Cape Town, South Africa, September 23 & 28, 2011

We spent two days in Cape Town, the first and last of six days in South Africa, bookends around our four-day safari. It is a beautiful, clean, modern city nestled between ocean and mountain. The waterfront district has beautiful views of Table Mountain, a local landmark.

Our first reaction to our arrival in Cape Town was one of comfort. It was nice to get off the ship and find a modern city with restaurants that sold pizza and sushi and people that spoke fluent English. Of course, that is not the reason we embarked on this voyage, but it was a treat that we enjoyed for a few days.

Lizzie waiting for her sushi to arrive

We took a short cab ride to the Green Market, an outdoor market where you can by many local products. Negotiating is a key part of the purchasing experience and you can typically by products for about one-half of the original offered price. We found a nice outdoor Italian restaurant for lunch.

We toured the Cape Peninsula and learned why the cape is such a popular tourist destination. One of our first stops was Boulders Beach where we saw the African penguins. They were molting so most of them were not very active and were resting on the sand. 

Next, we visited the Cape of Good Hope, the infamous point at the southwesterly tip of Africa that was feared by sailors. It is home to over 400 shipwrecks.

We also learned that the cape is home to the smallest floral kingdom in the world – the Cape Floristic Region – an incredibly diverse area with many beautiful and unique plants. We saw many of these plants on a visit to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.

Traveling through South Africa, we saw the great disparities that exist 17 years after the end of Apartheid. You only need to drive a short distance to a “colored” neighborhood or a “black” township to see the huge gap that exists between the major racial/ethnic groups. While many homes have basic services – water electricity, sewers – there are still many people living in what we would call a shack with limited access to clean water and basic sanitation.

The highlight of our Cape Town stop was a visit by Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize, 1984). We had a short meeting with him before he addressed the entire shipboard community.

The auditorium was packed and he delivered a memorable speech with his characteristic disarming style. He encouraged the audience to consider their place and role in the world as well as our common humanity. It was a humbling experience to be with a man who has accomplished so much and asked so little for himself.