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Sunset from St Blair Cave in Mossel Bay
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Cape Town
Sheri and Curtis spend a night in Mossel Bay in The provence
of Western Cape at Mossel Bay Backpackers. It is located in the old part of
near the mouth of the bay. The receptionist there, Winston, was a young guy who
had dated a girl from Bend, Oregon. We stayed in a nice little room, and
borrowed a heater to take the chill off (abit of a luxury in South Africa where
most buildings are uninsulated and unheated). We walked along the waterfront
where seals were playing and jumping out of the surf. There’s a cave above town
with evidence of occupation from the Stone Age (like 100,000 years ago), and
above the cave is a large fluorescently lit cross. We chilled out around a
patio fire and Winston played some really good music. Next day we drove on
towards Cape Town in a bit of rain and got off the main road and stopped for
lunch at Birkenhead Brewery and Winery. There were like Mercedes Benzes parked
out front with a white affluent looking crowd who were wearing wellingtons and
riding gear. There was a bit of sun over the hills and vineyards to take the
chill off and they had a big fire inside. The Cape Town rugby team was playing
so everyone was glued to the TV. Our food was OK, but honestly the beer was
flavorless.
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Birkenhead Brewery
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Scene at Birkenhead Brewery
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Driving on to the town of Hermanus we passed some dramatic coastal
mountains. We decided to stay in Hermanus and got a room at the backpackers
hostel there. At first they said they had but one dingy room and then, by
magic, they remembered they had an entire house down the street. We stayed in
the house which was fairly new. Hermanus is a coastal vacation town set on a
rocky coast backed but mountains. Because its winter it was pretty dead and
most of the homes were empty. We walked along the coast and Curtis had his
heart set on Mexican food at Amigos restaurant (not much Mexican in SA). That
night we set out for our Mexican fiesta but from the afternoon to the evening
there had been a kitchen fire and the place was closed. Dejected we went to the
Tapas place next door which interestingly had nachos. We sat by the fire and
they brought out a plateful. Good but different; they used whipped cream
instead of sour cream. Back at the hostel they were having a bachelor party but
they ran out of booze. South Africa has tight rules restricting liquor sales on
Saturday afternoon and Sunday. They got the black security guard to go with
them out to the township (black slum) and go to a shebeen (drinking shack) and pick
up some booze, and the party continued.
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Old port in Hermanus
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Kelp pile after a storm
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Next day, Sunday, we drove out
following the coast until the road met with the township. We drove in. The
contrast was amazing. The town of Hermanus was block after block of empty
vacation homes; the township was thousands of metal shacks and the streets were
loaded with people walking to or from church or going to the store. We carried
on along the coast and stopped at a penguin colony and went along False Bay in
a driving rain storm. In fact during our whole stay in Cape Town it rained and
we never saw Table Mountain. We drove into Cape Town from the east. The freeway
is lined on both sides with an enormous township, Cape Flats. Millions of people
live here in shacks. Some people told us it is thought that this is the fastest
growing city in Africa because of massive immigration. We left this behind and
went to our accommodation at Ashanti Lodge Backpackers hostel. It was pouring rain
and with not much else to do we went to Arnolds Café on Kloof Street. We had a
coupon, free bottle of wine with our meal. Sheri had an Ostrich burger which
she loved and Curtis a beef curry and a bottle of South African dry white wine.
Cape Town seemed abit different. There
were black people there who were quite stylish and could afford to eat at a
place like Arnolds. Up to now the black people we’ve seen in SA are pumping
gas, or patching the road, washing dishes, house keepers, parking lot
attendants, carrying water or firewood on their head, etc. In Cape Town our
room was about 10 feet wide and 16 feet high with a vaulted ceiling. It had a
radiant panel wall heater but all the heat went up. Must have been warm 16 feet
up there. We walked around the Victoria and Albert waterfront, a new
development, which had a shopping mall. We stopped in for a wonderful latte at
Café Via. The people watching was amazing. Some folks looked like they just
walked in from Park Avenue, others had their African style, and all shades of
color of people, gay and straight, hipster and old Afrikaner where mixing
together.
Next day we saw some sites
like the Castle of Good Hope, the District Six Museum, the Slave Lodge, and Company’s
Gardens. The best thing was lunch at a bazaar. Sheri had biryani rice and
Curtis had bunny chow. Bunny chow is half a loaf of white bread, hollowed out,
and filled with chicken curry (or other curry). A huge portion. We drove over
to the Atlantic Ocean side of town and watched the huge waves crash in at
sunset. After that we went back to Kloof Street and ate dinner at the Bombay
Bicycle Club. It is a funky place packed with Victorian stuff and with a twist
like at one table all the chairs are swings suspended from the ceiling. There’s
the odd manikin and piñata hanging around. It has a strong rep so people
reserve a month ahead. We squeezed in at the bar and had a vege board and
chatted with the friendly bartender and a friendly young guy who gave us his
spin on South Africa and also his plan for visiting seven countries in seven
days. Bangkok, Hong Kong, Beijing, etc. No sleeping or hotels, just arrive,
hire a cab for the day, drive around then fly out at night to the next place.
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Ashanti Lodge in Cape Town
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| Bo-Kaap district in Cape Town, Known for their colored houses |
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