Western Cape

South Africa, after only one week, has me spell bound and in deep contemplation. I don’t even know where to begin to share all my thoughts and impressions. There is a lot I want to capture, to remember; So this post is tidbits. There will be no pervasive theme or chronological order...just stuff I find interesting about this country.

The first thing that comes to mind is BEAUTY. I have been to 45+ countries and this is one of the most beautiful by far. And I have only been to one small part of the country - the province of Western Cape. It reminds me a bit of Canada - in particular, the south Okanagan where we live, and also parts of southern Alberta where I am originally from. No wonder I love it here so much and I guess I am not surprised that there are so many South Africans Living in the Okanagan. Although similar, there are notable differences: the flora stands out. There are unique flowers and plants, trees and shrubs that I have not seen before.

Another thing that really stands out is that there are a lot of black people here. It isn’t unexpected of course, just so noticeable and something I am not used to. In western Canada, we see Asian people everywhere, we live and work beside people of Asian descent and we are used to that, used to the accents. Well South Africa is very multicultural, like Canada, except more that 70 % of the people are black. And among the black people there are a number of very distinct cultural groups and lots of languages being spoken. There are eleven official languages in South Africa. How cool is that?

I feel safer here than I thought I would based on the government travel reports, but truthfully, if you have average awareness of appropriate behaviour in a developing nation where there is a lot of disparity, and if you do not travel into the townships, it feels as safe or safer than Mexico. People are friendly and polite and street vendors or hawkers are less agressive than in most tourist places. My only complaint so far is South Africans are incredibly impatient drivers! We have been constantly honked at if we are even one second late after the light turns green. People drive fast and aggressive. Not to mention they all drive on the wrong side of the road.

Something we found kind of weird was that in the suburbs, where we are staying this week, there are horse drawn carts everywhere...just plodding down major roads. These carts are licensed as are their drivers...just like cars...and they go around collecting scrap metal. Usually the carts are driven by some Rastafarian type dude with a few kids in the back.

I also want to share some thoughts on the areas of the Cape, and what might make sense if you were to take a trip here. I think we made a good choice by staying close in for four days, then renting a car and moving to a central suburb for another week, then a few days in the countryside in wine country. In town we stayed in Sea Point. The area was mixed, meaning there is a mix of housing, a mix of people (not all rich and white), and a mix of shops, restaurants, and tourist attractions. We were a block to the hop on hop off bus stop, a block to the miles long promenade along the water, a $5 Uber ride to the waterfront, the museums, the markets etc. Spending four days there allowed us to see all the major sights without worrying about parking.

There is ALOT of traffic in Cape Town, and as you have to drive on the opposite side of the road, it can be a bit overwhelming. By using busses and Uber to get around initially, our senses were adjusted to the backwardness of the roads, it gave us a chance to get our feet wet and our bearings about what was where, what direction was north, etc. By the end of the four days we knew the layout of the city, where the major arteries were to get to the outlying areas, and we knew to look right, not left when crossing the street. Then we moved to Edgmead, a suburb that was central to everything...close to the major highways to take us north up the coast, east into wine country, and south down to the cape penisula etc. And being in the suburbs with the car gave us a chance to get used to driving without the chaos of downtown. We have a great cottage on a secure property with a pool, a full kitchen, a washing machine, internet, Netflix, secure parking...everything we need...for less than $50 a night. We are 12 minutes from the closest winery, 20 minutes to the botanical gardens, 10 minutes to the beach and 2 minutes to the grocery store and pharmacy.

All in all I am incredibly impressed with the Cape Town area, and have enjoyed every moment, save for the hacking and coughing I have been doing for a week now. I have a very bad cold or flu that does not seem to be getting better, and a few times I have had to just stay in bed for awhile. No make matters worse, Stephane broke a tooth yesterday so before heading to Stellenbosch, our next accommodation, we will be seeing the dentist.

My only disappointment so far has to do with great white sharks. I had planned on going cage diving with the sharks, but apparently in 2018 the sharks started disappearing. Between 2008 and 2017 there were over 250 sightings a year, and for unknown reasons in 2018 that dropped to 50. Then nothing since until...get this...this week, the first great white shark was spotted in False Bay - the first in 20 months. $250 dollars to go cage diving in the hopes of seeing one shark is a little rich for my budget...but darn it anyway, I truly wanted to be terrified by them!

Perhaps I will use the money saved for some paragliding and buy a nice bottle of Pinotage - South Africa’s signature wine varietal....