Cape Town & Surrounds

We spent the day in Cape Town South. Sadly, on this route, you pass through Khayelitsha, an expanse of Townships that blows your mind. It's vast. Must be 100,000 shanty buildings. It's something that one can't really describe. While most are temporary looking structures with corrogated roof top pilings, that house entire families in one small room, hooking into an electrical pole shared by hundreds of others-- others are government built cedar-block structures. This particular area has grown considerably since Jeff lived here. And nearby are neighborhoods full of government housing. You see the people walking the highways... for miles to get work. And some are part of craft assemblies where money comes to them/the Township through the creation of product. The one area we passed, on this route, is only one of many. Moving on...

The ocean route is SPECTACULAR. This place is all about contrasts. The peoples, the landscapes, the texture of Cape Town. We went through a beach resort area and surfer's spot called Muizenberg and stopped at a flea market. This was really not unlike our own, with lots of product from China being sold. We didn't stay long there. Then we went on to the False Bay Beaches and Kalk Bay. Kalk Bay is a charming fishing village. We ate a fantastic restaurant on the pier called the Harbour House. It was elegant with a wharf-like edge. We ate a fantastic beet root salad with sweet cold butternut squash and mild feta. We also shared a platter of sushi which was just ok. Sushi is getting more and more varied here, but a lot of basics.

From here, we continued on, along the coast. The coast line here is wide and has an expanse that you can't even believe! It just goes on and on. And the layers of mountain ranges are indescribable! Then we came into Hout Bay. I can't even tell you how stunning this particular area is. In the previous post I mentioned we ate at Chapman's Peak Hotel -- we drove there in the night. So I couldn't really tell what I was looking at. In the day, it is more than. More than the most stunning views on water surrounded by mountains than you've ever seen. Jeff and I keep trying to find the words. Using comparisons like if you took the San Francisco Bay and added Carmel, Monterrey, Big Sur and the French and Italian Rivieras, maybe you'd get something a bit like Cape Town... Let's just say, it's all, and especially, Hout Bay, incredible and more than.