(JS) This morning started off with a bang, well the impact of a pillow rather. After a few curse words, I was finally coaxed out of the bed with the promise of coffee and penguins. I quickly jumped up and went to get dressed while dodging a few more pillows before finding the sanctuary of the bathroom to get changed. We grabbed a quick breakfast, of pastries, cheeses, yoghurt, and a variety of flavors. I have charged myself with trying at least one new item at every meal… so far, so good! Today’s flavor adventure was wide bacon (European style). I found the texture to be chewy and not as flavorful.
We met our tour guide at 8:30am, there were already two couples in the vehicle. Both couples were older Australian couples. It became clear that the couple I was sitting next two were well off. She boasted about going on 3 vacations a year in the neighborhood of 6,000 Australian Dollars each. Whereas the other was more of the quiet, “take it as it goes,” kind. We started off driving out of town on the coastal route to the south west. Our itinerary was to take us along the coast down to Cape Point, Cape of Good Hope, lunch, see the penguins, botanical gardens. We made several stops along the way to the cape, and saw a variety of different things. We stopped off at a beach just outside of town to snap photos of the city, the white sands, and the ocean breaking against the rocks. We packed back into the mini-van to drive to the other side of the cove and get an upper view of the scenery. This pattern continued until we reached cape point. Along the way we saw an Ostrich, a whale tail (potentially), a yacht harbor, and several calla lilies. According to our tour guide calla lilies are to South Africa as weeds are to the US. It was very beautiful! We arrived at cape point after an hour and a half of driving. We took a tram to the top of the hill, where we walked up the remainder of the hill to the bottom of an iron light house. The walk up was well worth the effort. We arrived to find a 360 degree view of the ocean. The point extended out from the coastline, allowing best lines of sight from all around with the exception of the land tying the lighthouse to the coast. Our next stop was Cape of Good Hope. It was about a 15 minute drive from Cape Point. On the way, we stopped off to see an ostrich taking the peck on the side of the road. My neighboring Australian said it was a male ostrich because of the coloring of the fur. Further on, we saw a female closer to the water. When we arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, there were already two large tour busses with visitors there. We were given 30 minutes to walk around. Since there were quite a lot of people already by the signs Brad and I decided to venture out towards a rock which protrudes into the ocean next to a cliff with waves breaking against the rocks. It was very scenic! After taking a few “Iron Man” type pictures on the rock, we headed back towards the bus where we snapped a quick picture of the sign and observed some GIGANTIC bugs munching on some Kelp I would estimate they were at least 3″ long bugs which resembled cockroaches. We piled back into the mini-van and headed off towards lunch and penguins. We stopped off at a restaurant known for its pizza’s and local fare. Brad had an appetizer of muscles in a garlic cream sauce which he shared with me, a Castle brand beer, and a margarita pizza. I opted for a house red wine, and moz chicken curry. The flavors reminded me of a tiki masala. It was a Mozambique style curry with full flavors and little heat. The well off Australian lady remarked how it was a bit too hot for her, but I thought it was perfect. It was served with seasoned basmati rice and sides of a brown chutney which I couldn’t decipher a similar flavor and peppers. I’ve noticed quite a lot of food has either bell peppers or similar heat to it. It’s been in everything from sandwiches, salads, curries, pasta, and even sea food. It has been quite unique.
After Lunch we walked down to the Penguin conservation area. After paying the entrance fare we walked down a wooden walkway down to where the penguins play. It was a simple beach with brilliant white sand, unlike anything I had seen previously. The penguins were small and friendly. I kept thinking it was like happy feet, and almost expected to see some dancing. Unfortunately I couldn’t go chasing after the penguins like I had wanted, but instead satisfied myself with annoying Brad. Our fellow tour companions did not have the option of the Botanical gardens on their itinerary and was something they had previously seen so they protested against going there. Brad and I pulled our tour guide aside and offered not to go to the Botanical gardens as we had seen them before. The tour guide was grateful to our request because it makes it easier for him and everyone leaves happy. We went back into the van, for an hour and a half ride back. I was awake for maybe 30 minutes of it. While I’m not typically able to sleep in vehicles, all 4 requirements were there. We were exhausted, the van was hot, with a cool breeze, and we were driving down a winding road which made the van rock. After staying awake for a few towns I found myself back at the first hotel dropping off the Australians. Brad said I was knocked out for most of the trip. After a quick lie down at the hotel, we left again for a brisk walk through downtown Cape Town. Where our hotel was located, we were close to the business district so we grabbed our gear and walked through town as the businesses were starting to leave. The city was almost completely closed to my surprise. The locals were packing up there wares and very few businesses were open. We found a place to grab some coffee called “News Café” where we were stared at while walking in. Even though it advertises specialty coffee, they were only able to offer us an Americano. We walked around town for about two hours checking out the malls, and shops. It seemed like we were coming to the party too late in the game. We found the coffee shop that we were looking for called “Truth” however it was the wrong one! The one we were looking for was a steam punk shop.. The one we found was next to a museum of sorts… not the same. Finally we turned around, headed back to the hotel to grab the shuttle back to the waterfront. We dined on a 25th anniversary special at Mitchell’s Brewery and had an Oreo and Amaretto shake for dessert. We headed back to the hotel where we quickly fell asleep, dreaming of wineries and the mountainside for tomorrow.
Excellent travelogue Jennifer….. you could write for Bert Wolfe in his PBS travel programs.