Tech tip of the week: avoid massive international bills by buying local SIMs.
Tuesday 5th was the day Julian and I made the voyage to visit Robben Island, the famous Apartheid prison of political prisoners. We received a tour of the island from one of the former prisoners who told us all about life in the prison and how things have changed. It was a humbling experience walking the same halls as some of South Africa's most prominent leaders.
Wednesday 6th saw us take a day to relax and socialise. Beginning with a trip to the cinema to watch the latest marvel film, Guardians of the Galaxy. An almighty lunch followed which we had to nurse as we walked around the shopping mall nearby. Just when we though we were home safe, two lovely ladies, who were staying at Green Elephant with us, invited us to dinner. We accepted and managed to eat our way through another immense meal! (First a pizza, then a T-bone steak, we had massive food babies after that!) We made some friends, however, so it was worth it.
Thursday 7th went as planned with a day tour of the Cape Peninsula. Our duo was joined by a multitude of folks from across the various backpackers in Cape Town so we had plenty of people to chat to and get to know. A day filled with seal islands, penguins, dogs called nuisance and the most south-western point of Africa, concluded with a wonderful Green Elephant pizza night! Plenty of beautiful pizzas and even more pleasant company to round off the day.
Friday 8th was a day of great tourism nonsense. Julian and I enjoyed a full day in Cape Town's company gardens. We visited a number of the museums nearby and wandered through the gardens, enjoying the pleasant view. Lunch was my introduction to proper South African Nandos. It was absolutely splendid, if a little more spicy than usual (mild isn't that mild here apparently.)
Saturday 9th saw us do our upmost to have a day relaxing on the beach. Our discovery that a rather thick and cold sea fog had enveloped the western side of Cape Town wasn't enough to dissuade our motly crew of GE backpackers from trying. All in all it was rather successful. I managed to have a brief dip in the sea, I watched others build a sand castle and, to top it all off, we helped unearth someone's lost football! As if the day wasn't exciting enough we passed by a film set for a 'Bollywood dance competition'! The things you see in Cape Town, eh?
God that was anti-climatic. We waited for 5 minutes, waiting for something to happen. Then the stage the actor was on moved, stayed there for 3 and then, the stage moved back down to ground AND NOTHING HAPPENED.
Sunday 10th was the day of our tour of the wine lands around Cape Town. We enjoyed a wide selection of various wines, ranging from Sauvignon Blancs to Sparkling Shiraz. I discovered my pallet isn't limited if I go in with an open mind and wine is now added to my stuff I quite enjoy. The areas of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek were beautiful settings for the wine tasting and made the day that much more enjoyable. Frankly we're still recovering from a day of drunking (hiccup)
Monday 11th saw us journey up Table Mountain! The mountain's cable car was finally back in operation after being down for maintenance for every other day of our stay in Cape Town. Despite some light cloud we cabled to the top and were rewarded with some stunning views of mountains poking through the clouds. Even though we were over 1000m up, there was very little wind to speak of and the sun warmed us quite rapidly.
Doing Table Mountain, as our last major tourist activity of the trip, was a fantastic finale to our adventures in Cape Town. I've been living every moment I could in this marvellous city along with Julian, who has been a stalwart ally and incredible friend all the way through my Capetonian voyages. It has made for a far better holiday than I could have ever imagined!
Thanks...I think, begs the question what was he imagining this trip to be. Thank you for being a great companion on our first solo holiday together, an adventure filled with wine, penguins, god only knows how many Lord of the Rings quotes and a marriage deal between the two of us. Here's to the next one.
My next blog post will arrive a little sooner than usual so the flipside shan't be too far away!
Take care and see you all on the flipside!
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