This week has been such a whirlwind that I'm not sure where to begin. I absolutely love Cape Town. It is definitely one of my favorite places that I have ever visited. Set in a spectacular location on the ocean surrounded by imposing mountains and filled with palm trees, Cape Town is shaped by a rich history, filled with diverse people, delicious restaurants and a lively culture.
After a 2 hour flight delay I took off for the quick flight to Cape Town last Thursday night. When we landed I met a nice family from Wisconsin traveling throughout South Africa. I was supposed to be met by the Backpackers Bus to take me to a hostel on Long Street, but I think it left because my flight was delayed. Instead I had to catch a cab, which was a bit more expensive. The man at the information desk helped me find a taxi driver who gave a good rate, but wasn't an "official" driver. When the metered taxis saw this, one of the drivers ran over and began to argue in front of me that he wasn't a legitimate taxi. It made me a bit uneasy over which I should take, but I trusted the man who worked at the information desk. I soon learned that metered taxis are a HUGE ripoff and most people who take taxis in Cape Town have a relationship with a few taxi drivers with whom they negotiate prices.
I stayed at Long Street Backpackers for a couple nights, which is a hostel located in the center of town and is convenient for touring. The next morning I woke up really early despite getting hardly any sleep since I was staying in a dorm-style hostel with college-aged students arriving at all hours of the night. It was also freezing with just one little blanket. I caught a cab to Table Mountain to go up the cable car before it closed for repairs two days later. The view was spectacular! The top of the mountain was covered with rugged rocks and small grassy plants and it was possible to walk around the top of the mountain to get amazing views in all directions. I snapped tons of pictures and met missionaries from South Carolina, Canadians, French and people of nearly every nationality except South African. There were cute rodents which lived on the mountain, but I'm not sure what they were called.
After being awestruck by the beauty of Table Mountain, I took a cab to the V & A Waterfront, a touristy area of Cape Town from where I caught a boat to Robben Island. Robben Island is an island about a 30 minute boat ride from Cape Town and the location of a famous prison where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years (the other 9 he was held on the mainland) and was used as a place of isolation for people with lepresy before that. Visiting Robben Island was a very moving experience. Our tour guide showed us the place where Robert Sobukwe was held for many years, not as a "prisoner" but in isolation. We also saw the sandy pit were prisoners were forced to perform hard labor and the cave in the side of the pit where the more educated prisoners would conduct lessons to teach other prisoners in secrecy. I was surprised that the island also had a little town with a church, lighthouse, tennis courts and school. It would be a beautiful place to live, but is also home to about 8,000 rabbits and the 3rd largest colony of African penguins in the world. We ended the tour with a visit to the high security prison where Mandela was held. Our tour guide was a former political prisoner named Sparks who described the rationing of food and living conditions based on race. Whites were allowed to wear long sleeves, while black prisoners were forced to wear short sleeves even in the winter. The white prisoners received butter and jelly with bread while the black prisoners did not. It was shocking that even the prison conditions were dependent on race under apartheid. Also surprising was that political prisoners were considered more dangerous than normal prisoners who had committed rape and murder.
In the evening I met up with friends from Stanford working in Cape Town for the summer. One of the girls, Brittni took a seminar on South Africa with me last winter quarter. Sarah and Liese are the other two who are all living together this summer in Rondebosch a suburb of Cape Town and location of the University of Cape Town. I stayed with them after the first two nights in the hostel, which was much more fun and comfortable! For dinner we met up with friends of Brittni, Sarah and Liese including lots of Americans interning in Cape Town for the summer. We had a delicious meal at Mesopotamia, a Kurdish restaurant which had a middle eastern feel with dark red walls covered in antique pots and embroidered rugs. We ate a feast of lamb, chicken, veggies and delicious appetizers.
After dinner we walked around Long Street. Long Street is a busy street in Cape Town filled with restaurants, bars, backpacker hostels and clothing stores. It is a fun and lively area to be at night. We met up with more friends there. They included Jessica, a recent Stanford grad doing a Fulbright in South Africa and her friends Nick, also doing a Fulbright, and Mickey.
Saturday morning I woke up early again to catch my ride for the wine tour! Less than an hour outside of Cape Town are rolling green hills covered in vineyards, which reminds me of Paso Robles wine country. Our first stop was at a winery called Anura where we toured the cellars, learned about the wine making process and tasted wine and cheese. My favorite was the Sauvignon Blanc. The backdrop of the winery was a beautiful mountain, which I was told looked like a frog, but I didn't see the resemblance. Next we drove to a beautiful area filled with cyclists where we took a half hour bike ride at the foot of gorgeous mountains. I felt like I was in California, France or Switzerland biking amongst wineries and cyclists. After some good exercise we headed to Stellenbosch where we explored the town. Stellenbosch is home to a beautiful white church, called the Dutch Reformed Church.
After exploring Stellenbosch we had lunch and another wine tasting in Franschoek a town founded by French Huegoneots. Next we headed to a winery that specialized in champagne. This was my favorite winery by far! After our final tasting we stopped by one final winery not to taste wines, but to pet a cheetah! It was a beautiful animal, but very sleepy! Cheetahs sleep 18+ hours per day. The center raises money by allowing tourists to pet cheetahs and works to support the remaining cheetah population--they are the most endangered large cat in Africa.
Btw- the man at the Internet Cafe I'm at right now has an ADORABLE baby monkey :). He let us pet it, but warned of its sharp teeth!
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