After a very short stay in Jo’berg at the Afton Guest House, we headed back to the airport to catch a flight to Cape Town. The Johannesburg airport is very modern and beautiful. A driver from the guest house we booked, Parker Cottage, was waiting for us at the airport with a sign for Mr. and Mrs. Weisnicht. That was nice – typically we fly into a foreign airport and then start looking for public transportation to get to our destination. You don’t do that in South Africa on your first trip.
Our driver was Christopher and we learned a lot about his perspective on what is happening in his country and what has happened. His family was one of many who were evicted from their homes which were bulldozed in the late 60’s, in the midst of apartheid, when the government decided that blacks could no longer live in an area called District 6 and bulldozed the entire community. The area has never been developed as planned and now there are big political struggles to decide how it will be rebuilt and how to compensate families who were removed from homes they owned.
The guest house we booked is in a neighborhood called Tamberskloof. Parkers Cottage is an upscale bed and breakfast in a good location for seeing the sights but not in the middle of the tourist areas. We are the only guests because it’s winter and even the owners aren’t here. But their 23rd old son, Yusef, has been a delightful host – making reservations for us, suggesting things to do and organizing breakfast. It was a lovely place to spend three nights.
Everyone thinks that Africa is a hot place. We even use the term “Africa hot” at home. But winter in southern South Africa is not hot. It’s like Pensacola’s weather in some ways – windy, rainy, humid, and then the sun comes out and it’s beautiful. We knew to pack our foul weather gear so we headed out in the rain as soon as we unpacked. We walked the main road towards the waterfront, browsing in shops and eating along the way. The majority of the businesses are small independent shops. The only franchises I’ve seen are McDonalds (of course) and Wimpy. I did see a lot of Kentucky Fried Chicken in Jo’berg – why would they want KFC in Africa? There are lots of small bookstores which we love – we didn’t see a single big box bookstore or a Starbucks.
Our mode for eating on this trip so far is “progressive” meals. We’ll have tapas and a drink in late afternoon followed by a light dinner later in the evening. The food so far is excellent and we are trying new things. Lots of fresh seafood – tonight I ate Kingclip fish, curry dishes, ostrich on skewer, chicken livers. Food is very reasonable here.
The Victoria & Albert Waterfront is similar to many other coastal cities – tourist shops, restaurants overlooking the harbour, an aquarium, and even a ferris wheel like the monstrosity coming to Pensacola Beach soon. Motor and sail boats leave out of this area for short rides out in the Bay. It’s nicely done and worth a visit during a stay in Cape Town, especially on a rainy night. We went back again on Saturday when the sun came out. It is also a working port/shipyard.
It is easy walking and fairly safe in the daytime, but once the sun sets we take taxi’s wherever we go. In the US media, there is a very negative impression about the safety in South Africa. Cape Town feels fairly safe – since the soccer championships were held here in 2010, the city center has done a lot to move the crime elsewhere. There a closed circuit cameras on every corner as well as uniformed security guards keeping an eye on things. There are a lot of homeless people and some fairly aggressive beggars but you just keep walking and saying no. Today a guy in a park asked if we had any food and of course I had food in my backpack and gave it all to him. Should have saved some for the pushy ones at sunset.
We are doing some “touristy” things like using the hop on hop off double decker busses. They are just like the ones in London. You buy a $20 ticket and ride around the city with earplugs to listen to a prerecorded guide. When you see something interesting, you jump off, do your sight seeing and get back on the next bus. Today’s tour took us up Table Mountain, along the coastal beach roads and through the center of the city. Tomorrow we are going again in the afternoon to visit Kirensboch Gardens and a nearby wine area (Constantia).
Table Mountain surrounds the Cape area and the hillsides are very lush and green even though it is winter. Taking the cable car up to the top of the mountain is a big draw but only when it’s clear. Today even after it stopped raining and the sun came out, a cloud/fog bank hovered over the top of the mountain so we didn’t go. The views from the top are supposed to be spectacular. Maybe tomorrow, but we have a full day planned again for Sunday.
One spot we discovered today that I hadn’t remembered reading about was the Company Garden. It’s a beautiful lush park in the middle of the city – similar to City Park in New Orleans and Central Park in New York. It was actually built as a garden in 1650’s by the Dutch to grow food to provision sailing ships. Now it houses several museums and backs up to other historical buildings. A very peaceful place to walk on a sunny afternoon.
We walked from the Waterfront back to the guest house since it was a beautiful afternoon. I’m a fanatic for chasing sunsets and the sun sets very early here behind the mountain – around 5:00. Close to our guest house we found a funky little bar on an intersection with outside seating and views from three directions of the mountains. Food wasn’t bad and everyone else was focused on the UK/SA rugby match. Actually no one was on the streets in the early evening and we could hear hollering from all the bars during the game. Apparently the SA Springboks lost.
Bill and I love live music and we’ve been asking around about where the music venues are in Cape Town. Apparently there aren’t very many but several people recommended a new bar called the Mahogany Room. The owners are serious jazz musicians, not the blues type of jazz we hear in New Orleans, but the real jazz that to me is a little hard to follow. We went to a show tonight to hear Kesivan and the Lights. The musicians were very talented and passionate in their playing. The room only holds about 35 people and everyone was there to listen – no talking or getting up to order drinks during the 1 hour set. We had to make reservations for the 8:00 show and we were a little late and sat on the front row where I could have pinched the musicians. But I didn’t.
The best part of the evening for us was talking to people after the show. Sitting behind us were three young people – maybe late 20’s or early 30’s. Two were from South Africa and one was an American now living and working in Cape Town for the government in urban development. We had an interesting conversation about the challenges the country faces as they try and provide minimal housing to the millions of people living in the townships. People live in one room shacks with no electricity or running water. If they have any power, its because they have rigged a wire from a central power source. Later while waiting for a cab we talked to the club’s owner and one of the musicians. He is playing at a festival next weekend where we are going.
There is so much history in this place and its important to understand all that has happened in this area. The apartheid period is still very fresh. From outward appearances South Africa has come a long way in 18 years but it will take a long time to right the wrongs and fix the problems. Tomorrow we are taking a township tour. The townships are essentially the slums where the blacks were forced to live during apartheid years. And our US project/HUD housing are mansions compared to what I’ve heard about the townships.
I’m reading a couple of books to learn more about recent history. One is Nelson Mandela’s biography “A Long Walk to Freedom” and another book written by a black American journalist titled “New News Out of Africa”.
So far we are enjoying the trip and looking forward to more experiences. More blogs to come…
View of beaches on the Atlantic (western side of Capetown). Camps Bay, Clinton Beach, Seapoint etc.[/captionin