March 12 – Cape Town, South Africa

Unfortunately it is pretty overcast today but we headed out anyway on our private tour to take in the highlights of the city and the surrounding area starting with a drive along the coastline south and east of the city, 

past the Mouille Light house.

Then it was through the city streets to see various interesting old colonial buildings…

and some new ones.

The tour included a drive by of a statue of Nelson Mandela in front of the city hall.

Once back in the city we first stopped at a neighborhood called Bo Kaap.  The buildings are very brightly painted. 

One of the other main sites we saw (but didn’t go in) was St. George’s Church.

Nearby was a shady walk with an interesting arched entrance.

We also stopped by the Castle of Good Hope.  It was a pretty formidable looking fortress but given the nature of the tour we didn’t have time to go inside of it either.  Down side of cruising…never enough time to really see the sights.  Down side of tours, often not enough time to see the sights either.

We did spend a fair amount of time in the District 6 Museum.  District 6 was a section of the city that had a fair mix of races until apartheid was implemented.  Then all of the blacks, colored and Indians (the main population of this area) were evicted and all of the buildings torn down.  The forced eviction was ostensibly to rebuild the area.  

Our tour guide here was Noor, a Muslim, who lived in the area as a young boy.  He had many stories to tell about the period of apartheid and District 6.  Very sobering and thought provoking.  Most of what was District Six remains vacant lots.   Nothing was ever done with the area.

After that we needed something a bit more cheery so we adjourned to nearby Charlys Bakery...a shop with all things sweet and yummy.
 
…gorgeous looking desserts.  

We had the chocolate brownie.  Really decadent.  As if it wasn’t chocolately enough they drowned it in chocolate syrup.  Death by chocolate.  Wonderful.  

Appropriately stuffed, we then drove to Langa Township.

Langa was one of the earliest townships established for black Africans.  It was established in 1927 and has a current population of about 80,000.  It was originally built to house workers who helped build the Cape Town Harbor.

We stopped at the visitor’s center where we picked up our local guide, Ewon.  He was born and raised in the township and now works as a guide and also as an engineer doing work in the township.

The visitor’s center and surrounding area had work from many local artisans. 

We stopped at a local “bar” where the ladies make a low alcohol content beer and the locals buy it in 5 liter buckets.  They pass the bucket around and everyone partakes.  

We also stopped into visit his mother who has a small orphanage. 

Some of the dwellings are large metal cargo containers that are divided into two units with one family in each unit.  These were to be temporary dwellings but have been in use for years.  Toilets are down the street and water is obtained from a nearby community tap.  However, each unit does have electricity.

We also stopped by some of the dormitories that were set up for men who moved into the area to do labor.  These buildings were divided into two floors with two units up and two down.  Each unit had a common area and 4 sleeping rooms and each sleeping room housed 3 men.  Eventually they allowed the men to bring in their families.  However, each family still occupies the space that the individual man did…so they are very crowded. 

In other areas the buildings are constructed of scrap wood and corrugate.  Most were built by their owners. 

We saw a number of small shops where entrepreneurs were trying to make a living.  There were small food stores, barbers, and beauty shops.  

There were also a number of ladies selling cooking and selling a local delicacy, sheep’s heads.  A bit graphic.

The visit was sobering and disturbing and revealing and, in a way, uplifting.  The people here are a testament to human endurance.

We eventually took a tour of the “Beverly Hills” of Langa.  The homes here are modest single family homes.  Many are owned by doctors and lawyers and other professionals who grew up in the township and have become successful but who don’t want to leave their neighborhood.

On the way back to town we saw that the top of Table Mountain was still covered in clouds (the “table cloth”)...

so we drove up to Signal Hill, which is lower and gave us very good views of Cape Town and the harbor...

and the soccer stadium.

In the distance we could see Robben Island.  The island's main claim to fame is the prison there where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years.

The show tonight was put on by several local groups.  The first up was a flag group who had won many local competitions. 

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Watch video of flag group
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They were followed by a group of young girls performing native dances.  The big surprise was the bagpipe and drum group.  How would have thought…bagpipes in South Africa.  They were also winners of many local competitions.  It was a very good show.