Tuesday, July 6, 2015: Cape Town
Calling
Occasionally on a holiday one comes
across a day when everything just falls perfectly in place and you are made to
feel as if you enjoyed every second. That was the sort of day we had today.
Indeed we made the discovery that Cape Town’s beauty is not all hype. It is a
gorgeous city—blessed by natural scenery, the perfect location and ingenious
urban planning that has allowed the city to develop naturally amidst a stunning
backdrop.
The
breakfast buffet in the lobby of our hotel was stupendous. Not just were we
dazzled by the Continental offerings: fruit, yogurts, cereals galore, cold
cuts, cheeses, an array of baked goods and preserves but when we were seated at
a table overlooking the Waterfront, a waitress informed me that we could choose
a cooked breakfast from the menu. Gosh! I was glad I had restricted myself to a
croissant with preserves for starters. I opted for the Florentine: English
muffins with scrambled eggs, spinach, smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce. It
was substantial and it was delicious and I could barely finish it. If this is
the kind of breakfast I can anticipate for the next two mornings, I shall be
waking up early to do justice to it! Oh and there was sparkling wine too—just
in case you wanted to have a champagne brunch—well, sort of
The ability to take an excursion to
Robben Island, off the Cape Town mainland, was the reason why we had broken off
from the rest of our party that had elected to stay on at the Victoria Falls
for another day. Hence, Llew and I were on our own as we raced off to get
tickets for the ferry that runs only three times a day to the island from the
V&A Waterfront. Because this is a very popular attraction, we had our
fingers crossed in the hopes of getting tickets. Furthermore, in the winter,
much depends on the weather. If the sea is too choppy, the ferries do not
depart.
With a lot hanging on luck, we
approached the ticket booth in the lovely structure on the waterfront that
houses a small exhibition on the country’s Long Walk to Freedom. Although
tickets for the 9.00 am ferry were all sold out (we were at the booth by 8. 30
am), we could have bought tickets for the 11.00 or 1.00 pm ferries. We chose
the latter as we thought it would be best to complete the next item on our
agenda and then return to the waterfront at 12.30 pm to board our ferry.
Overall we paid 300 Rand each (approximately $25). This included the cost of
the ferry ride to and fro as well as entrance to the island prison and the
services of trained tour guides. With our tickets safely in our pockets, we
left, feeling highly elated that we had managed to snag them at such short
notice.
Perfect planning and boarding
locations all in the vicinity of the waterfront left us with adequate time to
get to the Main Boarding Dock for the Hop On Hop Off Red Bus which I do believe
is one of the greatest boons to the international traveler with budget time in
any big city. At just 270 Rand per head for a 2-day Pass, we were equipped with
tickets that would take us to the spots that Cape Town Tourism refers to,
jocularly, as the Big Six—those six highlights that are Must-See Spots. We were
handed earbuds for the commentary that plays in a continual loop and introduces
the visitor to the history and culture of the city.
With just a few minutes to spare, we
were able to board the very first bus of the day which departed at 9.00 am from
the First Stop. Seated on the upper deck at the very front, we had picture
window seats that afforded brilliant views of the city on a glorious day.
Indeed, we had fully lucked out with the weather and could not have asked for a
better day. It was a bit chilly but we were well-clad in layers (as advised by
all the guide books).
We stayed on the bus through the
first six stops during which we were spun around the dockside, the harbor, the
commercial downtown area, the old colonial artery called Herrengracht,
etc.—each street was filled with historic sculptural figures before we arrived
at Stop 7—the stop for the climb up Table Mountain which is South Africa’s
third most famous attraction (after the V&A Waterfront and Kruger National
Park). We had the good sense to buy our tickets for the Cable Way Ride from the
Hop On Hop Off bus driver—this eliminated a long wait in the queue at the
venue. The drive up to Table Mountain was also lovely with beautiful Cape
floral vegetation providing beauty and interest at every twist and turn.
The Bus Stop was right opposite the
Cable Car Dock and within minutes we were inside one of the pods and being
whisked up the mountain. Table Mountain is so-called because it has a flat,
mesa-like top. It is an unmistakable land mass that is visible from almost
anywhere in Cape Town. In about 20 minutes, we were at the very top after a
lovely ride that took us higher and higher up the side of the mountain as the
city with its glorious coast line receded behind us. Having recently done an
almost identical trip up the Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, I
have to say it was still an exciting experience.
Once up on Table Mountain, the
visitor can spend as much or as little time as desired. You can circumnavigate
the summit on a beautifully paved pathway that is landscaped skillfully to blend
in with the granite rocks that compose the mountain’s mass. We walked along it
and took so many pictures as each vista was equally stunning. Because the day
was so clear and not obscured by the cleverly named “Tablecloth”—a cloud mass
that often hides the summit as well as the landscape below—we could see all the
way down the Horn of Africa to the point where you have the confluence of two
major oceans—the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic.
This is the famed Cape of Good Hope that was named by the Portuguese explorer
Bartholomew Dias in 1488 when he became the first European to catch sight of it.
Although he merely skirted the Cape and found his way to the other side of the
continent of Africa en route to the East, the Portuguese neither claimed South
Africa for Portugal nor colonized it. Had they done so, it would have become
another Brazil. Today, it is possible to travel by road for about an hour to
get to what is called “Cape Point”, the southernmost tip of Africa…but I am not
sure that we will find the conveyance to get us there. Hopefully tomorrow…fingers
crossed.
Be that as it may, we were fully
enthralled by the sights offered of Cape Town and the Eastern and Western Cape
stretching all the way to the famed vineyards that have put South Africa on
wine-lovers’ maps. We also saw Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was
incarcerated and where we would be headed very shortly.
Many pictures and about an hour
later, we took the Cable Car down to the base of the mountain and jumped right
back into the Hop On, Hop Off bus that happened to have just arrived to drop
passengers off and pick us up.
With an hour and a half to go before
we were required to show up at the Waterfront for our ferry to Robben Island,
we decided to stay on the Hop On Hop Off bus for the entire route until it
returned us to its starting point.
It was simply the best idea for the
tour we received and the commentary provided was so enlightening and the scenes
we saw so beguiling that we were well and truly seduced by the glory of this
city. From the urban neatness of commercial centers we moved to the outer
affluent suburbs where the houses are so striking and the new wealth of the
people so impressive that we were amazed at every stage. We passed breathtaking
Camps Bay which reminded us a lot of Bondi Beach in Australia and other coastal
settlements such as Bantry Bay (its namesake is in Ireland) and Sea Point with
their lighthouses and hang gliders and other visual delights before we arrived
again at the starting point.
Indeed
Cape Town is all about new money and we could completely understand why it is
now one of the BRICS nations poised to make a mark on the world financial
scene. And yet, there is so much thought and respect for the eco systems and
the environment in this region which one just does not see in Indian cities
such Bombay and Delhi where haphazard development has ruined everything. The
drive provided a fabulous overview of the city and its environs. Once again I
felt very grateful for the Hop On Hop Off bus services which are such a boon to
foreign visitors in global cities.
With about 45 minutes to spare
before we boarded our ferry to Robben Island, we used time wisely by touring
the V&A Waterfront. This fascinating area with a long and colorful history
had fallen into terrible disuse. But then Cape Town was inspired by San Francisco
and Sydney and decided to convert the area into a major tourist attraction by
constructing the sort of art, entertainment and gourmet center that would make
it a magnet to visitors of every age.
And indeed they have done so
brilliantly. Table Mountain presents a grand backdrop for an area that is
studded with boutique hotels, specialty restaurants, gift and souvenir shops,
sporting facilities such as water skiing, canoeing, etc. entertainments such as
helicopter rides, whale-watching, Cape rides, etc—you name it, they have it.
What’s more, there is an equivalent of the London Eye—a giant ferris wheel that
is called the Cape Wheel. It is easily visible right outside the window of our
hotel room and at just 100 Rand a ticket (about $8), we decided that we would
take a ride in it—a first time for both of us for although we have seen this
wheel in many cities, we have never actually ridden it. But the ride would have
to wait until the end of the day for it ran until 7.00 pm.
Having contented ourselves with a
good look around the Waterfront, we felt deeply grateful for the amazingly
convenient location of our hotel and its easy access to every attraction.
Indeed we could walk everywhere and did not need to rely on local public
transport to get from one spot to the next.
At 12.30 pm, we joined a long line
of people eager to board the 1.00 pm ferry for the 45 minute ride to Robben
Island. It was while on the ferry that we learned that the Dias, the name of our boat, is the oldest ferry still in commission
today and that it was the same one used to ferry prisoners as well as their
rare visitors to the island. The ride was gorgeous. As the city receded, we
were treated to lovely views of Table Mountain and the beautiful buildings that
make up the urban landscape. After about half an hour, Robben Island came into
sight.
At the island, we were placed in
tour coaches each of which was equipped with a tour guide. Our guide was a
lovely young black South African woman who introduced us to the Island and its
historical beginnings as a leper colony before it became a penal colony. As the
bus spun around the vast island, we were grateful for the transport provided as
it was simply too sprawling to be covered on foot. We realized that it was in
the early 20th century that it was first used to house political prisoners
although criminals were also housed here. As part of the tour, we passed by the
maximum security prison buildings that were built by the prisoners themselves,
the Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd (which belongs to the Church of
England) as opposed to all other land which belongs to the state. We also
stopped at the Limestone Quarry where prisoners were subjected to 8 hours of
hard manual labor that involved breaking limestone chunks. It caused the
prisoners terrible health hazards such as damage to their eyes and lungs from
the stone dust as well as bleeding of their fingers for oftentimes digging was
done with bare hands. Ironically enough, the stones they broke were not used at
all. They were merely transported from one place to another on the island as
the only idea was to subject the prisoners to perpetual untold hardship.
At the final building, we got off
the bus and were placed in the hands of another guide who turned out to be a
former prisoner himself. It is worth noting that the prison was closed down in
1991 and, a few years later, turned into a museum and a memorial to those who
lost their lives there. Mandela was a prisoner here from the 1960s until 1982.
The guide who took over—the former prisoner--informed us that he had been incarcerated
for having participated in the Soweto Uprising of the 1974s in Johannesburg. He
had been in the prison for a few years and had known Mandela himself. It was
his job to take us around the building, introduce us to the various sections
where prisoners ate, slept, had their individual cells, were allowed to get out
and walk for an hour per day in open courtyards. In one such courtyard, Mandela
managed to write his book and was also able to smuggle it out of the prison
through his Indian friend Mac Maharaj (who was later appointed as a Minister in
Mandela’s first Cabinet). We were told about the beatings and other tortures to
which the prisoners were subjected and the ways in which they were kept
subservient to the wishes of the regime that segregated them on the basis of
their grade as A,B, C or D prisoners in order to create dissension and jealousy
among them. We were also informed about the stringency of the diet and meagre
provisions to which prisoners were entitled. Finally, it was the efforts of the
International Red Cross that improved diet and sleeping conditions for the
prisoners and also allowed them the luxury of metal beds and mattresses.
Needless to say, the piece de resistance of our tour was the
visit to the actual cell that Mandela had occupied for several years—Cell
Number 7 in F Block. We saw the thin mattress on which he slept on the floor,
the tin plate and mug from which he ate and drank, the bucket that served as
his toilet. It was indeed quite pathetic and it filled me with sadness. It is
indeed such a manifestation of the greatness of the human spirit that it can
withstand so much hardship and deprivation and not become embittered.
At 4.00 pm at the end of the tour,
we boarded another ferry called the Sea
Princess—a sleeker, newer, faster vessel, for the return ride to the
mainland. It had been a wonderful introduction to the work of Mandela and his
creation of a new, apartheid-free South Africa based on the concepts of
Freedom, Hope, Reconciliation and Forgiveness--and it is these principles that
have enabled South Africa to become a Rainbow Nation—a visible symbol of the
manner in which people can live in harmony together towards common goals
irrespective of their race or skin color.
On our way back to the mainland, we
saw a nice variety of wild sea life. Apart from seagulls that were plentiful,
we saw dozens on black cormorants, gleaming seals lounging sluggishly in the
sun and even, get this, two huge white whales who frolicked in the water, much
to our delight.
Having arrived at the Waterfront at
4. 45 pm, we had precisely 15 minutes to walk to the Embarking Pier for the City
Canal Cruise which is part and parcel of our Hop On Hop Off Bus tour. Needless
to say, we raced off to get to the Pier on time and managed to board the last
boat of the day by the skin of our teeth.
The cruise was truly charming. For
anyone who has taken a canal cruise in Bruges in Belgium or in Amsterdam in
Holland, this would feel like a repeat treat. Progress through the canal is
very slow so that passengers can feast their eyes upon the lovely apartment condos
that have sprouted on the canal banks—clearly South Africa’s yuppies have a
taste now for the good life and they are out to grab a piece of the pie while
the economy is still thriving. We passed by a number of slow bridges, mainly in
the commercial area with its many skyscrapers. And always, there was Table
Mountain seemingly breathing down on visitors and providing a focal point of perspective.
The Canal cruise ended at a hotel
called The One and Only which
apparently opened to much fanfare in 2009 and whose spa is the last word in
luxury
It was about 6 pm by the time our
boat docked at the V&A Waterfront right opposite the Victoria Wharf mall
which was the site for those wishing to take a ride on the Cape Wheel. But
before we boarded, we got side tracked into entering the mall in search of a bottle
of wine. We found a good South African organic Cabernet Sauvignon and with that
and a bar of Lindt dark chocolate with hazelnuts, we planned to have ourselves
a pre-dinner drink in our room.
The Cape Wheel was fun especially as
we boarded it while the city lights were slowly being turned on and darkness
fell. As our enclosed glass pod climbed higher, we were treated to one of
Africa’s spectacular sunset—all swirls of dazzling red and steel grey. We took many
pictures as we switched sides in the pod. My growing fear of heights put me in
a tizzy for a few minutes but when I saw that although it was very high off the
ground, the wheel did not turn fast at all, I felt less apprehensive. Indeed,
there was nothing fear-inducing about it. It was a great first time experience
and one we would gladly repeat again.
Home Again…well, Hotel Again:
The end of the Cape Wheel ride
brought us back to our room in the hotel where we shared a bottle of wine and
nibbled on trail mix which I had carried from home to keep a rumbling tummy at
bay. In about an hour, our friends arrived from the Victoria Falls and as they
checked into our hotel, Llew and I strolled down to the food court at the Victoria
Wharf for fast food in the form of Chicken Shwarma and Lamb Wraps from an Egyptian
chain called Anat—but sadly that was
the only disappointing part of our day for both items were absolutely tasteless.
Our friends joined us in about half an hour and we spent the rest of the
evening in their company recounting our day to them as they told us about their
extra day at Vic Falls. It turns out that we were both happy with the way our
respective days went and could not feel more satisfied.
There was nothing more to do but
return to our hotel for hot showers and a cool bed. And that was precisely what
we did as we called it a night. Byt the end of our incredible day, we had covered three out of the Big Six Must-Do Items: Table Mountain, the V&A Waterfront and Robben Island. If we plan meticulously and used good time-management, we'll probably be able to squeeze in the other three tomorrow--A Tour of the Constantia Nek Vineyards, Cape Point, The Historic District including the District Six Museum...
Until tomorrow, cheerio…
Until tomorrow, cheerio…
No comments:
Post a Comment