BEFORE I even start describing how beautiful this city is, I have to be honest and say I flew into Capetown with high expectations.
My friends who have been there fell in love with the place and all of them want to go back, so this set the bar high for me. And from the moment I looked out the window of the plane and saw Table Mountain, I fell under its spell.
What a relief it was to finally check into a hotel where we would stay three nights straight, unlike the first half of our trip where we were staying in different places every night. We were then hied off to the V & A Waterfront for dinner.
Named after Queen Victoria and her son Alfred, it is situated in South Africa’s oldest working harbor and attracts 23 million visitors a year. On a clear day, it has sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean, Table Bay Harbour, the city of Capetown and of course, Table Mountain. It is also home to the Cape Wheel which offers a 360 degree panoramic view of the city.
The group had dinner at The Greek Fisherman where we feasted on Greek peasant bread, chicken breast, mussels and ice cream while discussing the next day’s schedule.
Cyrill, our guide, lives in Capetown. He had traveled with us to Zimbabwe and Johannesburg, and now we were in his home turf. So he warned us that the only thing he disliked about his city was the fact that it rarely followed weather forecasts—the weather here had a mind of its own.
On the bus the next day, we found ourselves on a schedule dependent on the weather of the hour, Cyrill had to keep on calling tour operators for updates on our planned itinerary. Our first stop was in Bo-Kaap, which was formerly known as the Malay Quarter, and famous for its brightly colored homes and cobblestoned streets.
They gave us time to pose for souvenir photos and then we all got into the bus to go to Hout Bay. It was raining by the time we got there and were informed that our Ameera Champagne Sunset Catamaran Cruise had been cancelled, as was our optional tour to Robben Island. So we boarded our ferry boat to Seal Island in cold, rainy weather, which gave us all a laugh while we were shivering, because the common misconception about Africa is that it is always hot.
Wine and drive
Seal Island is five acres in area and home to 64,000 Cape Fur Seals. It is long and narrow and there is no vegetation of any kind. To the naked eye, it’s all boulders and seals. In the brochure, I read that this dense population of seals at certain times of the year attracts their main predator—the great white shark. That would have been a sight to see: a shark coming up from underneath, hurling itself out the water with a seal in its mouth. Saving that for next time.
We soon found ourselves on the bus again headed for Stellenbosch. Located in the hilly region of the Cape Winelands, it is their version of Napa Valley. The scenery on the drive to get there was breathtaking. If one thing can be said about driving around in Capetown rain or shine, it is this; their mountains will always be the perfect backdrop to their lush countryside and fabulous architecture, so the result is quite dreamy. It’s kind of like seeing the south of France for the first time, but this scene had much more color. We had a delicious Western lunch at the Simonsig Wine Estate. It was a leisurely meal with wine tasting after. And a first for me was seeing a wine bottle opened with one swift smooth swing of a sword.
After some time, we left to attend the 5 p.m. mass in the city since it was a Sunday. As we were lighting candles in the church, we whispered a fervent prayer for good weather the next day since it would be our last full day in the area.
After mass, we all headed back to have dinner at the waterfront, this time going Italian.
When I woke up the next day, the first thing I did was check the weather, and my heart kinda fell to the floor when I read that it would be a rainy day. By the time we were all back in the bus, Cyrill was handing out lucky beans for us to keep in our pockets. Just like us, he was desperate for the sun to come out as we were headed to Cape Floral Region, a Unesco World Heritage Site. This area includes the majestic Table Mountain chain, which stretches from Signal Hill to Cape Point, and the coastlines of the Cape Peninsula. It is a narrow stretch of land made up of scenic valleys, beautiful bays, spectacular beaches and contains a mix of extraordinarily diverse flora and fauna.
We made a stop as we were nearing Cape Point as a Bontebok made an appearance by the roadside. It is almost extinct and can only be found only in South Africa. He stared back at us as if welcoming us to his kingdom. As we arrived at the first stop, a beaming sun welcomed us!
I said a silent prayer of thanks and stepped out, on to see places I had only read about in history class.
Cape Point, otherwise known as the Cape of Storms, has always served as the navigational landmark of sailors for centuries. But passing the area at night and in fog always put you in danger of violent storms and dangerous rocks and was the cause of many shipwrecks around that coastline.
In 1859, the first lighthouse was completed and when we got there so excited to see it, we were informed that the funicular was not functioning, so if one wanted to see the lighthouse, it would be a 30 minute uphill walk. Half the group did just that while the other half stayed below to take in the view.
A short distance away is the Cape of Good Hope and we arrived to find it fully packed with tourists that one had to queue up for a photo with that famous sign.
East marks the spot
According to our guide, there is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, but in fact, the southernmost point is Cape Agulhas where the currents of the two oceans meet when the warm water Agulhas current meets the cold water Benguela current and turns back on itself. But when following the western side of the African coastline from the equator, the Cape of Good Hope marks the point where a ship begins to travel more eastward than southward. Thus, it has earned its place in history books when Bartholomeu Dias made the first rounding of the Cape in 1488 marking a milestone in attempts by Portugal to establish direct trade relations with the Far East.
Our next stop was Boulders Beach where we had a guided tour of the Penguin Colony. The long walk from the parking lot to the beach was very scenic.
There were many merchants selling paintings, sculptures and other African ornaments and trinkets as well as private beach homes selling homemade ice cream, native delicacies and various souvenirs.
Once you reach the walkway leading to the colony, you are met with penguins strutting around, hiding in the bushes, playing in the sand and others just standing still watching the hordes of visitors enter their territory. And when you reach the viewing deck, there they are—so many Happy Feet!
The sweeping view of Boulders Beach was already worth the trip alone, but to see all those adorable penguins together was really the icing on the cake.
After a delicious lobster lunch, we headed back to the city for our visit to the majestic Table Mountain. We had this scheduled the previous day but the mountain was not open due to bad weather, so it was now or never for us. We got to the cable car station of the mountain and even from there, the view was already amazing.
Their rotating cable cars are huge and can accommodate 46 people per trip. There can be no better name for this mountain as it appears that the steep slopes rising above the sea form a completely flat summit—like a table for the Sea Gods of many legends. But unfortunately, this table is rarely “empty” since most of the time, its summit is covered with a “tablecloth” made of clouds and fog. And this was what we encountered at the top. A seemingly eerie cloud of fog made us feel like we were walking on clouds, but it totally obstructed the panoramic view of the city below. But still our guide took us on a walkabout, pointing out the unusual flora and fauna that dotted the summit.
As we headed back into the heart of the city after visiting Table Mountain, we were informed that our farewell dinner would be an unusual one in a restaurant named Gold. They called their food Opulent African Cuisine and our menu included: South African Spicy Tomato Soup, South African Roostekoek, Kenyan Irio Patties, Cape Smoked Fish Pate, Alegrian Kofta Kebabs, Ethiopian Lab, Tunisian Briouats, Namibian Venison Pot, Cape Malay Chicken Curry, Traditional African Creamy Pap, Moroccan Sweet Potato and Butternut Tagine, Nigerian Corn and Beans, Mama B’s Cameroon Mchicha, and my favorite, Cape Malay Boeber, the dessert, which included a dusting of 24 carat gold dust. Every now and then, there would be performers on our floor and they made the atmosphere seem electric. I have never enjoyed the sound of drums until I set foot in Africa.
The next day, as we checked out and headed to the airport, I realized that our visit to Capetown, although short and sweet, felt incomplete. There was still so much to see, to explore, to experience so I hope that one day, we will be able to go back and stay a little longer.
And in the words of Cyrill, while Johannesburg is work, work, work; Capetown is fun, fun, fun. I could not agree with him more. Now I have joined my circle of friends who have left part of their heart in Capetown.
Such honor is well deserved. Grace M. Avanzado