CONNIE'S CRAZY ABOUT CAPETOWN!

Flew to Cape Town with Vicky on Friday for a three-day weekend.  Stayed at The Backpack, one of a multitude of backpacker hostels, but this one highly recommended by other PCVs, and rightly so.  Very well located near the red/blue hop on-hop off bus line, and close to restaurants and shopping areas, clean and good service.  We booked too late to get a bathroom in our room but didn’t find it too inconvenient to go down the hall.

We got a two-day pass on the bus, hopped on to go to Table Mountain on a beautiful, clear day.  Didn’t take me long to know that I want to come back and just walk around the paths to further admire the gorgeous views…

Dassies all over the place

and to see more of the dassies…which a tour guide told someone they are like rabbits, but related to the elephant.  (?!)





The bus continued on to a coastal drive












that came to the V&A (Victoria and Alfred) Waterfront, where we did a brief but scenic canal cruise.

Note the clothes on the line of this old ship.  Apparently someone's domicile!





The next morning we took the other bus line to the wine country tour through very pretty country side, again up the coast,

and this time explored the V&A more thoroughly, having a good time watching/listening to street musicians and having tasty eats

Tried to get tickets for a tour of Robben Island on Sunday, but discovered that reservations need to be more in advance.  That is where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.

Will do that tour the next time, as well as down to the Cape of Good Hope and the penguin colony.

Sunday we walked around by the Capital Grounds, an Art Museum, and toured the South Africa Jewish Museum and Holocaust Museum.  Mandela’s first job as a lawyer was with a Jewish owned firm, and the Jewish community was supportive of the anti-apartheid movement due to their persecutions in their past.  It was interesting to learn about their migration to South Africa and that history.

Also came upon a drumming class on the street enroute to retuning to the hostel.


And, oh yes, it was raining when I left Joburg, rained while I was gone, and is raining still yet today on Tuesday.  Quite unusual, so say the locals.