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Cape Town Part II
I Could Be Jeff Corwin if I Wanted, September 26
The next morning, we got up and piled into John's car to drive to the skydiving place. When we got there, it was pretty quick the way they suit the girls up and whisk them up into the sky. Deb, John and I stood behind the hangar waiting for them to circle around. John threw rocks at me the whole time and the horseflies would not let me be, so I was thoroughly bothered on all fronts. I paced around patiently waiting for them to hurry the heck up and get back here. Once they were safely landed, they got lunch at the place. I was anxious to leave because the bugs were getting worse and they were starting to bite through my jeans so I've never been so grateful to get in the car. We drove back to the hotel and I ate leftover Chinese for lunch. Then the three of us got into Deb's car to pick up Mindy (Deb's best friend's daughter who is our age and doing an internship in Cape Town-what a coincidence!). She lives in a rough part of town though, and we got horrifically lost trying to find her. We literally drove around for well over an hour and a half.
I wasn't sure we'd ever make it, but after we scooped Mindy up, we parked at the foot of Table Mountain and the next thing I know, we're riding up the side in a huge gondola. I wasn't thrilled about being in there, but the ride was short and it sure as heck beat hiking it. The view from the top was incredible, but I was most amused by the lizards sunning themselves on the rocks. I spent a good amount of time trying (fruitlessly) to catch one of the little guys. We lucked out megatime with weather too, because it can change so quickly up there, but it was warm and clear and breezy and absolute perfection.
Once we did all our souveniring, we hurried home to pick people up for dinner and Keilani and I did a quick change. We all drove together to Mama Africa on Long Street, and sat and ordered drinks. Keilani and I got crocodile skewers as a starter and they were really tasty. I'm going to really have to get into this exotic food thing! Our main dishes took over an hour to get to us, so John was really mad, but the rest of us were just drinking and enjoying one another's company. I tried Keilani's ostrich too and it was likewise delicious. I got the bobotie, which was pretty good too, but I was totally stuffed from the appetizers and beer that I didn't eat very much. Much to my personal chagrin, Deb caught the bill for all us before we could protest and she paid for everyone. When we got outside, I stuffed R120 into her shirt, and said I don't want that back.
She, John, and Cassandra took Mindy home while Keilani, Mike, Emily, and I found a nice pub a block or two down and grabbed a benchseat. The singer got onstage just after we ordered our first round and he was so funny. I was worried at first because he looked like a cheesy wedding singer, which he pretty much was, but he was hilarious. There were some people dancing on the dance floor and he said, "What do you want? Tango? Salsa? Ramba? Mambo?" and Emily yelled out, "Mambo No 5!" And he said, "Alright," and all of a sudden he was playing Lou Bega.
We were ready for a change after a while, so we settled the tab and walked over to a club called Stones. It had nice balconies and a ton of pool tables, so I sat outside with John and Cassandra. We got into a big debate about the tobacco pouches he puts under his top lip. He says you can't see them, but I can tell the difference when he's got them in and when he hasn't and I said even though I know everything can give you cancer these days, it's not like I go out looking for it. I brought up that they used to put fiberglass in chew so people would get the rush faster and stay addicted longer and he said they don't do that anymore. But I looked at him and said, "Are you really willing to trust and industry who will manipulate its consumers like that?" I told him I don't think it makes him a bad person, but I still wish he didn't do it.
Emily and Mike got into a pool competition with John and Cassandra and halfway through, Deb and Keilani made their exit, but I decided I wanted to hang out. Not long after that, Emily and Cassandra were bored of playing, so they went outside to talk and I hung out with the guys. They were so dumb though, and Mike is so competitive and self deprecating it's unhealthy. But it was funny trying to sell him on the wonders of having a positive outlook. All the while, John kept talking in my other ear about how much Mike sucks.
At 3, they finally called it quits and gathered the women. Luckily, Keilani was just about to go to bed when I got home, so I didn't wake her. I changed and brushed my teeth quickly and went to bed.
Can You Find "Hair of the Dog" at a Vineyard?, September 27
Waking at about 8 was really unfortunate. I wasn't feeling well when we went out last night, but I ignored my better judgment to be social and I knew right away I'd be paying for it all day today. We had to hurry to get ready and drop Emily and Mike off at the airport. Once we saw them off, we made our way south towards the point. We stopped in Camps Bay for breakfast and I got this huge greasy plate with eggs and sausage and though it made me nauseas to look at it, I knew I'd feel better once I had something in my stomach, so I ate.
Deb told me all about Indigo children and I'm really starting to get used to some of this stuff. I'm not necessarily thinking I believe it or will follow it, but it's not so oogie to me and it's actually quite interesting. We walked down the lane to Pick N Pay for a few filler snacks and things before jumping back on the road. We headed up toward Chapman's Peak Drive, but found out that it was closed for road maintenance. It sucked, but I was feeling better and in far higher spirits, so I was ready to navigate a new route for us. We decided to cross to the east coast of the point and take that south, and on the way we hit the Constantia wineries.
We leisurely browsed the museum and house on the land and took pictures of the beautiful Dutch architecture and the sunny vineyards. We were too early for the cellar tour and realized if we waited to do it, we'd never make it to Cape Point, so we opted instead to go wine tasting. It looked so pretty inside, I was worried, but it ended up only being R22 for 5 glasses of wine! I only tried four, but since Keilani hates wine (though she tries desperately to like it) I drank one of hers too. After that I was definitely feeling much better and it was really a lot of fun to hang out, the three of us.
We ate snacks in the car and got on the road. In Simon's Town, we stopped at Boulder Bay to see the penguins. It costs R40 to get into the park, but if you cross the parking lot there's a little gate and you can walk in there for free and there are penguins all over just the same. I wanted to pet one, but I remembered that they bite and I didn't want to bleed today. I had texted Nicky earlier to tell all my guys at the group home that I'm thinking of them, and she called me back just then. I spoke to her and then she let me talk to Harriet and I told her to tell everyone I couldn't wait to see them next Thursday.
After we finished playing with the penguins, we finished the trip to Cape Point. At the tourist area for the point, we mostly just took pictures and got postcards. Then we got in the car to drive down to the Cape of Good Hope. We really wanted to see baboons but weren't sure were to find them, and shortly thereafter, they came to us. We came around a curve and there were a pair of them, cleaning one another on the other side of the road. We took a bunch of pictures then drove a little further and saw a train of ten or twenty more coming along. We even saw a baby with its family and a baby baboon is, well, as cute as baboons are going to get.
Down at the water front, Keilani and I got out of the car and walked down the rocks, because we wanted to put our feet in the water. About halfway down, I saw in front of me some rocks with cockroach looking bugs on them. Startled, I moved around them and realized it wasn't only on that spot-they were all over the place! Freaked out, I told Keilani and she saw them too and started yelling, "Retreat! Retreat!" We ran back and on safe ground, took a series of goofy pictures with each other on the rocks.
Finished being tourists, we got back in the car and made our way back. We took a detour to find some ostriches on a beach and take pictures, because admittedly, that's an odd sight. Since we were so close, I coaxed Keilani into walking down and putting our feet in the water. We took some more pictures then got on the road for good.
Deb was so happy when we saw another car pulled over and we figured out what they were taking pictures of: Zebras! She hadn't seen any before, so we stopped to take pictures too. Once on the highway, we ate dinner in Simon's Town in a little harbor front place and I had carbonara and a milkshake. I made Deb let me pay for the whole thing, because she's been doing nothing but spending money on me it feels like.
Since it had long since grown dark, we hurried straight home and had a very chill night in the backpacker until an early bed.
Learning Facts in a Cape Town Zone Space, September 28
Keilani and I both woke with a serious case of the giggles and we chatted and laughed hysterically for the first twenty minutes after we got up. Every day should start like that. We had a slow morning, with coffee and showering and lounging. We ate breakfast downstairs with Cassandra and John and they invited us to see a Swedish movie that was coming to Green Acres when we were back in PE. We agreed and said goodbye-they were headed out of town today. We moved our rooms because someone was coming to stay in our room, then got in the car to do some more Cape Town. We parked in a parking structure just off Wales Dr and before we went to the Slave Lodge museum, we stopped in at St. George's cathedral. It was gorgeous inside and it felt nice to be in a church again (it's been a while). We wandered around and looked at the stained glass and the architecture before going out back to see the labyrinth. Apparently they're pretty popular and I feel like I've never heard of them. Anyway, it's like a mosaic of a maze on the ground (no walls) and you're supposed to walk around it slowly, kind of meditating as you go and by the time you reach the middle you're supposed to be looking for enlightenment. Anyway, it was unusual, but pretty neat. Back inside the church, we walked over to where they have the candles set up, and I lit one for Craig; I think he would appreciate that.
Outside, we walked down to the Slave Lodge and SA Cultural History Museum. We walked through the first few rooms and waited for the informational video to start again. It was kind of odd because here we were to learn about South African history and in the back there's a huge exhibit on the American Civil Rights period. One thing I learned that I didn't know before was that LBJ was a teacher in Texas of an all Mexican elementary school class before he was later president and a key advocate of civil rights. After we'd been all the way through, we walked down a path that led to a bunch of other museums, but it just wasn't our luck because everything we wanted to see was closed for renovations. Then we walked to the Holocaust and Jewish museum and it too was closed, because it was a Jewish holiday! Instead, we walked back through the Company Gardens which were pretty and then down toward the market area.
That wasn't much fun either, it was mostly people fencing clothes and shoes and stuff. Not a lot of cool crafty things at all. We grabbed lunch on the go and then drove back through town to the V&A Waterfront. The coolest place there was the Craft Market which had all the crafty stuff we love at really good prices. I didn't buy much but I figured we'd come back so I kept things in mind.
We also found a little kids area that had dress up games and there I found my pirate costume-it's just a piece of cardboard with plastic accessories strapped to it, but it was only R30 and it had a gun, a sword, a hook, and of course, an eyepatch. My costume is practically done! We also walked through the "wellness" area, which is all kinds of stuff that Keilani and Deb love. Tarot, psychics, massages, books and cds and potions and light therapy and all kinds of crazy stuff. It was interesting though. We walked out to explore the rest of the Waterfront, but made a pitstop at The Little Mermaid for some coffee. I was busy playing with my plastic gun when this random guy trying to sell boat rides came over and said, "Wanna real one?" Creepy. But hilarious.
I finally went back to the Craft Market later and bought a few of the souvenirs I'd wanted then we went back to the street our backpacker was on to look for dinner. Keilani's flip flop had broken, so as we got out of the car, it started raining and I gave her a piggy back ride across the street. We were debating between two restaurants and we settled on Stake. It looked kind of nice inside, but the prices were reasonable so we sat. We were the only ones in the place for a while, but the manager and our waiter were super attentive. They asked if we wanted the door closed or to move tables because it was too cold and our waiter even asked how everything was going before we'd gotten our food!
I got nachos, Keilani got a steak, and Deb got a cheese board and soup and everything was incredibly good. The bill came and we looked at it and the receipt was empty. The waiter had written his name with "Thank you" on there, but there was no information. Confused, we didn't know what to do, so Keilani went up to him and said, "I think your printer is broken." He pointed to the receipt and said, "No, it's right there." We just thought maybe it's light ink...Then he came to the table and said, "You're the first diners at our newly renovated place, so the meal is on us." Shocked, we decided to leave a R100 tip for him. Keilani even left a note saying thanks and I told her to put her number on there in case he's ever in PE. (He was cute!) Happy after such a nice day, we went home to the backpacker to relax until bed.
The next morning, we got up and piled into John's car to drive to the skydiving place. When we got there, it was pretty quick the way they suit the girls up and whisk them up into the sky. Deb, John and I stood behind the hangar waiting for them to circle around. John threw rocks at me the whole time and the horseflies would not let me be, so I was thoroughly bothered on all fronts. I paced around patiently waiting for them to hurry the heck up and get back here. Once they were safely landed, they got lunch at the place. I was anxious to leave because the bugs were getting worse and they were starting to bite through my jeans so I've never been so grateful to get in the car. We drove back to the hotel and I ate leftover Chinese for lunch. Then the three of us got into Deb's car to pick up Mindy (Deb's best friend's daughter who is our age and doing an internship in Cape Town-what a coincidence!). She lives in a rough part of town though, and we got horrifically lost trying to find her. We literally drove around for well over an hour and a half.
I wasn't sure we'd ever make it, but after we scooped Mindy up, we parked at the foot of Table Mountain and the next thing I know, we're riding up the side in a huge gondola. I wasn't thrilled about being in there, but the ride was short and it sure as heck beat hiking it. The view from the top was incredible, but I was most amused by the lizards sunning themselves on the rocks. I spent a good amount of time trying (fruitlessly) to catch one of the little guys. We lucked out megatime with weather too, because it can change so quickly up there, but it was warm and clear and breezy and absolute perfection.
Once we did all our souveniring, we hurried home to pick people up for dinner and Keilani and I did a quick change. We all drove together to Mama Africa on Long Street, and sat and ordered drinks. Keilani and I got crocodile skewers as a starter and they were really tasty. I'm going to really have to get into this exotic food thing! Our main dishes took over an hour to get to us, so John was really mad, but the rest of us were just drinking and enjoying one another's company. I tried Keilani's ostrich too and it was likewise delicious. I got the bobotie, which was pretty good too, but I was totally stuffed from the appetizers and beer that I didn't eat very much. Much to my personal chagrin, Deb caught the bill for all us before we could protest and she paid for everyone. When we got outside, I stuffed R120 into her shirt, and said I don't want that back.
She, John, and Cassandra took Mindy home while Keilani, Mike, Emily, and I found a nice pub a block or two down and grabbed a benchseat. The singer got onstage just after we ordered our first round and he was so funny. I was worried at first because he looked like a cheesy wedding singer, which he pretty much was, but he was hilarious. There were some people dancing on the dance floor and he said, "What do you want? Tango? Salsa? Ramba? Mambo?" and Emily yelled out, "Mambo No 5!" And he said, "Alright," and all of a sudden he was playing Lou Bega.
We were ready for a change after a while, so we settled the tab and walked over to a club called Stones. It had nice balconies and a ton of pool tables, so I sat outside with John and Cassandra. We got into a big debate about the tobacco pouches he puts under his top lip. He says you can't see them, but I can tell the difference when he's got them in and when he hasn't and I said even though I know everything can give you cancer these days, it's not like I go out looking for it. I brought up that they used to put fiberglass in chew so people would get the rush faster and stay addicted longer and he said they don't do that anymore. But I looked at him and said, "Are you really willing to trust and industry who will manipulate its consumers like that?" I told him I don't think it makes him a bad person, but I still wish he didn't do it.
Emily and Mike got into a pool competition with John and Cassandra and halfway through, Deb and Keilani made their exit, but I decided I wanted to hang out. Not long after that, Emily and Cassandra were bored of playing, so they went outside to talk and I hung out with the guys. They were so dumb though, and Mike is so competitive and self deprecating it's unhealthy. But it was funny trying to sell him on the wonders of having a positive outlook. All the while, John kept talking in my other ear about how much Mike sucks.
At 3, they finally called it quits and gathered the women. Luckily, Keilani was just about to go to bed when I got home, so I didn't wake her. I changed and brushed my teeth quickly and went to bed.
Can You Find "Hair of the Dog" at a Vineyard?, September 27
Waking at about 8 was really unfortunate. I wasn't feeling well when we went out last night, but I ignored my better judgment to be social and I knew right away I'd be paying for it all day today. We had to hurry to get ready and drop Emily and Mike off at the airport. Once we saw them off, we made our way south towards the point. We stopped in Camps Bay for breakfast and I got this huge greasy plate with eggs and sausage and though it made me nauseas to look at it, I knew I'd feel better once I had something in my stomach, so I ate.
Deb told me all about Indigo children and I'm really starting to get used to some of this stuff. I'm not necessarily thinking I believe it or will follow it, but it's not so oogie to me and it's actually quite interesting. We walked down the lane to Pick N Pay for a few filler snacks and things before jumping back on the road. We headed up toward Chapman's Peak Drive, but found out that it was closed for road maintenance. It sucked, but I was feeling better and in far higher spirits, so I was ready to navigate a new route for us. We decided to cross to the east coast of the point and take that south, and on the way we hit the Constantia wineries.
We leisurely browsed the museum and house on the land and took pictures of the beautiful Dutch architecture and the sunny vineyards. We were too early for the cellar tour and realized if we waited to do it, we'd never make it to Cape Point, so we opted instead to go wine tasting. It looked so pretty inside, I was worried, but it ended up only being R22 for 5 glasses of wine! I only tried four, but since Keilani hates wine (though she tries desperately to like it) I drank one of hers too. After that I was definitely feeling much better and it was really a lot of fun to hang out, the three of us.
We ate snacks in the car and got on the road. In Simon's Town, we stopped at Boulder Bay to see the penguins. It costs R40 to get into the park, but if you cross the parking lot there's a little gate and you can walk in there for free and there are penguins all over just the same. I wanted to pet one, but I remembered that they bite and I didn't want to bleed today. I had texted Nicky earlier to tell all my guys at the group home that I'm thinking of them, and she called me back just then. I spoke to her and then she let me talk to Harriet and I told her to tell everyone I couldn't wait to see them next Thursday.
After we finished playing with the penguins, we finished the trip to Cape Point. At the tourist area for the point, we mostly just took pictures and got postcards. Then we got in the car to drive down to the Cape of Good Hope. We really wanted to see baboons but weren't sure were to find them, and shortly thereafter, they came to us. We came around a curve and there were a pair of them, cleaning one another on the other side of the road. We took a bunch of pictures then drove a little further and saw a train of ten or twenty more coming along. We even saw a baby with its family and a baby baboon is, well, as cute as baboons are going to get.
Down at the water front, Keilani and I got out of the car and walked down the rocks, because we wanted to put our feet in the water. About halfway down, I saw in front of me some rocks with cockroach looking bugs on them. Startled, I moved around them and realized it wasn't only on that spot-they were all over the place! Freaked out, I told Keilani and she saw them too and started yelling, "Retreat! Retreat!" We ran back and on safe ground, took a series of goofy pictures with each other on the rocks.
Finished being tourists, we got back in the car and made our way back. We took a detour to find some ostriches on a beach and take pictures, because admittedly, that's an odd sight. Since we were so close, I coaxed Keilani into walking down and putting our feet in the water. We took some more pictures then got on the road for good.
Deb was so happy when we saw another car pulled over and we figured out what they were taking pictures of: Zebras! She hadn't seen any before, so we stopped to take pictures too. Once on the highway, we ate dinner in Simon's Town in a little harbor front place and I had carbonara and a milkshake. I made Deb let me pay for the whole thing, because she's been doing nothing but spending money on me it feels like.
Since it had long since grown dark, we hurried straight home and had a very chill night in the backpacker until an early bed.
Learning Facts in a Cape Town Zone Space, September 28
Keilani and I both woke with a serious case of the giggles and we chatted and laughed hysterically for the first twenty minutes after we got up. Every day should start like that. We had a slow morning, with coffee and showering and lounging. We ate breakfast downstairs with Cassandra and John and they invited us to see a Swedish movie that was coming to Green Acres when we were back in PE. We agreed and said goodbye-they were headed out of town today. We moved our rooms because someone was coming to stay in our room, then got in the car to do some more Cape Town. We parked in a parking structure just off Wales Dr and before we went to the Slave Lodge museum, we stopped in at St. George's cathedral. It was gorgeous inside and it felt nice to be in a church again (it's been a while). We wandered around and looked at the stained glass and the architecture before going out back to see the labyrinth. Apparently they're pretty popular and I feel like I've never heard of them. Anyway, it's like a mosaic of a maze on the ground (no walls) and you're supposed to walk around it slowly, kind of meditating as you go and by the time you reach the middle you're supposed to be looking for enlightenment. Anyway, it was unusual, but pretty neat. Back inside the church, we walked over to where they have the candles set up, and I lit one for Craig; I think he would appreciate that.
Outside, we walked down to the Slave Lodge and SA Cultural History Museum. We walked through the first few rooms and waited for the informational video to start again. It was kind of odd because here we were to learn about South African history and in the back there's a huge exhibit on the American Civil Rights period. One thing I learned that I didn't know before was that LBJ was a teacher in Texas of an all Mexican elementary school class before he was later president and a key advocate of civil rights. After we'd been all the way through, we walked down a path that led to a bunch of other museums, but it just wasn't our luck because everything we wanted to see was closed for renovations. Then we walked to the Holocaust and Jewish museum and it too was closed, because it was a Jewish holiday! Instead, we walked back through the Company Gardens which were pretty and then down toward the market area.
That wasn't much fun either, it was mostly people fencing clothes and shoes and stuff. Not a lot of cool crafty things at all. We grabbed lunch on the go and then drove back through town to the V&A Waterfront. The coolest place there was the Craft Market which had all the crafty stuff we love at really good prices. I didn't buy much but I figured we'd come back so I kept things in mind.
We also found a little kids area that had dress up games and there I found my pirate costume-it's just a piece of cardboard with plastic accessories strapped to it, but it was only R30 and it had a gun, a sword, a hook, and of course, an eyepatch. My costume is practically done! We also walked through the "wellness" area, which is all kinds of stuff that Keilani and Deb love. Tarot, psychics, massages, books and cds and potions and light therapy and all kinds of crazy stuff. It was interesting though. We walked out to explore the rest of the Waterfront, but made a pitstop at The Little Mermaid for some coffee. I was busy playing with my plastic gun when this random guy trying to sell boat rides came over and said, "Wanna real one?" Creepy. But hilarious.
I finally went back to the Craft Market later and bought a few of the souvenirs I'd wanted then we went back to the street our backpacker was on to look for dinner. Keilani's flip flop had broken, so as we got out of the car, it started raining and I gave her a piggy back ride across the street. We were debating between two restaurants and we settled on Stake. It looked kind of nice inside, but the prices were reasonable so we sat. We were the only ones in the place for a while, but the manager and our waiter were super attentive. They asked if we wanted the door closed or to move tables because it was too cold and our waiter even asked how everything was going before we'd gotten our food!
I got nachos, Keilani got a steak, and Deb got a cheese board and soup and everything was incredibly good. The bill came and we looked at it and the receipt was empty. The waiter had written his name with "Thank you" on there, but there was no information. Confused, we didn't know what to do, so Keilani went up to him and said, "I think your printer is broken." He pointed to the receipt and said, "No, it's right there." We just thought maybe it's light ink...Then he came to the table and said, "You're the first diners at our newly renovated place, so the meal is on us." Shocked, we decided to leave a R100 tip for him. Keilani even left a note saying thanks and I told her to put her number on there in case he's ever in PE. (He was cute!) Happy after such a nice day, we went home to the backpacker to relax until bed.
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