Welcome to the Cape
The plane landed about an hour ahead of time, ending my airport/plane hibernation. It occurred to me that I have traveled so much, I look at a plane and fall asleep; great for going abroad, but becoming a pilot is probably out of the question. I exchanged money when we landed in Cape Town. The USD to the R/ZAR is about 8 to 1-definitely the best exchange rate I have seen in my traveling. The taxi took about fifteen minutes to get to the hostel, which was exactly enough time for me to interrogate the cab driver. He was extremely nice and spoke about the government, the local castle, and the shanties (slums) that we past on our way into the city (more on this in future posts).
The hostel is more than I even hoped for. It's a quaint little place just off of the major night scene street (Long Street). The sidewalks are cobble stone, and there is an Irish pub on the corner. Most of the shops and hostels have bars blocking the entrance, and Forty8 Backpackers, is no different. There is a remote that I use to enter the building. What the website forgot to mention is that there are about six flights of stairs to get to my room. (Reason number two why you always bring a guy with you while you are traveling). My room is on the sixth floor and has three bunk beds and a balcony view of the street. The ladies showers are on the third floor, along with the community lounge and the computers. I met one of my suite mates this morning, Paul, who is French and just got into town the day before I did.
Yesterday, after a hot shower, I went and toured the city. The cable car to table mountain (http://tablemountain.net/) was closed due to inclement weather, which was unfortunate (the mountains have been getting bad weather, but it has not reached the city). Instead, I toured the Company Gardens and the local markets. Africa reminds me of all of the places I have been to wrapped up in one. The city is literally nestled in the mountains. You can look any direction and either see the ocean or the mountains. To say that it is beautiful would be an understatement. The local bazaars remind me very much of Jamaica and the Caribbean, the city is very similar to Ireland, and the people are very much like Australians. There is a lovely little flower district where they have the most exotic and beautiful freshly cut flowers-rows and rows as far as the eye can see. Despite all of the colorful ones, the white lilies are still my favorite. My first purchase in Africa was a scarf. We started the negotiations at $6, and when I was finished I paid about $2.50. I am considering bringing the bartering system back to America, starting with my car payment. Hopefully Ford will be as willing as my scarf vendor. Following scarves and flowers, I stopped in at a pub for pizza and a drink. Coke is the preferred soda, and, according to the friends I met last night, has the largest brand recognition out of any brand in South Africa. This is the first place I have been to where liquor is cheaper than beer. A shot is about $1, and a beer (disgusting) is about $2. I am eager to try some new foods and also to go to a grocery store, but I was starving when I landed, so I went for what they had at the first place I walked into. The weather is phenomenal; absolutely perfect. During the day, jeans and a t-shirt with flip-flops. During the night, jeans with a scarf and a light jacket works great.
Last night, I stopped in at the Irish pub on the corner, where I met Ina and her boyfriend Corne, and their two friends Sean and (because I have forgotten his real name, we will go with) Brian. Corne, Sean, and Brian all work just down the street from the hostel in information technology, and Ina is an accountant. We stayed at the Irish pub until about eleven and then they took me dancing at a place called "Deco Dance." The place was packed with people from all around, and it was a blast. I got back to the hostel around 3 AM.
This morning I woke up at 8:20. Apparently, my body knew instinctively that it was time to get up and get ready to shark dive. Apparently, what it did not know, was that the forceful winds on the water meant that visibility was too low to go shark diving today. I rescheduled to go out tomorrow. It seems impossible that the weather could be bad on the mountain and on the water, but still be so great here, about 76 degrees and sunny so far. I ate breakfast this morning at the hostel for $4. Scrambled eggs, sausage, Canadian bacon, tomato, mushroom, onion, toast, and orange juice. Again, not much variety, but it was delicious. After breakfast I showered and went to blow dry my hair and almost caught my hair on fire (I inherited highly flammable hair from my mother-for those of you who know that story, insert laughter here). Needless to say, I forgot how much higher the voltage is here (or hoped that it would be okay anyways). So I ruined my hair dryer and struck out to buy a new one. Turns out if you are walking around the city with your hair half wet, half dry, half up, half down, they look at you funny. Who knew? I finally found one at a place called "Clicks." So now with freshly dried hair, and my new scarf on, I'm off to see what adventure awaits me today. I have included a few pictures and will upload the rest to Shutterfly (I took 98 photos yesterday alone, and they take forever to upload on this blog) and upload the link to my blog.
"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." Nehru
Cheers,
Stacey
The hostel is more than I even hoped for. It's a quaint little place just off of the major night scene street (Long Street). The sidewalks are cobble stone, and there is an Irish pub on the corner. Most of the shops and hostels have bars blocking the entrance, and Forty8 Backpackers, is no different. There is a remote that I use to enter the building. What the website forgot to mention is that there are about six flights of stairs to get to my room. (Reason number two why you always bring a guy with you while you are traveling). My room is on the sixth floor and has three bunk beds and a balcony view of the street. The ladies showers are on the third floor, along with the community lounge and the computers. I met one of my suite mates this morning, Paul, who is French and just got into town the day before I did.
Yesterday, after a hot shower, I went and toured the city. The cable car to table mountain (http://tablemountain.net/) was closed due to inclement weather, which was unfortunate (the mountains have been getting bad weather, but it has not reached the city). Instead, I toured the Company Gardens and the local markets. Africa reminds me of all of the places I have been to wrapped up in one. The city is literally nestled in the mountains. You can look any direction and either see the ocean or the mountains. To say that it is beautiful would be an understatement. The local bazaars remind me very much of Jamaica and the Caribbean, the city is very similar to Ireland, and the people are very much like Australians. There is a lovely little flower district where they have the most exotic and beautiful freshly cut flowers-rows and rows as far as the eye can see. Despite all of the colorful ones, the white lilies are still my favorite. My first purchase in Africa was a scarf. We started the negotiations at $6, and when I was finished I paid about $2.50. I am considering bringing the bartering system back to America, starting with my car payment. Hopefully Ford will be as willing as my scarf vendor. Following scarves and flowers, I stopped in at a pub for pizza and a drink. Coke is the preferred soda, and, according to the friends I met last night, has the largest brand recognition out of any brand in South Africa. This is the first place I have been to where liquor is cheaper than beer. A shot is about $1, and a beer (disgusting) is about $2. I am eager to try some new foods and also to go to a grocery store, but I was starving when I landed, so I went for what they had at the first place I walked into. The weather is phenomenal; absolutely perfect. During the day, jeans and a t-shirt with flip-flops. During the night, jeans with a scarf and a light jacket works great.
Last night, I stopped in at the Irish pub on the corner, where I met Ina and her boyfriend Corne, and their two friends Sean and (because I have forgotten his real name, we will go with) Brian. Corne, Sean, and Brian all work just down the street from the hostel in information technology, and Ina is an accountant. We stayed at the Irish pub until about eleven and then they took me dancing at a place called "Deco Dance." The place was packed with people from all around, and it was a blast. I got back to the hostel around 3 AM.
This morning I woke up at 8:20. Apparently, my body knew instinctively that it was time to get up and get ready to shark dive. Apparently, what it did not know, was that the forceful winds on the water meant that visibility was too low to go shark diving today. I rescheduled to go out tomorrow. It seems impossible that the weather could be bad on the mountain and on the water, but still be so great here, about 76 degrees and sunny so far. I ate breakfast this morning at the hostel for $4. Scrambled eggs, sausage, Canadian bacon, tomato, mushroom, onion, toast, and orange juice. Again, not much variety, but it was delicious. After breakfast I showered and went to blow dry my hair and almost caught my hair on fire (I inherited highly flammable hair from my mother-for those of you who know that story, insert laughter here). Needless to say, I forgot how much higher the voltage is here (or hoped that it would be okay anyways). So I ruined my hair dryer and struck out to buy a new one. Turns out if you are walking around the city with your hair half wet, half dry, half up, half down, they look at you funny. Who knew? I finally found one at a place called "Clicks." So now with freshly dried hair, and my new scarf on, I'm off to see what adventure awaits me today. I have included a few pictures and will upload the rest to Shutterfly (I took 98 photos yesterday alone, and they take forever to upload on this blog) and upload the link to my blog.
"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." Nehru
Cheers,
Stacey
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