The Africa Journal Part 1: Cape Town, the start

Day 1

I've slept the whole day away due to jet-lag and will, after writing this entry, try to get some sleep with the thrumming of club music from downstairs. The flights in to Cape Town bare little mention except that I had a good visit with Pat at Heathrow. The Africa flight was long. But seeing Table Mountain jut majestically through the clouds upon our approach was priceless.

Once out of the airport the mountains, it is clear, dominate the skyline. Table looks very steep and sketchy. I can't wait to climb it on the 9th. As we were driving from the aiport I had my first real glance of a true African shanty town. An astoundiong collection of shacks built from everything imaginable: corrugated metal, some wood, signage, whatever will do. I noted that on the other side of the highway was a middle class neighbourhood hidden behind concrete walls topped with coils of barbed wire. South Africa, it seems, wears its social problems on its sleeve.

Tomorrow I'm going to go out on a township tour and get into those areas with my camera. It'll have to be in the afternoon which leaves me the morning tp check out the sites around here.

Day 2

I'm back in my room right now a bit speechless and astounded at all the day's events so far. I feel, for the first time, the I've gotten a taste of the Africa I came here to explore.

The day started off early with me out of bed at 6 AM: wide awake and hungry. I hit the streets and walked along for a while looking for somewhere to eat. It's Sunday and nothing was open. I was quick;ly approached by a young man who introduced himself as Katanga. He shook my hand and told me his story of being a Tanzanian refugee who came to South Africa as a stowaway on a ship. He spoke of the need for education to make something of his life. In other words he was setting me up for wanting money.

I hailed a cab, gave Katanga 20 ren and headed for Cape Town's shorefront. Nothing was open so I asked the cabbie to take me to a place for breakfast. We finally found a place on the slopes of Table mountain. I'd been able to book a half-day township tour earlier so I decided to do a little more sightseeing in the morning.

Cape Town has a strange feel to it. The signs of fear are everywhere: barbed wire, high walls, spiked fences, private armed guards roaming with truncheons, etc. The city is given a slightly sterile feel. Kind of like a fortress preparing for a seige that will never come. For sure, the racial fear that defined Apartheid has not dissipated yet.

I made my way to the Castle of Good Hope, built by the first Dutch Settlers. It's quite near downtown and its layout is in classical citadel formation. The interior walls are painted a Canary yellow and the parapets have cannons in place. I toured a small museum inside with Dutch paintings of ships, dishes and cutlery of the era, and the dining hall with tables laid out further than 100 feet long.

I rested for a bit back at the hostel before my guide for the day picked me up and the real adventure began...

Sorry no time left to finish Cape Town, I promise to do it next time I have the chance to use the internet, the Township tour (absolutely amazing) and scaling Table mountain (scary rock climbing without ropes) to follow in next post.