First Impressions

Nevermind that I missed my original flight from Heathrow to Cape Town because some guy jumped a fence and was running on the runway throwing rocks. After a bit of puppy-eyed negotiating, bypassing a trip though Jo-berg, I ultimately made it direct to CPT only 3 hours later. I was lucky, my luggage arrived late the next day...

From the airport we drove to Sea Point where Jeff grew up, one block from the Atlantic Ocean. At first, Cape Town looks like a coastal place, maybe similar to something European or Mediterranean. But you quickly realize it is much more than. As Jeff points out, the ocean here has constant movement and activity. The Pacific is passive. This has more energy.

And holy smokes, it is STUNNING. Where else are there two oceans that meet, surrounded by awesome mountain ranges! Layers of majestic mountain ranges. That far eclipse those I'm used to in California.

 

Table Mountain is awe inspiring. With the wind (something Capetonians accept as part of life, but in Sea Point it is far less imposing), there is a fury of cloud swirl over Table Mountain, which they call this cloud formation the Table Cloth. To me it looks like a cloud volcano. When the wind is fierce, the cable car does not run. It's been fierce most of the time I've been here. But let me say, if I have the courage to get on the Cableway which takes passengers 302m above sea level in a rounded revolving cable car, I'm sure it will be extraordinary!

For someone who loves food, Cape Town is a gastronomic experience! We went to a super cool organic market at the Biscuit Mill, a converted factory with shops and a Neighbourgoods Market. The Neighbourgoods Market is open on Saturdays with fresh and prepared foods, vintage furniture, designer clothing, and tables and tables of people convening over gourmet treats. So impressed! Met the market owner and general manager who are also running hotels under the name of Daddy Long Legs and "moving room" locations (with renovated Airstreams they are importing from the US, mostly from Florida).

The bread here is something very different than the American standard. All bread has more depth and flavor, whether it is the basic that you buy at the market or more gourmet. So my first egg sandwich at the Biscuit Mill gave me an extraordinary experience of this doughy and textural treat! I have also been introduced to my new favorite fish, Kingclip. It is a white, flakey, non-fishy thick fillet that I first ate at the lovely hotel about 20 minutes from Sea Point in Chapman's Peak, called the Chapman's Peak Hotel.

Everywhere, you see a lot of recycled product and some sustainability efforts. Jeff does explain that the recycled stuff is a matter of materials. This is all the poor have to work with. They are using what is around them and creating commerce. Some very innovative output and some just crafty stuff. The latter, you also see a lot of it being commoditized. Sold on the beach, on the streets in the street markets...Nonetheless, if it helps the poor and tribes make money, that's a good thing! Sustainability, I'm finding bits of. The guy that owns the Biscuit Mill is rennovating the Airstreams with all sustainable materials, there's an organic kids clothing store, recycling bins in some neighborhoods, some awareness of materials but definitely a place where survival is first and foremost so it will be the rich/elite that can afford to be sustainable in new architecture, new products, new fashion, etc.

To continue first impressions, I must move away from the gorgeous scenery and talk about S. Africa and the dimensions of the city here. I'm still making impressions as you must really be here a few weeks before you absorb the surrounds. The infrastructure of the city being so reliant on the non-whites is quite stark for an American. You also have to be on your game as there's a lot of manipulation. You basically pay meter-maids to park on the street, but it's not mandatory everywhere. But the asking is constant. And the people who sell on the beach and on the streets are quite the salesmen. You do get some sense of how people who have had their civil liberties taken away don't have much respect for life generally. I'm sure that's only seen in Cape Town on the surface and worse so in other places around Africa. Moving on.

Off to take a walk along the sea front toward the lighthouse. Jeff is on a 4 hour bike ride...