Intrepid Tourism

As my first full day in Cape Town comes to a close, I can safely say that I now have a decent understanding of this town's layout. It's been a great day, and I think it's a great start to my long stay here.

Last night, I hung out at the hostel bar, which interestingly enough serves up a great chicken burger and ate with two American girls, who are both here for internships as well. One is going to the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and the other is finishing up a child development degree at the University of Alabama. It was nice to talk with them, and I found out about a program that they and a bunch of other college age Americans are a part of- Connect 123. Apparently it's a service that you pay to connect you with an internship, accommodations, and even special activities abroad. By the looks of the hostel, it's a popular program, and everyone seems to be very excited about starting their new jobs in the coming week. I think it's pretty rad that a company does that, but my qualms arise when I look at the charges that they have. I looked at a similar company, University of Dreams, back in winter and they were charging obscene amounts for the same privilege. I hope it was cheaper for my new friends.

Later that night I fought to stay awake despite my jet-lag to read Atlas Shrugged and accustom myself to the new time zone. Surprisingly, I'm 300 pages in and its still a riveting story- its paced wonderfully. As I was reading, some of my roomates arrived back, one of whom, upon further conversation, turned out to not only have grown up in Scottsdale, but went to Saguaro, my rival high school! This is particularly funny because the last Arizona resident I ran into abroad also had gone to Saguaro. We talked for a bit about how Phoenix has changed (he graduated in 1990) and about his current fellowship in Zambia. Amazingly, he hitchhiked down to Cape Town from there! It took him a week, but he did it. That, I think, is amazing. Due to time constraints, though, he's flying back to Zambia. I guess you can't always be an adventurer both ways. The other people in the room were either Australians or Brits, and most of them are heading back soon.

My alarm went off at 8, but I apparently didn't have the constitution to wake up before 9, and I was out the door by 9:30. I didn't really have a specific place in mind- I just wanted to get to know my home for the next two months. The hostel I'm staying at is about a 10 minute walk from the city center and about 10 minutes from the shore. I found it to be a pleasant walk, going through African markets, observing drivers for future reference, and taking in this highly diverse population. There are so many types of people here that it's rarely boring to people-watch. I ended up at the V&A Waterfront, a newly renovated hub of residential and commercial growth. There you can find a lot of fancy yachts, expensive waterfront properties, and a big mall with both South African and international brands. Just by walking there, I learned a lot about the layout of the city as well as how people drive (you can tell I'm spending a lot of time thinking about this driving thing). I was trying to find a cafe I read about in one of my guides, Societi Bistro, but it had apparently moved, so I settled with getting brunch at another cafe at the waterfront. It was a little pricey, but quite good. I got a big breakfast with two eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, and veggies as well as an iced tea for about 11 dollars. That may sound cheap already to you, but let me say that South Africa and Cape Town are known for their ridiculously cheap food. I'm sure once I weed out the touristy parts of town, I'll find the genuine and inexpensive places. Despite the price, though, I enjoyed the break from walking and the food.

Next up, I headed to the Two Oceans Aquarium, which my book had highly recommended. However before I got there, I passed by a kiosk for one of those big red Sightseeing Bus Tours, and I became curious. When the bus actually pulled into the stop just then, I made a split-second decision to do something obscenely touristy and take one of those buses. As it turns out and as I suspected, the bus tour gave me a view of the city that is hard to beat. We started out touring around just Cape Town the city, seeing all of the historical and culture landmarks that I am sure to visit again soon. We then continued on beyond the city and up the side of Table Mountain, by far the most defining landmark in Cape Town. Though we didn't make it to the top but rather only to the lower station for the cable car, I got a glimpse at a beautiful view of the whole city basin that I know will only improve when I take the cable car up to the top of the 3,500ft beast of a mountain. Then it was off even farther from the town into suburbs on the other side of the mountains.

Immediately upon making it to the top of the pass, I could tell that this other side would be just as beautiful, if not more gorgeous, than the first. As strong winds blow over Table Mountain, they make their way down the slopes into these suburbs, making for rough waters and cold days. Despite that, though, there is great wildlife, pristine beaches, and luxurious housing. I was so taken with the beauty of this beachfront area that I decided to take advantage of the "hop on hop off" feature of the bus and walk around the area for about half an hour. I got some great beachfront pictures as well as many invitations by street vendors to buy their chess tables and scarves.

Parliament, the view from Table Mountain, and Camps Bay:

Upon stepping on the bus for a second time, we continued along the coast back up to Cape Town, passing even more amazing beaches, more expensive (because of their being in "wind-free" areas) and even the yet to be completed Cape Town stadium for the 2010 FIFA world cup, which is being held in this country. I got dropped off back in front of the aquarium, more than happy with the value I got for the ticket. I was now empowered with the knowledge of the layout of this fine city and its surrounding areas. As an added bonus, the bus company gave me a coupon with a discount for the aquarium, which I then proceeded to visit.

I was quite happy with the aquarium from the onset. Though it was mainly geared towards children, I found their presentation of the marine life to be really interesting. In one of the tanks, a moray eel had completely come out of the coral, something I hadn't seen before. They had every type of water creature, and I liked observing each of them. Today also just happened to be the day in which they were releasing one of their large sting rays back into the tank. As one of the staff commentated on the process, I enjoyed seeing the divers expertly lower the animal back into its artificial habitat. The same cage had a bunch of sharks, which had an exhibit of their own telling of the fact that humans are killed by faulty toasters more often than sharks. I thought it was quite interesting to see such a large campaign for the sake of improving sharks' reputation. In addition to all the marine life, they also had an exhibit with South African penguins which, though smelly, was a good time. The rest about the aquarium will have to be said in pictures:


After I got my fill of marine creatures, I made my way back to the hostel, as it was about 4:30pm already. It was a pleasant walk, and I used part of it attempting to find the apartment building that Toukam and I will be moving into. Though at the time I didn't consider it a successful search, I have since rechecked the email and I'm pretty certain I know where it is. Sunday can't come soon enough- I'm looking forward to setting up my home base.


I got back to the hostel, where I spent my time meeting some of my new roommates, including young woman from Scotland, here for one of the most amazing trips I've heard of! It's with a company called Acacia Tours, and it consists of 45 days of driving in a big, modern bus with 15 other people from Cape Town to Nairobi, Kenya, camping all along the way and having a chef cook for you. It sounds AMAZING- I think I may have found the way I want to see other parts of Africa. Apparently, it costs only 3,000 dollars for the 45 days, but I talked to another girl who had been on a similar trip with another company for 70 days, which also included Uganda and Rwanda. Still, I'm pleased with our own planned "Old School Adventure" and the unorganized, novel, and do-it-yourself aspects of it.

For dinner, I hung out at the hostel bar with the two Americans I had met the night before and a couple of their friends- another American from Nebraska (doing the same internship program) and a British guy who is staying at the hostel. It was a pleasant time, even with my taking (and eating) another person's dinner order. They invited me to go out to a club/bar with them for the evening, but I politely declined, considering my lack of enjoying such outings. I prefer a mellow hang out at dinner or a quiet bar any day.


I think for tomorrow I'll try waking up early and taking the car for a spin, since I think a Saturday morning might be a little easier on the nerves in regard to traffic. Until then, keep it real, Readers!