I take it all back. Cape Town rocks. After a day hoping on and off the tourist bus (you know I love a good tourist event), I feel I’ve unearthed the beauty and magic of Cape Town.
Because the weather was perfect, I headed straight up to the Table Mountain cable car. Later in the week, I’ll hike up with my group but I wanted to grab the bird’s eye view while I could. Apparently, the “weend” is a big concern here. It took me several days to translate but that means “wind” for us regular folks. Everyone talks about the weend. It’s high, it’s low. It’s bad, it’s good. Wind can flood Table Mountain with clouds and mist, which the locals call the “Table Cloth.”
Anyway, I hit the high spot when conditions were perfect. Three thousand feet above sea level, the views were spectacular with Cape Town sprawling across the bowl created by Table Mountain, Devil’s Peak, Lion’s Head and several others. Smack in the middle of the bay sits barren, windswept Robben Island a former leper colony and prison camp where Nelson Mandela spent twenty years in jail. I’ve read that more people die each year on Table Mountain than on Mt. Everest. I’m not sure that’s true but I think it likely has more to do with turons (tourist/morons) taking selfies off the cliff side. Thanks to my God-given fear of heights and the life-preserving signals it sends me, I won’t be taking any risks to get my photos. And it’s really not necessary — it’s amazing from every angle. I’m not going to load a bunch of photos today because WordPress takes forever with pictures, but here a few just to give you the idea!
Next, we circled around the Mountain to hit the beach’s of Camp’s Bay and Seaside. Stunning white beaches, showcasing crystal blue waters, cool seaside restaurants and hotels nestled against the backside of Table Mountain. There is a real sense of fun and frivolity here. The photo above captures that spirit with an older couple settled atop a permanent statue declaring “Live On.” Love it.
Later, I wandered over to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (named for Victoria and her son who opened the port). It’s an awesome mix of local crafts and artisan food, tourist operations like cruises and Ferris wheels, and locals strolling around enjoying the weather. And don’t worry, I finally found some cool things to buy. The waterfront houses a square called “Nobel Square” with statues of the four Nobel prize-winning South African luminaries. I must confess I only recognized two — Nelson Mandela and Bishop Tutu, though I suspect I could identify FW de Klerk if the statues weren’t all bronze. I’m not sure who the fourth winner is. I need to look that up. Great place to pull out my selfie stick, even though a musician had taken ownership of the stage area. I just couldn’t resist.
After walking around all day, I also need to retract my statement about people lingering on corners. I saw some and vendors selling their wares, but all were friendly and respectful when you decline their offers. All is well. I think I must have hit a bad area at a bad time, like wandering Bourbon street in New Orleans early on a Saturday morning. The City is also surprisingly diverse with lots of different races and types of people. Very cosmopolitan.
Here are a few more things worth noting. First of all, the message that smoking is a bad for you hasn’t yet made it down here. People smoke everywhere—restaurants, cafes, buses. It’s been so long since I’ve seen widespread smoking. It’s strange. Second, mobile payment systems seem to be very advanced here. I’d heard that was true in Africa. Every restaurant bill offers the chance to scan and pay. Of course, I don’t have that capability but it seems pretty cool. And just like Europe, waiters bring a mobile credit card machine to the table to facilitate that transaction. Why don’t they do this in the US rather than disappearing with your card? Go figure.
I just heard that the weend has cancelled my ferry to Robben’s Island so I’m off to make another plan. The adventure continues.
Boonedoggler 