Museums

We have visited several museums during the first half of our Capetown adventure. These have been informative, and focus largely on oppression and subjugation which has been a large part of this country's history.

The South African National Gallery 

This gallery houses contemporary art, which is a bit lost on me.  There were some interesting pieces about women and their conrtributions to society through their work.  Much of this was "crafty" and thus explored the difference, if any between art and craft.  For me, the most interesting piece was an assault vehicle outside the main entrance, completely covered in the intricate beeding which is so popular here in Africa.

The Slave Lodge

This is an interesting building, having been built to house slaves in the late 1600's.  The museum focuses on slavery in Capetown, the plight of the slaves, the deplorable conditions they lived and worked under.  It also explored apartheid and the implications this has had on society.  It concluded with the elections which were held after the end of the apartheid regime.

The South African Jewish Museum

This is a lovely museum, housed in part in the oldest synagog in South Africa.  It explores the history of the jews through the ages.  It shows the arrival of the jews in South africa as they escaped persection, and further eexplores their contribution to society.  In particular it showed the story  of one  immigrant who worked his way from peddler to ostrich farmer  to diamond miner and eventually to become the first jewish senator in the country.

The building itself is remarkable with a very modern extension, housing a replica of a Lithuania village, typical of the villages of many of the jewish immigrants origins.

The Holocaust Centre

The name says it all.  A chilling and very difficult museum showing the rise of the Nazi's and their "final solution", the eradication of the jews. It focused in the last part on survivors who came to reside in South Africa.  Too chilling for words, or pictures.  We were deeply touched by this most moving and effective display of such horrible and despicable actions!

Robben Island and The Two Oceans Aquarium

We had pre-purchase tickets to see Robben Island, an island that served as a prison for centuries.  It is located in Table Bay, within view of Capetown and Table Mountain.  It is now most famous for its role in incarcerating political prisoners during the apartheid uprisings.  One of the  famous prisoners was Nelson Mandela who spent 18 of the 27 years of his imprisonment on this island.

First step in the tour was to board a boat for a 45 minute ride to the island. The day was beautiful and the ride very pleasant.

We arrived at the island where we boarded the bus for a tour of the village.  

We saw the location where Robert Sobukwe was held in solitary confinement.  He was a leader of a group in the uprisings and his imprisonment was on the island in total isolation.  He was housed in a small buildings in the same enclosure where the guard dogs were housed in kennels.  He was not permitted to speak to anyone, including the guards who patrolled the area 24/7!  After 6 years or so, he was removed to Kimberly and placed under house arrest.

The highlight of the tour was a visit to the maximum security block where a previous political prisoner gave us a tour of the facility.

We saw the cell Nelson Mandela was held in, as well as barracks where 60 prisoners were held.  The conditions were deplorable and apartheid extended even to this horrid place. Food allotments were different, dependant on race, and meager to say the least . Forced to sleep on mats on the floor under windows with no glass thus letting rain and cold in, the prisoners  went on a hunger strike and were granted beds in the 1970's. 

The prisoners were put to work in a limestone quarry where they performed useless labour moving limestone from one place to another, and digging the limestone from the cliffs.  A cave served as the shady spot for breaks, the toilet and the school where the prisoners educated each other.  The rock pike has been added over the  years by visiting ex-political prisioners in commemoration of those who died while incarcerated on the island.

The heat was unbearable both in the quarry and in the exercise yard.

There were beatings and periods of solitary confinement for failure to comply with strict rules.   It was hard to imagine anyone surviving there for long...and impossible to imagine the strength to survive it for 18 years.  I stood there looking at Table Mountain and thought that this sight must have seemed so close and yet so far away to those imprisoned here.  Freedom seemingly within reach, I thought the prisioners must have felt dispair at the sight.  Our guide told me that I was wrong, this sight only strengthen their resolve and was a symbol of hope in his 7 years of incarceration.

After we returned to Capetown we decided to visit the two oceans aquarium where we saw the panoply of fish and other underwater creatures.   We also saw the  African Penguin and the Rock Hopper Penguins.

The Waterfront

I am not sure what we were picturing for our time in Capetown, but beaches were certainly part of our plans...that is before we arrived.  It should have come as no surprise that a place with penguins very likely also has cold water!  Turns out to be true...the Atlantic is hovering at  somewhere between 11° and 14 ° C, so swimming will be rare and quick.  Also, the prevailing winds are strong...whipping up the waves, which is bad enough, but also ferociously blowing the sand down the beach.  So, laying on the beach, at least where we are, was quickly taken off the list of things to do!

We did take a quick walk down the lagoon side of the coast, right outside our apartment, and came back along the beach...it was sunny and hot...and...windy!

We reviewed our options and  decided to figure out the city bus situation and to explore the central city a bit.  Buses at home do not present a big adventurous challenge to us, but surprisingly we feel a bit like Marco Polo when we venture out with the general public in foreign spots. 

We managed to get ourselves into the city and went to the waterfront to explore.  This is a fascinating place.  It is called the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, named after Queen Victoria and her second son, Prince Alfred, the latter of whom visited as a midshipman in 1860.  It is a tourist attraction, with a huge ferris wheel, shops and hotels, fine dining etc; and a working port with tug boats and ships and fish plants. 

We were amazed to see a working dry dock right in the city centre, with sandblasting hulls happening right beside pedestrian sidewalks!

There is a rather famous building called the clock tower, which the harbour master occupied back in the day.  It was equipped with a tide well which allowed for a reading of the tide height for the information of incoming vessels.

Also, there are fantastic views of the ubiquitous table mountain...on this day covered in cloud, which is commonly called the table cloth when it hovers over the top on an otherwise bright and sunny day.

On our own in Cape Town

We could hardly believe that our formal tour had come to an end!  A full month had flown by and we had packed so much into it...it felt like both  a very short and a very long time.  As we do not usually follow a tour, we were glad for increased freedom, but still had enjoyed having the major decisions in the hands of experts.  Now we were once again on our own and fending for ourselves.  As an aside, we met a delightful couple, Tessa and Ciaráin from Ireland and we spoke at length with them before we left the tranquility of the guest house. 

The first order of business was to find our accomodations.  We took a cab (already a duanting proposition in a city with gypsy cabs of dubious  reputation) and made our way to Milnerton, a suburb on the outskirts of the city.  It is a residential area and is not "touristy" at all, and so was a bit intimidating at first. we found our apartment, in a high rise across the street from the beach.

The apartment is lovely, a large two bedroom place with huge windows giving an incredible view of the bay and Table Mountain to one direction and the infamous Robben Island to the other.

We spent our afternoon taking care of the business of living,  like getting groceries and planning our coming days.

The next day we were greeted by a clear sunny day and wefesurprised to  see table mountain completely clear.  All of the tour books encourage that one visit the mountain of  this type of day, so we got ourselves together and off we went.

We took a cable car up the 1000+ Meters to the top of this flat mountain.   The top of the mountain is a large plateau 3kms wide and long.  We opted to take a 3km hike which took us to the highest point of the mountain Maclears Beacon.  The views were incredible. 

With the ocean and  the coast  line far below, the clouds started to roll in just as we reached the Beacon giving the mountain an ethereal feel.

As we descended in the cable car we could see the clouds starting to fall down the mountain side.  So spectacular!

The Townships

We had been seeing many shanty towns in our travels.  almost every city, town and village seemed to have one on its outskirts.  we were curious and a bit amazed at the profound poverty we were seeing.

At the end of our city tour or guide offered to take us for a short drive through a Township outside one of the seaside neighbourhoods in and around Capetown.

The homes are made from scrounge materials and have minimal services.  Water is available from a central tap and electricity is stolen from street lights.  a that said, there were many shops, services, and the community its seemed busy and thriving.