikes I've ever done. A few times I had to use my arms to pull myself up and onto a rock, then reach for the next part of the trail. I felt like a badass, hee hee. The trail varied constantly, so I never settled into a rhythm. It was an awesome challenge, and one I would gladly repeat, with someone of course.

The trail was quite steep in places, and full of amazing views. I got to see the sun move in the sky, and I got to see clouds roll in.

At one point we went around a corner and all of us felt as though we would be blown off the mountain due to strong winds. Mark showed me that I could see down the ridge, and see what they called the 12 Apostles. Very picturesque.

We passed a sign that faced the other way, saying "not an easy way down.' That was even more of an understatement than the first sign I'd seen that day! There is no way I would risk going down the trail we came up, as I'm sure I'd fall all the way down the mountain. I can't imagine many people would hike down that trail, but I'm sure there are a few.

When we got to the top we found out the cafe was closed, along with the cable car. This was a disappointment, but thankfully all of us were prepared just in case. As we were on top it got really cloudy, and the wind kept up. We were all rather cold, and didn't linger as long as we would've in the sun.

Another reason I'm glad I was with other people: they knew other trails on the mountain, and knew how to hike down. We went down a trail called Platteklip Gorge, which was basically a giant, neverending, very irregular staircase. Since I have little to no natural grace or coordination, I had to watch every step I took.

It maybe sounds crazy, but my mind was exhausted as we went down, so I had a hard time staying upright. As with any descent, my quads were totally wrecked by the time I got to the bottom, waaaaay behind everyone else.

I was so far behind that I got totally separated. Thank goodness I had my phone, as I called Mark and figured out where to find everyone else. They picked me up, and we drove back closer to Mark's neighborhood. We stopped at a cafe, just because we could. I loved my sandwich, though it wasn't anything special. It's funny how simple food tastes so amazing after hard physical effort. If I lived here I'd like to think I'd do heaps of hikes like this one. 

After going home, I took a nap, and rested my legs. Around 1600, I left the house and started walking back toward V&A waterfront again. I went shopping in an outdoor store, finding a pair of pants that I sorely needed. Yay. From there I walked to Long Street, since I'd seen an Indian restaurant there a couple days earlier and wanted to try it out. Unfortunately, it was closed. Fortunately, there was another Indian place across the street. The new place looked cheaper, and more basic. I was happy to try it out :) I ordered a thali, which ended up being way too much food, but I was happy to eat as much as I could.

The next day after I came back from Simonstown I went back to the same restaurant and had a vegetable curry and roti. Yum. This is the life!

The following morning I was up early again, and walked back to the waterfront. I'd bought tickets online for a tour of Robben Island, thankfully there were still a few available during my visit in Capetown. They were booked out several days in advance.

I went through a security check before boarding the boat, going through a metal detector, and having to show my ticket and form of identification.

The boat that took us to Robben Island had three levels, I managed to get to the second level. On the way to the island I got to stand on the second level, in the back. This meant I got the view of the city and mountain as we drove away. I can see why there are so many photos of that view. 

The boat pulled up to the dock at the island, and everyone boarded one of several buses. On each bus there was a guide up front with a microphone, who started by introducing themselves. 

After the introduction, the us pulled out and started driving around the island. Almost immediately our guide noticed a penguin waddling down the road, he said they come to the island occasionally. Needless to say, this made me very happy. 

As the guide said, Robben Island is most known as where Nelson Mandela spent most of his 27 years of imprisonment, but that is far from the entire history of the island.

We saw part of the village in which island employees live, which includes a church. We saw what used to be the school, (kids now commute to capetown every day for school,) and a small coffee shop. There aren't a lot of people who live on the island, but they're necessary, when you think about it. 

We also saw one of the quarries where prisoners did hard labor. We saw a little bit of the WW2 history of the island, where an artillery battery was located. Those guns could shoot a looong way, the island is a very strategic point. I wish we could've gotten off the bus at that point. 

Finally we came to the entrance of the prison. We all piled off the bus, and our bus was greeted by a new guide. 

All of the guides for the prison portion of this tour are former prisoners. When they describe parts of life and parts of the prison, they're describing parts of their prior life. It gets intense at times. 

Our guide showed us different areas of the prison, including the cell where Mandela lived. We saw group housing, the recreation years, the so called Mandela's Garden, etc... I was fascinated, and horrified. The only thing I wish I'd been able to hear was an idea of what daily life was for the prisoners. 

We walked back to the dock, and boarded the boat for the return trip. This time I had to sit inside, and it made me really really seasick. The waves weren't that bad, but I react to such things rather dramatically. The ride back to Capetown felt a lot longer than the ride out because I was miserable. Ugh.

We got off the boat back at the port, and I immediately noticed a group of seals laying out on the docks. Very cute. Ugly at the same time.

From the waterfront I walked to the castle of good hope, also called the city fort. It was under renovation in a lot of areas, but it was open. I paid my entry fee and went in to see what I could see. 

It turned out there wasn't a lot of anything of interest for me, argh. I saw a room with art on display, a couple goats in the courtyard, and a few ducks in the courtyard. I most enjoyed climbing up to the roof, though I don't think that area was open to the public. When I see a door that isn't specifically closed and blocked off, I like to see what is behind the door. I found a random stairwell and followed it all the way up to the roof. Great views of Table Mountain.

After the castle/fortress I walked to the District 6 Museum. It's called District 6 because that was the name of the area that had a huge flip flop in the days of apartheid. The neighborhood was mostly black originally, but in a location whites wanted. 

So the government told the blacks to get out, and tore everything down so whites could redevelop the area. The result of tearing everything down was in a huge loss of culture. Families lost housing, neighborhoods lost sports areas, hair salons, etc... Reading the information and seeing the photos was heartbreaking. It's a small museum, filled to the brim.

I stopped in Charly's Bakery after leaving the museum, but didn't buy anything. I have no idea why, but nothing appealed to me. I don't know how such a thing is possible! I should point out everything looked good, but nothing screamed "eat me!"

After the museum I walked toward city hall, going around the entire building. It turns out that the first public speech given by Mandela after his release from prison was right in front of city hall. There is a huge platz there, usually filled with some vendors, and cars.

I walked home, stopping at a supermarket for dinner food. Along the way I kept looking at Table Mountain, which was wearing a hat of clouds. After a few days in the city I could understand why there are so many photos of Table Mountain. It's appearance changes all the time, depending on time of day and the weather.

The next morning I got up in time to do laundry, then Terrence picked me up for a day trip. Read about that in another post.

When I arrived back home I took the time to start packing my stuff, and figure out arrangements for the next morning.

The next morning I was up in time to catch an uber taxi to the airport, which ended up being cheaper than I expected. Yay! I paid for my ticket (they let me book it on the phone, then pay cash when I checked in, I wish that happened more often!) and made my way through the airport.