Thoughts and sketches from Cape Town, July 2015
The first day
A 9.30pm flight from Heathrow T5 to Cape Town. An uneventful journey to the airport was followed by an uninspiring Wetherspoons meal. The flight was packed and the overhead lockers were jammed with oversized hand luggage of over-budgeted travellers. British Airways imitating Easyjet. We all struggled to sleep on the overnight flight, having to listen to the cabin crew gossiping amongst themselves in the galley, so we arrived half-awake.
We picked up the rental go-kart and buzzed along the motorway, past the shanty town, to the De Waterkant Apartments. We were able to check in early so we had a lazy afternoon enjoying the space, sofas and beds of the seventh floor apartment. I walked downstairs to check out the Vasco de Game bar, where I sat roasting under an indoor patio heater, watching the cricket on TV and drinking a pint of Jack Black lager. The bar was lively for an afternoon with a group of South African blokes blocking the entrance enjoying their beer loudly.
The bar staff and waiters were mainly women who looked like they had a few stories to tell. They served the patrons, without fuss, a mix of seafood and steaks. The patrons themselves were a mix of black and white; a black family sat on bar stools around a breakfast bar, two black locals sat eating pulled chicken, or beef, at the bar. At the end of the bar sat a be-suited well-to-do businessman, alongside him someone who had hit on more lean times. The pub was a real melting pot of cultures, races and social strata, all enjoying good food and drink at cheap prices.
We returned to the Vasco de Gama as a family later that evening to eat in the other side of the pub where tables and chairs were laid out for dinner. The food was excellent, generously portioned and cheap. I had T-bone steak, Finn had a seafood platter, Gemma had calamari and Margaret had sardines. We also ordered two bottles of wine which we didn’t finish, but brought back to the apartment. We had a an early night and were in bed by 9pm.
I awoke at 3am, predictably, so I listened to my iPod until I dropped off again. Everyone was up by 10am so at mid-day we walked to the V&A Waterfront where we browsed through the arts and crafts fair and the many boutique shops. We ate a great seafood lunch at the Fish Food Cafe. Lunch for four people, with a bottle of wine, was R700 (about £36).
Another early night and another early awakening. I listened to music for a while then went for a walk amongst the people making their way to work. The streets of central Cape Town were lined with many people wearing billboards, and others setting up craft stalls - wood carvings of African animals and impossibly stretched figures of African ladies and warriors. Brightly coloured tea towels, throws and rugs featuring the same themes, contrast sharply with the locals walking past on their way to work in dark, heavy coats and boots.
I stopped for coffee at St George’s Mall and Wale Street, near the cathedral. I scanned the map to get my bearings and decided to check out the Company Gardens and Adderley Street shopping, looking for somewhere to visit with the family later on.
It’s nearly ten o’clock now and the family will be up soon. We may make it out to explore just before 12. As long as I have time to explore for myself I don’t mind.
