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Published: February 3rd 2008
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Hello again!
I am now heading into my fourth day in Cape Town, and I have had a great, and VERY HOT, time. The first day I felt surprisingly jetlag free and explored the waterfront with my new American friend Dana. It was nice but very touristy and just kind of reminded me of Granville Island. It was good to get out for a walk though and explore the city a little. My hostel in a few minutes from Long Street, which is indeed very long and full of shops, restaurants, and clubs, so it's proven to be a good spot.
On my second day I did a Cape Peninsula day tour (which was included in the price of my Baz Bus ticket). It was a beautiful, clear blue day and we drove all along the coast (an unreal drive) to the Cape of Good Hope, which is the southern-most point of the African continent. Ironically, parts of the landscape reminded me of the area where Mark and I stayed on Crete, which is the southernmost point of Europe! Along the way we stopped in Simonstown to see a colony of Africa penguins, which were about a foot high
and absolutely adorable. There were hundreds of them laying on the rocks and beach, with only one very adventurous one who played in the surf. We carried onto a nature reserve and did some mountain biking (on some rather rickety bikes) and at the tip of the peninsula hiked up to a lighthouse with the most spectacular, almost 360 degree view of the ocean. I was also treated to my first bit of African wildlife----a bunch of very cheeky baboons on the road (some with babies, so that was pretty cute) and some wild ostriches. The ostriches got spooked by a motorbike and took off running down the road at full speed. They are soooo fast! They ran as quick as they could but they are so flimsy that the wind kept pulling them side to side and their necks looked like spaghetti noodles---honestly, one of the funniest things I have ever seen. The guide also drove us through some villages created for black families during the Apartheid regime---places given names like "Ocean View" to sound appealing, but were actually completely inland and basically designed to cage them in. They built government flats for them to live in but there
were no schools, hospitals, or any of the conveniences in the towns they were forced to leave. It still blows my mind that this system continued until I was 9 years old.
That day I got back to the hostel, had a nap (I'm wrecked every day by about 4pm), then ate dinner at the hostel. They cooked a braai (bbq meal), which was so delicious. They had pam, which is white cornmeal, sort of like polenta, stewed beans, potatoes, a couple of salads, sausages and chicken, and some very eggy and slightly sweet bread which I couldn't get enough of. I had dinner with an English couple who are just finishing up 6 months of travelling. Guess what mom, she's a grade 1 teacher and I told her you use Jolly Phonics! She was quite amazed to hear that. Anyways, halfway through dinner, the entire city lost power! Apparently, the South African power company sold too much power to neighbouring countries and didn't reserve enough for itself, a problem which can't really be rectified until 2012, despite the fact that the world cup is here in two years. So randomly, power goes out completely. We were lucky to
be in the hostel though and had candles brought to us. It didn't go on again til 2am, when I happened to have woken up and heard cheering from the street when it came back on. I am buying myself a proper flashlight when I go into town today!!
Yesterday, a girl from my room named Heidi (from the Faroe Islands, between Scotland and Iceland) and I hiked up Table Mountain, which was pretty tough but very rewarding. Actually it was REALLY tough, and I thought I was going to melt. By 7am it was already really hot, so when we set out at 10am it was smoking hot. I drank 2 litres of water in 2 hours, and despite putting on 3-4 layers of sunscreen in that time, still burnt (I think due to the malaria pills that I started taking the night before). We met lots of people going up and down, many with kind words of encouragement, and ended up following a group who SANG on their way up! At the top of their lungs! I think they are a choir group---anyways, pretty impressive. The views from the top were amazing, so we stayed up for
Hike up Table Mountain
Almost at the top, and almost dead. awhile then took the cable car down (no WAY was i hiking back down!)
Today I am going to relax a little. The stress/excitement of the beginning of my trip, jetlag, and heat have messed me up a little and I'm afraid of burning out already. Tomorrow I've booked my Baz Bus ticket and am going to Wilderness, which is a little place on the coast. I'm staying in a forest hostel which the girl at reception recommended. Oh nuts, I just realized it's raining outside---I guess I chose a good day to not have plans! haha and with the heat this is actually quite a good thing! I hope everyone is doing well, and thanks for your emails (I sit at the computer and read them with a big, goofy smile on my face, they are so nice to get). Cape Town has been great---very diverse, noisy, and colourful, with many fences and an excess of goodlooking people (honestly, unbelieveable). Bye from Capetown and I'll write again soon from Wilderness😊
xo Linds
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