Cape Town, South Africa: Falling in Love

Wow. 24 hours in Cape Town and I can tell you that I think I want to live here at some point. Like now.

Yesterday was one of the most random days I’ve ever had in terms of activities, conversations, events.

After the diplomatic briefing I was cleaning up some conversations and giggling about various things when the Archbishop stops in front of me with the Premier of Cape Town and proceeds to introduce me to him. Yeah, you read that right. Archbishop Tutu introduced me to the Premier of Cape Town. Which is like having Oprah introduce you to Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger. Wild.

It gets better (and since we’re name dropping anyway)…I got to meet Arch’s wifey! She’s adorale, and together they are the most smiley, 64 teeth showing powerhouse of compassion you can imagine. I’ve had breakfast and dinner with the Arch a few times and he’s always joking me about my relative (to him I guess) youth and I’m always asking him “are you causing trouble young man?” so yeah, I’ve got inside jokes with an amazing guy. More on that later, back to yesterday….

So afer trampling everyone down the gangway I figured out how to get some money (south african “rand” = 7.11/ US $1) then we hit “Docks” restaurant and scoped out tickets for Robben Island (where Mandela was imprisoned for 18 of his 27 years). Due to the high demand, tourist season and general interest, by the time we got to the ticket office there was nothing available until Monday so we laid down our rands (and don’t you always feel super rich when you have foreign currency?” The notes are like 1,000 rand and you feel all wealthy until you realize its only about $145 and you’ve spent half of it on wine, music, peri-peri wings, and the like…wait, maybe that’s just me.

We roamed around all afternoon before checking our bank accounts online (alot of people got ATM bombed in Salvador and have watched scary amounts being withdrawn from their accounts). We watched this guy (pictured above) perform a street show that was the best worst thing I’ve ever seen. His shenanigans were more like a train wreck than a feat of amazing accomplishment, but as I’ve said before…I lurve an entreprenuerial spirit, plus he probably makes more money than I do.

After freshening we ran out to meet up with our waiter from lunch out for cocktails at Manegbas, a jazz bar (Jazz Safari begins!). I cut out after an hour to head to U of Cape Town theatre for an evening of high culture and froo-froo artsy type stuff. It turned out to be pretty great. Red wine, good food and appearances by the director tend to have that affect on me I guess?

After getting our culture on, we changed clothes and hit Cantina Tequila (yes a Mexican bar in South Africa!) then cabbed it over to Long Street which was packed with bars, clubs, pubs, etc and we got our dance on until it got too hot at Marvel. The music was phenomenal, but I need a fire code to be enforced and for there to be an observed “maximum capacity” for these places! there were 4,234 people in a little corner spot that might have fit 200. I didn’t stay inside long because I had taken off my money belt (its pretty safe most places here) and had my coolpix in one front pocket and my cash and a credit card in another. It was too packed in the dance spots for me to be able to guard my pockets well so we just danced out front behind the velvet rope. As tends to happen, we wrapped up the night (3AM for me) with a stop for some Peri Peri wings! I LOVE Peri-Peri sauce (an african hot sauce) and want to bring bottles of it home with me.

Tomorrow should be low key since I’m the Duty Dean and have to stay within 10 miles of the ship in case of any emergencies. After getting to sleep at 4AM, I’m not going to complain. Pics later when I find cheaper internet.

Wait, yall thought I was falling in love with a person? Not this time around, but this feels just as wonderful.

7 thoughts on “Cape Town, South Africa: Falling in Love”

  1. Wait a minute!! Wasn’t your Birthday last week?…Happy Belated to the luckiest 40 sumthin’ I know..and I dont know alot of Geezers so thats sayin’ something!…Im glad your getting this experience its truly awesome I know I dont have to remind you that everyday is a blessing and every experience is a life lesson…but I just did anyways :)…Love ya like a play cousin!

  2. From this entry & the last:

    1. I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate a birthday than an around-the-world trip.

    2. With 1 down, I vote for Table Rock, cooking class at a winery, beach time, and hopefully you made it to church (perhaps w/the Archbishop?).

    Much Love & Adventure,
    Trina

  3. Dia,

    Glad to see you are having a mixture of fun and culture.
    People have your birthday confused—to early for that.
    I think you are going to fall in love with each place that you visit.

  4. Barb,
    More please about Archbishop Tutu. I am so fascinated with those people. Did you not find the hard ship and dispair too much too bare? Maybe I haven’t gotten there yet. I read China and then India and now have found the beginning of SA. This is just where Daddy was too, for his big hunt with my Uncle Steve. Bet they didn’t go to Tutu’s house.
    I miss you so much– really. Thanks for the postcards. When will you be home? Is there a way to call you? What is a good personal email? Email me.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *