Day 27: The Mother City

Day 27
Today I'm in: Cape Town, South Africa

Everyone I know who's ever gone to Cape Town goes on and on about how much they loved it.  So I came in with well-managed expectations.  But I have to agree - this is a pretty great city, and for a lot of reasons.

For starters, it's safe.  You can walk around pretty much anywhere you want (even at night, as long as you use common sense), you can ride buses, you can take trains, you can go to the beach and leave your things on the sand, you can park your car on the street for more than ten minutes without anything getting smashed.  You can't do any of these things in Johannesburg, Durban, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria or pretty much any other large South African city.  People in Cape Town look relaxed, because they still have a sense of security that the rest of the country lost almost two decades ago.

And it's a good thing you can do all of those things because there's so many things to do in Cape Town.  The city occupies a command position at the top of the Cape of Good Hope, with the downtown area facing the Atlantic Ocean and backing up against the bulk of Table Mountain.  The suburbs wrap around the cape on the east and west, going as far north as the Tygerberg Mountains and far west across the Cape Flats to the Indian Ocean (where some of the grittier ex-Apartheid townships are located; I'll be visiting one in a few days.)  I'm staying just south of downtown in the Oranjezicht district, which is part of what's referred to as the "city bowl" - the area within the bowl created by Table Mountain, Lion's Head and Signal Hill.  Oranjezicht is a mix of cottages, bungalows and apartment buildings, all shaded by eucalyptus trees and with mountain views everywhere you turn.

Downtown Cape Town is a blend of skyscrapers (this is the country's second city and many international companies have offices here) and well-preserved early-20th century buildings.  Today was a Saturday and people were pouring out of the main train station, having come into the city to shop, go to the beach or have lunch on the water.

After lunch I walked from the waterfront to Sea Point, a fashionable neighborhood on the western side of the cape, where Cape Town's flashiest suburbs are located.  Sea Point consists mostly of high-rise condos and is fronted by a long green esplanade lined with parks, playgrounds, restaurants and swimming pools.  There are few small beaches, but the coastline is mostly rocky; there are more serious beaches further south along the shore that I'll be visiting in a few days.

When I left my hotel in the morning, the summit of Table Mountain was wrapped in clouds (referred to by locals as the "tablecloth"), but when I returned from Sea Point the top was visible, so I hailed a cab and went straight to the cable car terminal.  The cable car brings you to the summit in only a few minutes, and the cars revolve as they go up so everyone gets a good view.



The summit was amazing - downtown and the city bowl were visible, and so were the smaller communities that stretch along the cape to the south.  In a few days' time I'll be moving to one of those communities, Simon's Town, for a two-night stay.  There were clouds rolling over the top of the cape and the feeling was like being on an airplane.  It was pretty chilly up there, though (I went up at about 4pm and the sun was already starting to set; it's winter here, after all) and the wind was strong.  There were signs advising visitors to listen for the alarm horn that sounds when extremely strong gusts are approaching.

I definitely see why people like this city so much, and I've only spent a day here.  Tomorrow I'm headed to the winelands for some vineyard tours, but I'll be back in the afternoon and hope to see more.