How I Spent a Whole Week in Cape Town

First of all, when I first arrived in Cape Town, it totally reminded me of San Francisco. The wharf area looked similar, and the weather was fogy. I knew immediately that I would like the city : )
And I had a lot of time here too...Because I gave up on going to Namibia, I ended up with about a week. What to do, what to do, what to do....

Some brief highlights, if any:
Day 1 - Strolled to the wharf (This is before I moved to the other hostel). Not much to do but shop and eat. I FINALLY had a decent, big lunch of mussel pasta : ) Having been deprived of easily accessible good food over the past few weeks (Sri Lanka to Zimbabwe), I was amazed at the food selection here. The supermarket was awesome too!!! Bought some instant noodles, but they were awful. After window shopping for a while (lots of souvenir shops around here), wandered outside and ran into an aquarium. I've always liked aquariums so decided to take a look. The nemo and shark exhibitions were good.

Day 2 - Took a tour to the wine lands. Mind you, I'm not a big fan of wine (allergic reaction sometimes) and know absolutely crap about it. But...why not?! The wineries in South Africa are much smaller than the ones I'm accustomed to seeing in California or Europe. Since it was mid-winter, no grapes to be seen. Went to 4 wineries, with at least 5 tastings each. I can't believe some people are able to take all that!!! My favorite was the place with the goat (name forgotten) - mostly because of the cute goat and the cheese tasting that went along with the wine. I LOVE cheese : ) Bought blue cheese and a baguette, which served as my dinner for the next 2 nights. Moved to my hostel on Long Street, the "hip", backpackers area.

Day 3 - Took a tour to the Cape of Good Hope. The drive along a coast was beautiful - only if I had a load of money, I would buy a condo by the sea here.... Stopped by a place to see the seals, which didn't interest me (seen enough in SF). So, I stayed behind at the coffee shop, where I managed to spill the whole thing on the floor. Ooops. Once we got to the cape, it was incredibly windy!!! I seriously thought I was going to be blown off the staircase up to the lighthouse. A couple I met on the tour from Chicago made sure that I wasn't blown away, and even treated me to lunch : ) Then came my favorite - the penguins!!! They were soooooo cute! But at the same time, I think I was expecting more...
Day 4 - I was planning on doing a shark dive today. Cape Town is known for its great white sharks, and you can get close to them by cage diving. Initially, I didn't like the idea because I thought they fed the sharks to attract them, in the process making them think that humans = food. But when I learned that they're prohibited from feeding them, I thought "OK...could do". BUT, I DIDN'T DO IT. Because the seas are extremely rough during the winter, and I knew that I was going to get sea sick on my way out to the dive, which would render me useless (ie. non-divable) for the rest of the day. And I didn't want to end up wasting the $175 in that case. So, instead, I went up to Table Mountain. It wasn't the clearest of days, but you just need to take the chance when it's open; for the past few days, the cable car wasn't operating because of low visibility and high winds. It's quite nice up there. Since the mountain is as flat as a table (hence its name), there are a couple of walking trails that you can follow. But it's very windy.

Day 5 - The weather was crap. Rain, rain, rain. With my bright orange raincoat in hand, I returned to the wharf again. It took me over 45 minutes to walk!!! (Taxis aren't cheap in Cape Town) The ferries to Robbin Island weren't running, so I really didn't have much on my agenda. Found a movie theater and watched "Indiana Jones". What an awful movie. But here's the best part - it only cost me $4!!!

Day 6 - Finally got on board the ferry to Robbin Island. It's like Alcatraz, in the sense that the whole island was used as a prison. They housed political prisoners here during the Apartheid, the most famous being Nelson Mandela. I do NOT recommend this tour to anyone...it was such a waste of money. First of all, you're on a ferry for an hour (one way) in choppy waters. Once at the Island, you're put on board a bus that takes you around. There's really not much to see. You can take a walk in the prison itself, but it's nothing special. It actually resembled some of the hostels I've been in...lots of bunk beds crammed together with tiny lockers, cement flooring, and shared bathroom. Since tonight was my last night in Cape Town, I decided to treat myself to a nice dinner : ) Hey, I've been eating bread & cheese or instant noodles all the other nights. I deserved it!!! Had an appetizer (beef carpaccio),pasta, tiramisu, and coffee all for $20! Yes, I finished everything. PIG.

I can't believe I have to leave Africa tomorrow. There are so many more places I want to see. Even in South Africa. I need to (1) dive with the great white sharks, and (2) ride the ostriches in the north.

Random Observations:
- Everywhere I went, I ran into this group of old people all in the same red fleece sporting their tour company logo. Cute.
- Traffic lights are called "robots" in South Africa. Needless to say, when I first asked for directions and was told to turn right at the second robot, I was confused....