Cape Town, South Africa Part 1

We are a few days into our stay now. The weather has been sunny and clear, but there is a crispness in the air, like spring or fall in Vancouver. The difference for us is that there is no central heating in the houses. We have had to turn on the air con/heater to take the chill off the room in the early mornings and late evenings. We are staying at Parker Cottage in Tamboerskloof. It is an upscale neighbourhood with front row views of Table Mountain and Lion's Head. We have been getting around on foot, but we have also been making use of taxis and Uber. 

Breakfast at Parker Cottage is deluxe. Fresh fruit, yoghurt, muesli or cereal, along with a selection of juices and a pot of French Press coffee. Then, a hot entree which could be a full English breakfast, an omelette or boiled eggs. It is all served around a communal table in the grand dining room of the heritage house, with the fireplace blazing. We have conversed with Canadians from Toronto, Americans from Houston, and a nomadic British Couple whose worldly possessions include 4 plastic bins of belongings back in England and a converted 4x4 here in Africa. 

Dinner is easy to find in this neighbourhood. There are a fantastic collection of restaurants, cafes and bistros all within walking distance. We had a wonderful fish dinner at Miller's Thumb the other night. Craig enjoyed Cajun Dorado while Lynda experimented with Malay Bluenose. Another night we ate top notch beef and ostrich steaks at Nelson's Eye. (Yes, ostrich. The other red meat.) One benefit of dining out is that you can take your own bottle with you, as long as you pay a small corkage fee.

On Saturday, we took a trip out to Stellenbosch for a wine tour with a private guide named Chris. We really enjoyed talking to him about politics and his experiences as a coloured person in South Africa. He is also a wine connoisseur. He took us to two of his favourite wineries, Hartenburg and Thelema. We might have done more, but we were savouring our tastings and we ran out of time. We did splurge on a beautiful bottle of Shiraz and a couple of bottles of Muscat, but we had to restrain ourselves due to time and luggage restrictions.

Sunday's in Cape Town are pretty quiet. The weather was sunny and the skies were clear so we called Uber and had the driver drop us off at the Lion's Head trailhead. "90 minutes up, a whole bunch of scrambling and brilliant views at the top," according to our host Phil. He was 100% correct. It was reminiscent of a Sunday at the Grouse Grind. Apparently, Capetonians are as active and outdoorsy as Vancouverites. People were very friendly. Lynda, wearing her Seattle Seahawks t shirt, opened conversations with a girl from Seattle who has been travelling for 8 months and was definitely a fan, and another fellow with a Seahawks ball cap, who insisted he had just bought the hat while on vacation. We also met two young people (Patriot fans) who were working for an NGO whose mission is to empower young girls through soccer. They had already done a 2 week camp and now they were on their way to Stellenbosch to do another one. Their third camp will be in Malawi. They were both passionate about soccer and the program seemed like a great way to promote health, fitness and social messages. We can only imagine how excited they were after the U.S.A. beat Japan in the Women's World Cup game later that night. 

We made another jaunt to the townships with a company called Uthando. Our group consisted of three Spaniards, two Americans and us. The largest township in Cape Town is approximately 30 square km and host to 1.3  million people. While the government has a mandate to build 12,000 houses per year the majority of people are living in tin shacks. The government has installed electricity in many areas, but there are central points for water and communal outhouses. We visited three community programs sponsored by Uthando. The first was a crafts program for girls and ladies (eKhaya eKasi). They make and sell their wares on site. The second was a daycare/after school program (Thokozani Youth Centre) which was started by a member of a famous a Capella singing group.

 

 His participation also involves music. We were so fortunate to hear both the girls junior choir and the senior choir sing. The last stop was to the "Oldies Kindergarten." Seniors come to the recreation centre for movement, music and dance. Their program creator, Thembi Gecelo, is an energetic lady and our visit was highly interactive. As we were leaving, our tour guide said that the oldies were impressed with the Canadians and that we changed their perception of our culture. We will take that as a compliment!

Today we had a leisurely breakfast then headed out to visit The Company's Garden. This site has been around since 1652 and was built by the "VOC" Dutch East India Company. It was designed as a refreshment station for ships heading from Europe to the East Indies. It lies within close proximity to the Slave Lodge, a building which tells the story of slavery in the Cape. Over 176 years, it housed up to 9,000 slaves, convicts and mentally ill people in deplorable conditions. We spent several hours in the exhibits. Afterwards, we stumbled upon a free walking tour of Bo Kaap with "5 star Rico".

 
Bo Kaap, also known as the Malay Quarter, is a multicultural area of town with colourful houses, and home to the first mosque which was established in 1794. Our group was mostly Swiss, Germans and Dutch, but there was one Floridian amongst us. He wore his Go Pro on the front of his head and made a lot of "I know it all" comments. Well, what can we say? There is usually one in every crowd. We try to make sure it is never us.

Capetown photos