Capes and Grapes

We were blessed with a perfect day for the sail-in to Cape Town, South Africa, a much-anticipated port considering I was meeting up with Laura and it was our last cruise!  The views from the ship were amazing as we sailed around Table Mountain, the signature landmark of the city, a flat-top mountain that pours down into Cape Town and directly in to the ocean.  What beautiful scenery for a great city!  I finished up my duties for the day after we had docked and I headed outside, where Laura was set to meet me at 5:00 in the afternoon.  I walked out into the prettiest port we have ever docked in.  It looked like a cute little harbor town from a Disney movie or something and right down the main strip I saw Laura with a man she had wrangled to carry her bags for her!  Ha ha!  Always resourceful! 

After hugs and laughs and lugging her giant bag (for coming from the African bush she sure had 2 VERY full bags!  Ha!) to the ship, I got her checked in and acclimated, showed her the cabin, and we decided to walk around the harbor.  We just went around through a mall and some shops, asked for information about the city, etc.  Around 8:30 or so we headed out that night walking to a restaurant I had found in a guidebook on the city.  It took us a little time, but we found the really fun spot, Col Cacchio, a pizza joint with crazy salads and combinations for pies.  It was so nice to just sit over AMAZING food and talk for a few hours, catching up on the insane travels we have been privileged to have lately.  It was so much fun to share adventures and know that we had plenty of time in the next 2 weeks to have some of our own.

The next day was embarkation day, but we got up early to try our hand at going up Table Mountain.  When we headed out, though, our dreams were dashed by the notorious Table Cloth, the cloud cover that lingers at the top of the mountain, obstructing the views and making it impossible to enjoy any visit to the top.  Since we had the time, though, we decided to walk around the city some and see what we could find.  We wandered around through some open markets, down Long Street, an area with funky restaurants and shops, and through Company Gardens.  This area is basically the city park with lots of paths and gardens around and some government buildings, all being looked over by Table Mountain, constantly in the background over the city. 

After embarkation we went out and Table Mountain was clear so we got a cab to the cable car station.  Our cab driver was Frank, a local man of mixed race (called “colored” here in town) who talked some about the city and the way it has changed along racial lines and the violence they have experienced in gangs.  It was enlightening and always is nice to have an informative cab driver.  When we arrived to the station he warned us that we needed to catch the first car up while it wasn’t too windy.  We took his advice and soon boarded the car.

The cable car was a big, rotating marvel and we had a blast rising the 3,000 feet to the top of the table.  It was a fun ride and had amazing views of the city and our ship sitting in the harbor.  At the top we stood just at eye level with the clouds and began walking around the strange landscape.  Somewhere between a desert and a forest (I know…they’re opposite), the mountain is covered in rocks and has some cactus, small bushes, but is mostly flat.  We finished our stay at the top with a snack at the Table Mountain Café and went back down to the ship.  That night I introduced Laura to the Compass Rose and the overwhelmed look on her face was priceless.  We had a great meal and enjoyed Karen’s cabaret, performed after dinner and then I gave Laura the grand tour of the ship. 

It was fun for me to be reminded by a friend from home how amazing this place is.  Laura was BLOWN AWAY by the ship and its many levels, lounges, corridors, its size, its cleanliness, and the 6-star feel it had!  Ha!  She said it reminded her of a jewelry box!  It was a nice finish to the day.  The next morning we met up with Elena, who had met some family of hers from Cape Town!  She had never met them before and stayed with them the duration of our time in the city, but she invited Laura and I along for the final day and we were HAPPY to head out with her and her 3^rd cousins, Isaac and Yvonne. 

Starting out they drove us out of the city, being our personal tour guides and pointing out all sorts of insider info about how the town has grown, what different areas of the city are like, what changes are having to be made for the World Cup 2010 events, etc.  It was great to learn things from LOCALS who actually knew what they were talking about.  We immediately headed into the winelands outside the city.  South Africa and Cape Town, in particular, are famous for their wines and have been growing grapes for hundreds of years.  We first went to a place called the Vineyard Connection, which was a winery, but also had a restaurant, woolshop, and gift store.  It was great fun and we looked around for a while and also enjoyed a small, private wine tasting they provided for us.

After finishing a drive through the beautiful green hills of the winelands we found out the WHOLE family was waiting for us at the beach for a picnic they had made.  Yvonne and Isaac were so funny and I couldn’t wait to meet the rest of the family, so we headed out to a beautiful beach outside the city.  There, 6 more family members and 2 dogs were awaiting our arrival with a cooler full of sandwiches, chips, strawberries, bananas, drinks, croissants, tea, and cheese with olives from the winery.  It was seriously AMAZING!  We couldn’t have been a happier bunch enjoying the sun and breeze on the beach and goofing around with Elena and her great family.  What fantastic people!  We did have to get back to the ship, though, and we were sad to sail away from Cape Town, a gem of a city.  It was a really fun port to kick off our last cruise and a fun time with Laura was certainly had!  Can’t wait to update you on our next adventures!

Love,

Tripp (and Laura)