At least a few times per day, either one of us will launch a conversation by saying, "Cape Town is such a cool city." Our schedule has been quite busy the last three days so I will try and recap the best I can and why we keep saying this.
After doing the city hop on/hop off tour the day before we managed to book a tour through a company called DayTrippers. What this little adventure entailed was a drive over to Hout Bay where we were allowed to board a boat bound for a little place called Seal Rock. Basically it was a rocky outcrop with some seals, go figure. As we have both seen plenty of seals in our lifetimes, we didn't feel particularly engaged with the activity, but the boat ride was nice and the views of the harbor and surrounding mountains were spectacular. After piling back in the van with our group of about 12, we drove further south to a beach where there were a few hundred penguins nesting. They were cute, but the real adventure lay ahead when we pulled off the side of the rode some 15km from the Cape of Good Hope, the most southwestern point in Africa, and we were told to grab a bicycle. Testing the bikes on the side of the rode, I came across a wallet and promptly gave it over to our guide who assured me it would find its way home. With my good karma I took off down the road, which was mostly downhill, and did my best to not instinctively ride on the right side of the road. This was really hard not to do when going around a blind left turn in the left lane. Eventually we made it to the end where we jostled with bus loads of other tourists hoping to get a picture with the sign indicating the Cape of Good Hope.
The next morning, while Clark was enjoying breakfast, I decided to go for a run in the early morning darkness. I was hoping to catch the sunrise by climbing the second most prominent landmark in Cape Town, the Lions Head. I ran from our hostel for 50 minutes straight up until I couldn't run anymore. After that, I was surprised to find a path requiring much more dexterity than I anticipated. With very hind winds that morning and the extremely exposed slopes, I found my heart in my stomach more often than not. Chains and ladders assisted in some of the sketchier sections, but eventually I found my way to the top. I didn't linger to long since I was expected back at the hotel shortly so I carefully made my way back down to where I could pick up a jog again. It was a wonderful way to start the morning!
For the rest of the morning and afternoon, we elected to join the alternative city hop on/hop off tour called the "blue route." On this route was a wine tour, which was quite nice, but ended, for me anyways, on a sour note. As we were leaving, not only did I dump the contents of my water bottle in my bag soaking my passport, maps, phone, and kindle, I ended up leaving said kindle on a bench when the bus unexpectedly showed up early. In a panic, I grabbed my stuff leaving the kindle behind. I discovered my error within 15 minutes, but the buses runs circular route and would be back for another 2 hours. Luckily, the woman working for the bus as an assistant was able to phone another working for a separate bus and they found it. I was told to simply go to their ticket office at the first stop and it would be there. I feel very fortunate for that, but unfortunately my phone is another case. It remains to be seen whether that will work. It is currently in a bag of rice.
Our next stop on the sightseeing bus was a topic of conversation for me and Clark from the beginning. We had the opportunity to visit one of the townships outside of Cape Town. The only reason this gave us pause was because we weren't entirely sure if the activity would be exploitive, and we were quite simply uneasy with a tour of someone else's poverty with a camera around our necks. We rationalized our positions as teachers and that we teach lessons pertinent to poverty and it's various causes and implications as a safeguard to our trepidations. Once we hopped off the bus, we were met with Patrick, our guide and we set off up the road, just the two us in the tour. I can definitively say this has been the best experience so far on the trip. We had open and honest dialogue with our guide, the people were friendly, especially the kids, who happen to be out of school on break at the moment, and we got to see some of the inner dynamics of a community in change. We of course saw dilapidated shacks and squalid living conditions, but we also saw renovations in progress, a very popular computer lab for school children learning computer literacy, a vibrant children's library, preschools, and newer homes with electricity. We left the tour on a hopeful note. Obviously there was much work to be done to alleviate the terrible poverty, but the was an undeniable hope for the future. Perhaps it was all the kids playing in the streets, or the smiling faces at the library and the preschool, but you get the sense that although conditions may be poor, they are not permanent and the people can feel empowered to enact that change.
On our way out, we had the chance to stop by The Original Tea Bag Designs. http://www.tbagdesigns.co.za/ This was a fantastic organization that in the last few years has transformed the lives of several families in the area. It started as an income generator for families in the townships by making art out of used tea bags. We told the women there that we were teachers and that we teach a class that looks into sustainable development and community driven projects to alleviate poverty and they immediately gave us a tour of the building beyond the storefront where men and women were making the products. It was a great day and I can't wait to share the stories I heard today with my students next year.
As I sit here now and type, we are counting down our hours in Cape Town. We enjoyed our last morning here by taking a ferry out to Robben Island, the notorious prison that held political prisoners, like Nelson Mandela, for years during apartheid rule. A bus tour around the island gave us an overview and the history of the place, but the big impact came when we were given a tour of the maximum security prison by a former inmate. He was engaging and told some incredible stories of their survival before showing us the way out and back to the ferry for a "short walk to freedom."
All I all, I have really enjoyed the trip so far. I have learned a lot, eaten some really good food, and met some amazing people. For the next leg in the journey, we will head to the airport in the morning and catch a flight to Durban, another port city on the eastern side of the country. However, we won't be long there, just enough time to dip my toes in the Indian Ocean for the first time. We will then get picked up by the Zulu Nyala Game Reserve for our weeklong photo safari. So expect some animal photos in the next batch of uploads! Until then, enjoy a little bit of Cape Town.
James
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