The days flew by in Cape Town. The first day we spent the day with Emily - we went up table mountain because the weather was clear, and bumped into nearly everyone else from tour but went our own way once we came back down the mountain. The view from the top is amazing, but I think other vistas of Cape Town are more spectacular simply because they have the mountain itself in view. We had a lovely seafood lunch - (wonderfully large portions in South Africa) then tried to get an appointment for a pedicure (for Emily & I, not Bernard of course) but ended up giving up and going into back to the Waterfront so we could watch the latest Harry Potter movie. I am particularly pleased I got to see it on the big screen in all its glory, though I am terribly impatient for the final installment. I wonder where I'll be for that one? Later Bernard joined us at the waterfront and we had a lovely dinner.
The next day we had toddled off around the corner to do some laundry, relaxed for a bit, and then met Rod and Emily to go to Robbin Island, the island that was used during Apartheid era as a place to hold political prisoners. The view of Cape Town on the ferry was pretty and the tour itself was fantastic. The first section we were taken around the island on a bus, visiting various places of importance, and then finally taken through the prison by an ex-inmate. Being in the prison was one thing - it was pretty amazing the conditions that people endured: sleeping on tiled floors during very cold winters. However it wasn't seeing Mandela's cell that was the highlight, after all its just a small space with very little in it - it was the perspective we obtained from our guides that made Robbin Island a worthwhile place to visit. After a great day we went off for a drink at Buena Vista Social Club (I had two excellent martinis) then Em & I shared a bottle of bubbles over dinner. A truly great day to spend with great people.
We spent the next day arranging for a box to be sent back to Australia with some of our purchases accumulated during the months - what a drama that had become during our trip. We were quoted 600USD through to an impossible 1100USD. In the end it worked out OK (and thanks Jen) with a very reasonable 300USD for a whole suitcase of things. For lunch we met up with Emily to say our farewells, and as you can well expect by now I was a bit of a mess but being Christmas and all the shenanigans happening with snow I was actually pleased that Emily was going home to be with her family (which thankfully she arrived without any problems). The next day we spent shopping (I bought sexy new jeans!) and on Christmas eve we visited the Cape of Good Hope on the Baz Bus. The day trip was fantastic, visiting penguins, cycling for a bit, and walking to different aspects of the Cape. However I got incredibly sunburnt and later that evening wanted nothing better then to sit down with 2 litres of water, a bottle of aloe vera, a glass of rose, and a few slices of cheesy pizza. Which is exactly what I did.
When getting the pizza we realised that two blocks from our guest house the convent hosts catholic mass services in the chapel - so rather than go to midnight mass, I woke up the next day and went to mass in a small and personal chapel. It was a wonderful start to Christmas day. I spoke to many friends and family in the morning, packed our backpacks and then was pleased to have Rodney over to our place for a relaxing afternoon. We grazed on tapas style food and drank slowly all afternoon by the pool with views of table mountain. We sat in the shade, moving our chairs to avoid the sun accordingly. It really was a delightful way to spend Christmas and our final day in Africa. The next morning we caught our taxi at 6am and headed off to airport to embark on our next part of the journey - South America…..
No comments:
Post a Comment