On arrival there was a man holding a placard with Cape Town written on it , as well as screaming it aloud, this was to segregate the passengers into two.Just the way he was saying it and the smile he had on his face made everybody laugh as they came in and that set the mood for the day.
Spent the morning trawling the tourist information centers as well the waterfront, beautiful place. Live music and relaxed happy people all around.
The afternoon, not as per initial plan, was spent visiting Robben Island. I read Nelson Mandela's autobiography last year and was keen to see the island where he spent 18 years of his life. His cell was tiny( a bit like my hostel room in year 12).
The initial tour of the island was by an ex prisoner( 10 years there) , he was quite a jolly chap,humored everybody by cracking jokes about their respective countries. He was also quite a name dropper and seemed to have taken every famous person around the island. The ex prisoner who showed us the actual prison was more subdued and slightly depressed( taken the job due to lack of employment opportunities). It was very windy and sand got everywhere. The ferry journey back was like a roller coaster and the whole boat was initially laughing and then the sea sickness kicked in, lots of queasy people around.
Talking about the wind , never seen anything like it. It is a force onto itself. The trees in Robben isle were practically growing horizontal , at one point of time we had to stop walking and sit as the wall ( literally) of wind would not let us move forward and another time we were running due to the wind behind us !
Saw a penguin for the first time as well as a super well groomed unibrow( not on the penguin).
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Location:Holiday Inn
You painted a real nice picture of the place. Looks like you are having fun.
ReplyDeleteWell groomed unibrow ;) I have only seen a scary unkempt one.
The Mother city! Enjoy! You would wonder why anyone would want to leave there. Life is complicated.
ReplyDeleteI see you are experiencing the wind. Classic Cape Town! If you stayed longer you would meet the South Easter, better known as the Cape Doctor.
There are so many places to visit. I hope you'll make it out to Stellenbosch/Franschoek, see the beaches at Clifton, and make it up the mountain at least. So wish we could be there to show you around. Will be watching this space!
nandika and i were in cape town last year..one of the most beautiful places we have been to...we hired a car and drove around...you must try 'mama africa' if you have time...amazing food and a band playing african music....it is not difficult to book but you have to call and reserve a place...
ReplyDeleteSmita- Didnt make it to Mama Africa, passed it a few times during the day when it was shut. Have loved the music here, so many bands playing around the place and people dancing on the streets on the weekend.
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