Africa continues - two days in Cape Town - and Stan's Trip Report #15
Wow - what a finish to our epic trip. We've been home a couple of weeks and finally settling into a bit of a summer routine. Time to finish out this blog.
I left this once we were back on the ship in Port Elizabeth after a great day in Addo Elephant Park. One thing we were very aware of that first day in South Africa were the townships. Apartheid has been gone officially for many years now, but in practicality there is still a great degree of separation. Our road to the main entrance at Addo passed what we could easily identify as a separate and not particularly inviting "neighborhood" in the bush on the edge of town. All along the highway there were people waiting for a "ride", generally it seemed to be an informal van taxi system. Vehicles stopped and people waited just about anywhere. The high fence around the area was a fixture we still don't really understand - is it keeping the neighborhood safe? from what or who? or is it to keep people inside. This was a question we never really had answered. We were and still are very ignorant about the social situation in South Africa, but these first images (and those that followed as we traveled in southern Africa) remain with us. While many people equate the struggle of black Africans with the African American community in the USA, I really think it is more aligned with the Native American situation of forced removal to reservations, or it some cases just mass genocide. This was a new thought for me.
Cape Town was the only place we have ever had a prearranged Airbnb apartment cancelled on us. Having been aware of the water situation, I had been in contact with our hosts about their particular situation. Our first apartment in Cape Town looked to be great - high up in the city center with views all the way around. Marcus indicated that due to the water situation, if we needed to make changes, he would allow that without penalty. This process was going on for the two months leading up to our arrival, so I thought we were set. I made arrangements to go further down the peninsula toward the Cape of Good Hope (Simon Town) for a couple of our days - many people there have a "bore hole" or well. I notified Marcus of our plans and he told me to go ahead and make the date changes and he would approve it, which he did. However, within two days, he abruptly cancelled with no explanation. I knew there were other options but by then we were already at sea within a few days of Cape Town. Needless to say, it was a bit of a scramble, but we found a nice, very modern apartment (Airbnb gave a discount for the change) with a bit of a view to the mountains, located half way between the V & A wharf (new and updated tourist center (we never got there)) and Greenmarket Square (historic center). It all worked out well and using Uber was easy and cheap (about $4.50 USD each way to and from Table Mountain) and $1.80 USD to get to our car rental location with our luggage. We found that the taxi system, while supposedly inexpensive, is totally the call of the driver (when we asked before we started, ours wanted about $40 USD for a 2 km ride. After a constant "conversation" and requests to be let out, he took us to our apartment and we gave him the going rate (per the guides at the port) of $8.00 (100 Rand).
It was very foggy when we arrived in Cape Town - always a bit of a disappointment when you are coming into a port that is know for it's wonderful natural backdrops. However, they are so in need of rain that we had to be more thankful than grouchy about it. After connecting early (as arranged) with our Airbnb hostess, we left our cases out of the way of her cleaner and set off to explore this city we've heard about.
We chose to go toward the historic center to connect with a "free" walking tour. I had our times mixed up, so we missed that one and were actually glad in the long run. Just across from the Greenmarket Square, at the Central Methodist Mission historic church, there was a sign for free tours by "Jungle Tours". There was a young man signing people up for one of three tours available every hour. We came back an hour later, thinking we'd do the historic tour, but there was another couple interested in Bo Kaap (traditionally the Malay neighborhood), so we joined them. Our tour guide was an energetic young man, originally from Johannesburg. His first language is one of the clicking languages but his English was great (most everyone speaks English as either a first or second language). His love for his country and people was infectious and we knew we had a really authentic glimpse into the life of the black South Africans as well as the peoples who now inhabit Bo-Kaap (a mix of Malay (colored), Black and the "gentrified" newcomers). As people are starting to see the area as desirable, there is much improvement going on, which looks nice but is causing issues for those who have been there for many generations.
Our next day was still cloudy but with hints of sunshine. We connected with a morning "free" Green Umbrella tour - this time doing the historic tour. While the tour was very informative, we did not connect with the guide at all. He was quite pushy from our perspective and was definitely geared toward a younger and maybe more of a party crowd. Every guide is different, so you just never know. His tip wasn't quite as generous as the previous day. As we finished that tour, we walked back along the Company's Gardens (created to provide fresh food to avoid scurvy for the sailors heading to the east) to a food truck with boerewors (basically South African sausage, usually sold in a spiral). They smelled so good and were a cheap lunch that we ate in the garden. By then the sun had come out a bit, so we called Uber and drove to the base of the Table Mountain Cable Way (or trail if you are so inclined). Table Mountain is one of South Africa's many national parks and while there is no entrance fee other than the cable car ride, there was a significant discount for that with our Wild Card. The "table cloth" that frequently covers the mountain came and went as we rode to the top and blocked the view of the city for awhile, eventually giving a hazy, then periodic clear glimpse of the city (we could see the Queen Elizabeth since she was still in town). As we were heading down, the clouds cleared almost completely. We had a bit more trouble getting Uber for the ride down - took awhile to get a 3G signal, but a driver was nearby, so quick once we could connect, it was quick (a taxi driver wanted about $25 - I suspect he figured we didn't have a choice but walking would have been do-able). Anyway, our driver was good at finding ways around the traffic and getting us back quickly (for about $4.50).
We rented a car downtown to drive to the Cape of Good Hope to see penguins and lighthouses.
Enjoy Stan's Photo Blog - Trip Report #15
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_hm0nxse_HIZx9DyFGCLNGOWSadafdGo/view
I left this once we were back on the ship in Port Elizabeth after a great day in Addo Elephant Park. One thing we were very aware of that first day in South Africa were the townships. Apartheid has been gone officially for many years now, but in practicality there is still a great degree of separation. Our road to the main entrance at Addo passed what we could easily identify as a separate and not particularly inviting "neighborhood" in the bush on the edge of town. All along the highway there were people waiting for a "ride", generally it seemed to be an informal van taxi system. Vehicles stopped and people waited just about anywhere. The high fence around the area was a fixture we still don't really understand - is it keeping the neighborhood safe? from what or who? or is it to keep people inside. This was a question we never really had answered. We were and still are very ignorant about the social situation in South Africa, but these first images (and those that followed as we traveled in southern Africa) remain with us. While many people equate the struggle of black Africans with the African American community in the USA, I really think it is more aligned with the Native American situation of forced removal to reservations, or it some cases just mass genocide. This was a new thought for me.
Cape Town was the only place we have ever had a prearranged Airbnb apartment cancelled on us. Having been aware of the water situation, I had been in contact with our hosts about their particular situation. Our first apartment in Cape Town looked to be great - high up in the city center with views all the way around. Marcus indicated that due to the water situation, if we needed to make changes, he would allow that without penalty. This process was going on for the two months leading up to our arrival, so I thought we were set. I made arrangements to go further down the peninsula toward the Cape of Good Hope (Simon Town) for a couple of our days - many people there have a "bore hole" or well. I notified Marcus of our plans and he told me to go ahead and make the date changes and he would approve it, which he did. However, within two days, he abruptly cancelled with no explanation. I knew there were other options but by then we were already at sea within a few days of Cape Town. Needless to say, it was a bit of a scramble, but we found a nice, very modern apartment (Airbnb gave a discount for the change) with a bit of a view to the mountains, located half way between the V & A wharf (new and updated tourist center (we never got there)) and Greenmarket Square (historic center). It all worked out well and using Uber was easy and cheap (about $4.50 USD each way to and from Table Mountain) and $1.80 USD to get to our car rental location with our luggage. We found that the taxi system, while supposedly inexpensive, is totally the call of the driver (when we asked before we started, ours wanted about $40 USD for a 2 km ride. After a constant "conversation" and requests to be let out, he took us to our apartment and we gave him the going rate (per the guides at the port) of $8.00 (100 Rand).
It was very foggy when we arrived in Cape Town - always a bit of a disappointment when you are coming into a port that is know for it's wonderful natural backdrops. However, they are so in need of rain that we had to be more thankful than grouchy about it. After connecting early (as arranged) with our Airbnb hostess, we left our cases out of the way of her cleaner and set off to explore this city we've heard about.
We chose to go toward the historic center to connect with a "free" walking tour. I had our times mixed up, so we missed that one and were actually glad in the long run. Just across from the Greenmarket Square, at the Central Methodist Mission historic church, there was a sign for free tours by "Jungle Tours". There was a young man signing people up for one of three tours available every hour. We came back an hour later, thinking we'd do the historic tour, but there was another couple interested in Bo Kaap (traditionally the Malay neighborhood), so we joined them. Our tour guide was an energetic young man, originally from Johannesburg. His first language is one of the clicking languages but his English was great (most everyone speaks English as either a first or second language). His love for his country and people was infectious and we knew we had a really authentic glimpse into the life of the black South Africans as well as the peoples who now inhabit Bo-Kaap (a mix of Malay (colored), Black and the "gentrified" newcomers). As people are starting to see the area as desirable, there is much improvement going on, which looks nice but is causing issues for those who have been there for many generations.
Our next day was still cloudy but with hints of sunshine. We connected with a morning "free" Green Umbrella tour - this time doing the historic tour. While the tour was very informative, we did not connect with the guide at all. He was quite pushy from our perspective and was definitely geared toward a younger and maybe more of a party crowd. Every guide is different, so you just never know. His tip wasn't quite as generous as the previous day. As we finished that tour, we walked back along the Company's Gardens (created to provide fresh food to avoid scurvy for the sailors heading to the east) to a food truck with boerewors (basically South African sausage, usually sold in a spiral). They smelled so good and were a cheap lunch that we ate in the garden. By then the sun had come out a bit, so we called Uber and drove to the base of the Table Mountain Cable Way (or trail if you are so inclined). Table Mountain is one of South Africa's many national parks and while there is no entrance fee other than the cable car ride, there was a significant discount for that with our Wild Card. The "table cloth" that frequently covers the mountain came and went as we rode to the top and blocked the view of the city for awhile, eventually giving a hazy, then periodic clear glimpse of the city (we could see the Queen Elizabeth since she was still in town). As we were heading down, the clouds cleared almost completely. We had a bit more trouble getting Uber for the ride down - took awhile to get a 3G signal, but a driver was nearby, so quick once we could connect, it was quick (a taxi driver wanted about $25 - I suspect he figured we didn't have a choice but walking would have been do-able). Anyway, our driver was good at finding ways around the traffic and getting us back quickly (for about $4.50).
We rented a car downtown to drive to the Cape of Good Hope to see penguins and lighthouses.
Enjoy Stan's Photo Blog - Trip Report #15
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_hm0nxse_HIZx9DyFGCLNGOWSadafdGo/view
Comments
Post a Comment