Cape Town

People call Cape Town one of the world’s most beautiful and most livable cities.  It is also a microcosm of South African history, and a unique world unto itself.   The city of Cape Town remains the cradle city of the nation, and one of the most scenic places on the globe.  Table Mountain is a stunning landmark, which has become a symbol of the whole region.  Views from there reward the visitor with an appreciation of the city, the shoreline and the pounding Atlantic.  The Castle of Good Hope was built between 1666 and 1679, making it the country’s oldest monument.  The original mud-walled enclosure was replaced by the stone fortress seen today.  Greenmarket Square is a picturesque part of the central city.  Cobblestones and narrow streets create the feeling of an old world village.  The city park known as the Gardens actually grew out of the “Company’s Gardens” – the old farming zone for the Dutch East India Company.  Today it is managed by the National Botanical Institute.  Wherever you look in Cape Town, you see the very diverse roots of a fascinating cultural mix. 

In the morning we went  with friends, Andrea & Mark, and spent the day walking around and having the  traditional South African dish, Bumbund, for lunch.  This time it was served correctly and was absolutely delicious. This is our third time here and we already experienced Table Mountain (one of the oldest in the world) and went to Cape Point at Cape Horn (where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic).  I believe one of the pictures earlier on this blog has a picture of Gary & I at Cape Point (under the “some pictures” heading). Our Friends from Barcelona, Anna & Joaquim, invited us for drinks during the sailaway along with Andrea & Mark and a few others.  How different it is to be back on the ship after being in the bush with wild animals for 5 days. 

There were three stops the ship made on the east coast before docking in Cape Town.  After Mozambique, it went to Durban, Richards Bay and East London.  Unfortunately, the weather was very rough and they had to pass up Richards Bay.  Hated to miss Durban & Mozambique as we have friends there that we met in 2008.