Well, the party is over and it is time to call it a day. We have breakfast, load our bags onto Marley, our truck/bus name, and head toward Cape Town, I need to introduce the 3 people who made this trip comfortable, safe and enjoyable. First Shadi, our amiable,
Zimbabwe, driver/guide....always pleasant...intent on making the trip enjoyable for all....solicited our inputs on various options that we might do that day....a safe driver.....ate like a horse......would travel with him again. Soliwe, our
Zimbabwe cook and assistant guide.....loved her meals....her smile and laugh.....her delicious soups. Last and not least, Sylvia, the trip's German translator.....she assisted Soliwe in the kitchen....accompanied us on hikes.....I only understood 1/2 of what she was talking about....a nice young lady.....Thank you all!!!
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| Shadi, Sylvia and Soliwe |
The drive from Stellenbosch to Cape Town is about 20 miles at most. As we approach the city, you view some of African townships (shacks), Table Top mountain and finally the skyline...a beautiful city.
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| Temporary Housing (Township) |
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| Table Mountain From Afar |
I'm dropped off at Green Market Square, located near the center of the city, where I started my adventure 45 days ago.....I will have many memories to share with others especially my family. I say goodbye to our small group and I am now on my own.
I leave my backpacks at Nomad's central office and decide to spend the next 4 hours exploring the area. My first stop is the Castle of Good Hope. If I get there by 11 AM, a tour guide will lead us through the dungeons, halls and museums of the Castle......I make the 11 AM tour. The Castle is the oldest standing building in Cape Town....it was the fortification that protected the city under Dutch and English rule. The tour takes 45 minutes after which I was lucky to be there for the noon "key" re-enactment.....the guard detail approaches the Governor home and requests and receives the key for the front gate. After receiving the key, the guard detail marches to the gate, opens it and fires a gun salute. The picture of the wooden door you see below shows the writing carvings that prisoners made on their doors. The doors have been reversed so Castle visitors can now see the prisoner "door" diaries.
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| Castle Main Entrance |
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| Castle Layout |
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| Inside a Dungeon |
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| Prisoners' Door Writings |
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| Ceremony of the Key |
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| Castle's Military Museum |
After the Castle Tour, I visit the Garden area of Cape Town:
- Groote Kerk - a beautiful Dutch Reform Church (Christian) that dates back to the 17th century. A woman showed me around the interior and explained the tenants of their religion...pictures show the altar plates and chalices, beautifully sculpted oak pulpit, magnificent 6,000 + pipe organ, wall plagues honoring a deceased member...beautiful building.
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| Church's Exterior |
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| Church's 6,000+ Pipe Organ |
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| Altar Pieces |
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| Magnificent Pulpit |
Saint George's Cathedral - Cape Town's main Anglican church where Archbishop Desmond Tutu presides.
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| Looking toward Cathedral's Altar |
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| St. George Cathedral's Exterior |
Slave Lodge - a complex originally used to house and punish slaves. After a century, it was converted and expanded for other uses before reverting to the "Slave Lodge"....museum describes South Africa's slave history and its trials/tribulations....implementation of apartheid....destruction of apartheid and the leadership of black leaders....especially Nelson Mandela. No pictures were allowed inside the Lodge.
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| Slave Lodge |
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| The Real "Invictus" |
St. George's Mall - a pedestrian walking mall filled with vendors selling their wares. Starts at Saint Georges Cathedral and extends about 8 blocks.....the mall also has a number of high class shops.
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| St. George Mall Street |
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| The Mall - Outdoor Shopping Venue |
- Green Market Square - my favorite...Nomad Adventures offices are located here....hundreds of African vendors from Zimbabwe, Namibia, Malwe, etc are selling everything from wood carvings, bracelets, pictures...you name it and they have got it....negotiations are mandatory. I have lunch at a Kurdish restaurant, Baran's, and have a dish called - isot kebab (chopped lamb cooked and mixed with dry chili...served cold) with nam, glass of white wine ...delicious!!!
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| Green Market Square Vendors |
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| Kurdish Restaurant |
Well, the party is over and it is time to call it a day. We have breakfast, load our bags onto Marley, our truck/bus name, and head toward Cape Town, I need to introduce the 3 people who made this trip comfortable, safe and enjoyable. First Shadi, our amiable, Zimbabwe, driver/guide....always pleasant...intent on making the trip enjoyable for all....solicited our inputs on various options that we might do that day....a safe driver.....ate like a horse......would travel with him again. Soliwe, our Zimbabwe cook and assistant guide.....loved her meals....her smile and laugh.....her delicious soups. Last and not least, Sylvia, the trip's German translator.....she assisted Soliwe in the kitchen....accompanied us on hikes.....I only understood 1/2 of what she was talking about....a nice young lady.....Thank you all!!!
Hello Tom,
ReplyDeleteit seems like you are enjoying the Mother City! Great blog and pictures. How is it not to be in a truck anymore after forty days of travelling on bumpy roads through southern Africa? Are your eyeballs still bouncing?
I wish you a safe trip back to your family. "Alles Gute", as we would say.
did you book a package tour? hope you can share some link. thanks!
ReplyDelete