BoKapp neighborhood

• Famous for their colorful houses, although it’s unclear what’s the rationale behind the transformation from white to colored paint. However, now it’s required for building owners to keep the exterior paint as a bright color because that’s what brings in the tourists (me!). I took a tour of this neighborhood through the local Cape Town free walking tours

• This is a Cape Malay neighborhood. Originally designated for anyone who was a practicing Muslim and of color - whether that meant you were from India, Indonesia, Malaysian, or elsewhere, and “Cape Malay” became the catch all term for those people (yes, a bit problematic)

• Had lunch at Faeeza’s, which is opened by a woman out of her home in Bo-Kaap! Delicious chicken curry with roti, with definite Malaysian influences - yum!

Sunset hike at Lion’s Head

• Did the hike with someone I met during the Bo-Kaap walking tour - it’s always great when you make random connections that turn into fond memories. Moderate hike with some scramble, ladders and staples. The view was amazing - I had a 360 view with Table Mountain, different neighborhoods, and a view into the Atlantic ocean.

• Sunset was gorgeous! Definitely needed my handy headlamp coming down as it was pitch black, but the views were incredible (as you can tell below). The colors were so vibrant and breathtaking

Robben Island

• Prison where many political prisoners were imprisoned, including Nelson Mandela and Robert Sobukwe

• Both of my tour guides were former inmates who were imprisoned while students protesting the apartheid. It was very moving to attend the tour and visit the prison.

• My first guide was imprisoned for six years for being a student activist (declared terrorist by the government), and arrived at Robben Island in 1978 at the age of 20. Part of his sentence was hard labor in the limestone quarry

• Second tour guide was imprisoned when 18 for protesting. He talked about smuggling documents for reading and politics as they were banned by the government. They conducted a hunger strike for 29 days to demand better conditions (demand for beds and the ability to talk politics) since their requests to the government went unaddressed

• Learned about Robert Sobukwe, a political prisoner who is unfortunately not as well known as Mandela because the government tried to suppress his legacy. He created the Pan African Congress after breaking away from the African National Congress. The government gave him harsh punishments, including years of solitary confinement, and limited his contact with the outside world so he couldn’t influence South African politics. He died in prison and never renounced his belief that the apartheid was wrong (the government promised to release him if he reversed his stance).

• The island was also used to house all the “undesirables”, including people with leprosy, who were segregated even among death by type of graveyard and headstone (whites had clean and organized headstones and graveyard v Blacks and Coloureds had jagged headstones and unorganized, haphazard graveyards).

• Robben Island has been a political prison for a while, all the way back to the 1400/1500s I think when it housed the local Khoi and San tribal kings.

Table mountain

• An incredible hike that got my heart pumping and adrenaline running. I hiked India Venster, which is the most challenging route up Table Mountain because of the scrambles (thanks, Jimmy for the rec!)

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

• I took the Skeleton Gorge route down Table Mountain (total hike ~5 hours) so that I could end up at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. I am SO glad I went. The diversity of flora was astounding, and it was so different from what I’ve seen back home.

• I learned that Cape Town is one of the most diverse areas in the world in terms of having the most endemic (native) plants per square kilometer. I took a lot of photos of flowers and plants. They made me so happy and at peace. Mother Nature is truly incredible

• Walking around here and just enjoying the “qi” (Dad - you would’ve loved this place) was so peaceful. I could’ve spent the whole day wandering or picnicking in the gardens

Day tour of Cape of Good Hope

• Included stops along the coastline with beautiful scenic drives

• Also happened to be the day of the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon! It was exciting to watch runners go by. The two oceans represented are the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean (west side of South Africa is the Atlantic, east side is Indian), and this race is supposedly one of the most scenic in the world)

• Stopped by Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope, the most southwestern point of the African continent)

• First animal sighting! Saw some ostriches running along the side of the road on the way to Cape of Good Hope

Sunrise hike at Lion’s Head

• An incredible sunrise that almost didn’t happen because of load shedding! South Africa has periods of electricity blackouts across the country in order to ensure there isn’t a nationwide blackout. This has been going on for around 9 months so far. The morning of my sunrise hike there was several hours of load shedding, so I couldn’t open the electronic gate to my hostel!

Oranjezicht City Farm Market

• My favorite place in Cape Town! This is a local farmer’s market that happens during the weekends and was absolutely lovely! There were so many vendors selling fresh produce, flowers, baked goods, and more.

• There were also so many food stalls that made choosing a bit overwhelming! It was so lovely to experience a small slice of local life and be a part of the bustle of the city.