CAPETOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
29 November 2006- Wednesday
Docked in Capetown, SA in the afternoon-
Another day of brilliant sunshine with the sun rising on the aft deck of the ship. Breeze is refreshingly cool, but the sun is hot. We passed Cape Agullus, the southern most part of the African continent ( I always thought it was the Cape of Good Hope). We then round the Cape of Good Hope and head north in the Benguella curent which carries cold water from the Antarctic north along the west coast of South Africa, that's why Capetowners don't spend a lot of time in the water but love to sunbathe- or, it could be the shark nets and rip tides as well as the Antarctic current. I also discovered that Capetown is a circular bay with the open end facing north- as does the city. Of course it's the backdrop of Table Mountain (so called because of its flat top and if it is cloud covered it's called Table mountain tablecloth). on the east of table mountain is a smaller circular peak called lion's head and on the west is another called Devil's Peak. The back part of Table Mountain runs all the way down to Cape Peninsula and forms a chain called the twelve apostles. The whole area is a National Park.We are supposed to dock at 3pm but have to wait at pilot point for 45 minutes until we get a pilot and then 2 tug boats push us into a smaller Marina- but what a marina! There is a huge complex of 5 star hotels, shopping malls, craft shops and the biggest collection of African handicrafts- it could be my back porch. We don't get cleared until after 4 pm so no touring today, but find a postoffice and get stamps for the 20 postcards I wrote since we left Durban plus another 20 I buy today. Back in time to shower and go to dinner to find our Kiwi friends are eating on shore and Rosemary the Sicilian married to the Lutheran minister (her real name is Amelia but she doesn't use it) has arranged for 2 other couples to join us tomorrow night when the new arrivals get their table assignments. This is our last meal with George- WWII vet with bad hearing who loves to tell war stories.
There's a jazz concert tonight but I'm not sophisticated enought to enjoy that type of music.Besides, I've got all those postcards to write. The shore excursion desk isn't functioning all that well. Found out that if I take the Peninsular tour which takes all day and the wine tour the next day, I'll never get to see Capetown- so I bag the Peninsular tour and tomorrow I should get to see Capetown.
(I've noticed a completely different atmosphere in the city than when I was here in the early 70's). There seemed to be a lot of tension back then. And the black and white restrooms and water fountains took me back to Alabama in the 50's. I remember finding a black man with a sack of groceries lying unconcious on a curb. I stopped my rented car and got out to find he was breathing but unconcious- white people drove by and looked at me like I was crazy. I drove down the street to my hotel and asked them to call an ambulance- they said they would call the police. I always thought there would be a revolution with a lot of bloodshed- particularly whites. Can't believe the peaceful change of government and the lack of retribution. Glad I was wrong.
Docked in Capetown, SA in the afternoon-
Another day of brilliant sunshine with the sun rising on the aft deck of the ship. Breeze is refreshingly cool, but the sun is hot. We passed Cape Agullus, the southern most part of the African continent ( I always thought it was the Cape of Good Hope). We then round the Cape of Good Hope and head north in the Benguella curent which carries cold water from the Antarctic north along the west coast of South Africa, that's why Capetowners don't spend a lot of time in the water but love to sunbathe- or, it could be the shark nets and rip tides as well as the Antarctic current. I also discovered that Capetown is a circular bay with the open end facing north- as does the city. Of course it's the backdrop of Table Mountain (so called because of its flat top and if it is cloud covered it's called Table mountain tablecloth). on the east of table mountain is a smaller circular peak called lion's head and on the west is another called Devil's Peak. The back part of Table Mountain runs all the way down to Cape Peninsula and forms a chain called the twelve apostles. The whole area is a National Park.We are supposed to dock at 3pm but have to wait at pilot point for 45 minutes until we get a pilot and then 2 tug boats push us into a smaller Marina- but what a marina! There is a huge complex of 5 star hotels, shopping malls, craft shops and the biggest collection of African handicrafts- it could be my back porch. We don't get cleared until after 4 pm so no touring today, but find a postoffice and get stamps for the 20 postcards I wrote since we left Durban plus another 20 I buy today. Back in time to shower and go to dinner to find our Kiwi friends are eating on shore and Rosemary the Sicilian married to the Lutheran minister (her real name is Amelia but she doesn't use it) has arranged for 2 other couples to join us tomorrow night when the new arrivals get their table assignments. This is our last meal with George- WWII vet with bad hearing who loves to tell war stories.
There's a jazz concert tonight but I'm not sophisticated enought to enjoy that type of music.Besides, I've got all those postcards to write. The shore excursion desk isn't functioning all that well. Found out that if I take the Peninsular tour which takes all day and the wine tour the next day, I'll never get to see Capetown- so I bag the Peninsular tour and tomorrow I should get to see Capetown.
(I've noticed a completely different atmosphere in the city than when I was here in the early 70's). There seemed to be a lot of tension back then. And the black and white restrooms and water fountains took me back to Alabama in the 50's. I remember finding a black man with a sack of groceries lying unconcious on a curb. I stopped my rented car and got out to find he was breathing but unconcious- white people drove by and looked at me like I was crazy. I drove down the street to my hotel and asked them to call an ambulance- they said they would call the police. I always thought there would be a revolution with a lot of bloodshed- particularly whites. Can't believe the peaceful change of government and the lack of retribution. Glad I was wrong.
Labels: Nairobi to Rio 2006
posted by DT at 11:36 AM
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