Cape Town! I was thrilled to be here, after hearing about it nearly all my life.
I got a private room in a hotel that also had dorm rooms. It was nice to have my own room after hostels and camping 😀 for a month. There is a dire water shortage and signs to take a one minute shower and flush only when necessary. I caught myself leisurely running the tap water to rinse my toothbrush and was horrified. So I was more careful after that. It is estimated that by July there will be no water at all unless there is rain. And the drought is three years old.
It was a sunny day and I could see Table Mountain. I planned to hike up the next day. Should have gone this day, because the “tablecloth “ of clouds covered it when I went and visibility was about 10 feet!
In the morning I took a walking tour of the downtown area. The guide took us to the balcony of the government building where Nelson Mandela gave his first public speech after 27 years in prison. I nearly wept🇿🇦. Then we strolled by the slave lodge museum. It was emotional. Fortunately, our guide told us of a small shop where we could buy handmade chocolates and in the back, at 5:30, there was an artesian gin bar. She like the crushed basil gin, so it gave me something to look forward to the rest of the day, the gin, not the chocolate as it keeps me awake literally all night.
After a quick nap at the hotel, I walked to the nearby Muslim neighborhood of Bo-kaap. The museum tells the story of poverty and predjuice, but things are much better now and the buildings are painted marvelously.
Mural of Desmond Tutu.
Our guide by the Nelson Mandela mural.
Cape Town has some lovely buildings.
The middle balcony is where Nelson Mandela stood to give his first public speech after 27 years of prison.
English parliament building.
English architecture.
Sculpture.
Table Mountain over the City of Cape Town.
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