Cape Town - Chapter 2

funny named street near my B&B

a terrible shot of Table Mountain with its cloud like "table cloth" taken from
the Castle of Good Hope

i have aloe plants but never saw an Aloe tree before

Cape Town taken from near the Lion's Head

a truly beautiful vista

the tallest building in Cape Town made green using solar panels for windows

some music to warm up the audience before the african dance show

at the Cuban restaurant

Ezelle

at the Cape of Good Hope

The day started off at a loss.  After travelling half way around the world without a hitch you would think that the simple chore of exchanging dollars for SA Rand would be a no brainer.  But what a disaster that turned out to be. Without reliving this dreadful experience in painful detail, in the end, it took me 3 ½ hours to accomplish the task of exchanging $300 US for SA Rand at American Express, which as collateral damage destroyed my debit card’s ATM capability. Worse, it required walking back and forth from B&B to financial institution or ATM 4 times on uneven walkways, putting a major strain and pain on my feet that are exquisitely vulnerable to injury and leaving me tired, strained and in a bad mood. In the aftermath, I had only ½ hour to prepare for my forthcoming city tour.  Indeed, an auspicious beginning to my first full day in Cape Town draining the joyous spirit of my initial moments in a city I had been yearning to visit for decades!

Against better judgment, I decided on a group tour of the city, instead of paying a premium to do a solo tour.  I figured I would be so jet lagged that paying the price for a solo outing would be a waste of SA Rand.  A couple from the same B&B joined me, the group thus consisted of the 3 of us plus the driver/ tour guide, a delightful local lady who was kind, knowledgeable and sensitive to our needs.  The other tourists were British living in Spain.  The husband was quiet, but he put his beer belly to good use when he chugged a beer later on in the tour with lightening speed.  His wife was nice and friendly, but seemed more interested in describing her experiences in travel than allowing our tour guide the freedom to do her job.  I do not fault her; she meant well.  And I was in no mood for a comprehensive description of every site that we travelled to, tired, weary and pissy as I was, so it was fine to just have a casual conversation about anything rather than a detailed touring lecture of every historical fact about Cape Town.

From the vantage point of driving around in the inner city, Cape Town was not a beautiful town.  To be sure, I was wondering where its reputation came from. The architecture was far from striking, many buildings appeared tired and rundown, and perhaps I missed the historical district but what I experienced during my tour seemed ordinary….until I viewed the city from the perspective of its surroundings.  There is the sea forming the northwestern border, and a striking vertical mountainous backdrop that surrounds the city forming a “city bowl”.  The famous Table Mountain easily identifies Cape Town to any observer and Devils Peak and Lions Head are found on either side to complete a circle of enclosure around the city.  Easily identifiable unless of course, a thick cloud rests on, and obscures the architecture of the table top; this cloud is affectionately referred to as the “table cloth”.   Indeed, the beauty of Cape Town cannot be denied coming from the vantage point of its surrounding mountains looking down, the pristine seaside resorts that flow up its coasts, and the adjoining grassy borders along the beaches adding depth and a comfortable buffer for Cape Townians and tourists alike to enjoy…. reminding me instantly of the beachfront in Sydney, Australia.   

Our tour took us to several museums, which I enjoyed very much including the Castle of Good Hope whose history is critical to the origin of Cape Town.  We had a 30 minute guided tour provided by a local guide.  Unfortunately, there was much too much noise produced by a group of loud and unruly children who were ostensibly there to learn about their heritage. This seemed to not faze our tour guide who continued to go through the motions of his presentation despite complaints from the audience that they could not hear what he was saying because of the commotion and cacophony. 

I was just putting in my time when I noticed a girl that immediately aroused my attention. She was tall, pretty but not too pretty with long tidy hair, dressing conservatively with only a little makeup, and possessing the kind of mature composure that seemed years beyond her chronological age- which was probably in her 30’s. I immediately forgot myself as I travelled instantly back in time and started to gravitate toward her - just like I would have done in my late teens and twenties when I travelled to Europe every summer as a college student looking for fun and adventure. I had perfected the drill and my approach was rehearsed and second nature.  Truly it took a FULL 30 seconds to jolt myself back to reality and stand down!  Indeed, I was certainly old enough to be her father!!!!  What was I about to do?  Fortunately I had the presence of mind to suddenly block my forward progress. In the aftermath, this out of body experience generated a massive flush of embarrassment and hypotension as I joggled myself back to 2016 to reoccupy my present self. But for a moment in time, I was suffused with excitement in the fantasyland of my youth.

The rest of the day went from fantasy to reality as the tour ended and I met up with a South African friend of friend Sandy back home. Her name is Ezelle, and she was gracious and kind enough to spend an evening with me, undoubtedly the highlight of my visit to Cape Town.  She took me first to a 90 minute spectacular display of African dance with over 50 youth participants doing choreographed routines that were amazingly beautiful, acrobatic, mesmerizing, and so filled with energy and excitement that it instantly infected the audience to cheering, clapping, dancing and flying through the aisles in delight.  I have never seen such raw talent and coordination in my life, especially considering at least one of the participants looked about 5 years old. In addition, there were many preadolescents and some obviously older teens who were all putting on the show of a lifetime. I will be forever grateful to Ezelle for sharing this experience with me.

We ended the evening at a Cuban restaurant where there was salsa dance music and a talented group of young salsa dancers there to watch and dance with. Although at first a little shy, Ezelle was an excellent dancer.  We enjoyed many dances, as I was able to easily lead her on the dance floor. In addition, we both danced with other partners as Ezelle found her local favorites to dance with and directed me to skilled ladies who were willing to dance with me.  One lady even asked me to dance, a great honor for an unknown outsider to experience.  We both had a wonderful evening and as we parted company, I could not help think of the many wonderful evenings that I have spent dancing salsa all over the US and the world. Now I can add South Africa to the list of foreign venues. Language and culture are unique in every country, but salsa dancing is pretty much the same everywhere.  Indeed, I felt so much at home at this Cuban restaurant, I was deliciously lost in the moment.

The last full day of my stay in Cape Town was spent lazily in the morning recovering further from the 12-hour time change and profound jet lag. An afternoon tour took me, stuffed in a crowded van with other tourists, to the Cape of Good Hope.  I have dreamed of this moment for many decades and as I experienced the beautiful majesty of the surroundings, I closed my eyes and transposed myself to a map of the world. There I stood resolutely at the southernmost tip of Africa looking over the globe like a giant, to all of the places I have been to and lived, and with the knowledge that I have finally made it half way around the world to this remote location. Indeed, this is no longer just a place on a map; I stand euphoric and gratified having finally arrived at the Cape of Good Hope.