Good Hope

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9/14/08-9/15/08

I love bargain shopping. This is why Court and I were ready to wheel and deal at the Green Point Market, which is held each Sunday across the street from our guest house. Philip told us to haggle-- in fact, he told us to halve their asking price, then halve it again as a place to start, but that seemed extreme (we're new at this...) As we walked around the market, we got better at it, buying all sorts of gifts and mementos. In fact, we got so good at it that after a few hours of browsing and bargaining, we ran out of cash completely, even after avoiding the overly aggressive vendors!

That night we ate at a grill where Court had warthog ribs and I had an ostrich fillet, and we both shared some wildebeest pate. All fantastic-- South Africa does not mess around when it comes to meat.

Monday morning we were up bright and early for breakfast so we'd be ready when Day Trippers tour group came to pick us up at 8:45am. We jumped into their van with 7 other people (two from Ireland, one from Australia, two from Japan and a couple who live in Spain, but are from Belgium and France) and headed to the Cape of Good Hope. Our driver, Alex, first stopped at Hout Bay so we might see seals and grab some coffee. One man and a massive seal were on the sidewalk, encouraging people to take pictures with "Pretty Boy" the seal. He explained that he's been taking care of Pretty Boy in Hout Bay for 23 years. How could I NOT take a picture with an animal with that kind of loyalty?? =)

We continued on along the coast with a trailer of bikes hitched to the van (for later use). As we were driving, we saw Southern Right Whales in False Bay, just hanging out. Then we arrived at Boulders Beach as a bit of rain started to fall, but we jumped out of the van to see the famous jackass penguins who make the beach their home. They looked about as cold as we were! It was surreal to see penguins waddling around a few feet from us. Just when I think I'm getting into the swing of things around here, I see something so completely out of the ordinary like this and I remember that I'm half a world away.

The wind and rain drove us back to the van, and our next stop was the national park that Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope are a part of. We had a great home-made lunch courtesy of Day Trippers, and got to know our fellow travellers better as well as some history about the park. The calories from lunch were easily burned off as we hiked up to the Cape Point lighthouse, where we could see both the Atlantic and the Indian Ocians. It was beautiful, and unbelievably windy. The whitecaps and huge waves only added to our pictures, but made it a little tough to get too close to the edges.

The whole group then hopped onto bicycles and peddaled down to the Cape of Good Hope. No, I haven't magically become a better cyclist since last week's tour in Soweto, but it was mostly down hill, and I was smart enough to wear pants this time. On the ride down, Court and I hit the brakes to admire a wild ostrich along the road, and then admired the Cape scenery and the huge waves at the end of the road. We hiked around and took pictures until a fast-moving hail storm sent us back to the van to stay dry and warm. On the drive out of the park, we were even lucky enough to see a few of the wild zebras that still roam around!

Back in Cape Town, we found a great African restaurant (I can't get enough bobotie!) and had an interesting time trying to catch a cab home. Once we told the cabbie where we needed to go, he told us, with attitude, that it's a 40 Rand minimum charge. This really wasn't a problem, since it would cost about that to get to where we were going, but the way he said it was rude, so I said, "Huh, the last cab we took from here only charged R35." He started driving down the street as he replied, "Fine, then I'll charge you 50 Rand!" Apparently, he didn't know that he was dealing with two girls who have previously refused to pay a Chicago cabbie when he took us the long way to our destination as if we wouldn't know the difference. We are not meek tourists. Courtney and I didn't even wait for the car to stop moving before we were both opening the doors to get out and give a different cab our business. I'd like to think that the jerk waited at least another hour for a new fare on a rainy, cold Monday night while we were already warm and tucked into bed...

Tuesday's adventure: the winelands! I can't believe I leave to come home on Thursday. I think I'm ready for it, but there's still so much to see here. I'm jealous of people who are traveling for months and months at a time, although I'd miss everyone (and probably be unemployed). Also, I heard there was some problem viewing previous pictures? Let me know if you can't see these so I can try to fix it while I still have free internet! Thanks!

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Photos

Pretty Boy
Me, and my new seal friend in Hout Bay

Bargaining
CJ strikes a deal at the Green Point market

Flags
South African and SAN Parks flags

Full trailer
The bikes were ready to be ridden as we drove to the Cape with Day Trippers.

Penguins
Momma and baby penguins on Boulders Beach

More Penguins
Just trying to escape the wind

Photo op
Court cuddles up to some penguins.

Baboons
Baboons were on the side of the road and not shy at all.

Jen and Courtney
At Cape Point, farthest Southwest point in Africa.

Vistas
On the way up to the lighthouse.

Lighthouse
Cape Point lighthouse. It was a good hike up to the top.

Cape of Good Hope
We had to take the obvious picture

Comments

[Mom]

BFFs
Seeing you two together just brings back so many memories and fun times from childhood. To think the good times are still coming is so wonderful. Love you both, Mom

[CJ]

Such hotties!
And I'm not just talking about the two of us...love the little penguins!