We had a half day tour booked to see around Cape Town. Weather was cold and wet but fortunately today did not involve a lot of walking as the majority of the tour was by car.
First a quick trip to the base of Table Mountain. The view towards the top is spectacular 🤣
The view back down to Cape Town is just as spectacular so well worth the effort 😂🤣
Next a quick visit to Signal Hill as there is a view point there where you can get a framed view of Table Mountain. What can I say, just judge for yourself how magnificent the view is. 😇
Deciding that panoramic views are probably not on the agenda today we head off around the coast road.
Now we are back to the fundamental Dichotomy of SA in that there is a massive gulf between the lives of the folk who live in the townships and the folk that live in the posh houses around the coast. I’m not suggesting that ALL the big houses are owned by white South Africans as there may be some very successful black South Africans living there as well BUT I bet it’s not a representative proportion by demographic population.
Now tourism is the number one industry in CapeTown and by far the largest employer. It’s only just about recovering from the pandemic and I think that it was exceeding hard for a great number of people when all of their income disappeared overnight so it makes me feel a little better about swanning around Cape Town.
Next stop was a place called Bo-Kaap. This is the Malay quarter and the houses are all painted in vibrant colours. The reason for this is that originally these were all houses for slaves (more about them later) and the law dictated that they all be painted white. When slavery was abolished the freed slaves painted them bright colours to show their freedom.
Next stop was the Company Garden. This was originally a garden maintained by the VOC (Dutch East India Company) to grow fruit and vegetables to resupply ships passing around the Cape on their way from Indonesia to Holland. Now the VOC seem be a company which makes the British East India Company look like the Salvation Army. Not only were they great proponents of Slavery but they enforced it in the most brutal fashion. Fortunately the history and effects of slavery are now being recognised and the old Slave House where slaves were bought and sold as property has been turned into a museum tracing the history of slavery in Cape Town. Which like so many places we have been to is showing how inhumane people can be to other people.
Now of course there is a link between Cape Town and the British Slave Trade and that Link is Cecil Rhodes.
We all know the controversy surrounding Cecil Rhodes and his donations to Oxford University but what was interesting is that there is a building in downtown Cape Town called the Mandela Rhodes building. 🥴 I’m confused.
Not withstanding the original purpose of the gardens they are now a little haven of peace and tranquility (probably better in the sun than the rain) and there are some stunning plants and trees in the gardens . I think that in summer it would be an ideal place to sit and read a book or just to enjoy the surroundings.
Final visit of the day was for a coffee, what else. Now Laeticia our guide had promised something different and it certainly was a Steampunk coffee bar.
Now normally I would be a little wary of themed coffee shop thinking that its all about the theme and not the coffee. Well in this case you could not be more wrong. I had a potion chilled coffee which is cold brewed for a day to make the most amazing, smooth flavourful iced coffee I’ve ever had. Served in a Brandy Balloon 😮
Chris had a Latte which she described a very smooth. They bake their own bread and croissants and make all of their own cakes. I just had to try a Brownie.
This may look like a heart attack on a plate but it was not overtly sweet and a wonderful taste. Just look at whats on offer.
Once again we’re astounded with how good things are here and (to us anyway) how cheap they are. 3 coffees, one croissant, and one brownie came to 12 quid.
finally how nice is our Steampunk waitress 👏
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