OFF TO CAPETOWN

The last week in February 2014 we took a little journey to Cape Town with Elder and Sister Baxter.  They were leaving in mid March, and truthfully it was a good time to get some
R&R.  It is always busy and hectic here, but it seemed that from December to February was really busy.   After be hesitant about going, I was really happy we made the effort.  It was an interesting and beautiful trip.   

We got up early to make the four and a half hour drive to Joburg to catch the plane.  When we got in the airport we were greeted by this sign.  The ANC (African National Congress, The party Nelson Mandel started after apartheid) had posted it in very visible location in the airport. 

The sign was in celebration of increase in the minimum wage.  Basically, it says that the average worker is makings 80 cents an hour or $37 a week if they work 45 hour weeks.  Talk about guilt's, getting on an airplane and being reminded that most workers in the country cannot make enough to feed their families. 

The flight from Joburg is a 2 hour flight.  The drive to the airport was 4.5 hours.  There is a plane from Mpumalanga (providence where we live)  but, the airfare was $600 more than flying from Johannesburg.
As you can see, it was an exciting flight, I had some go getter traveling companions.

Yep, I could tell they were ready to party. 
Elder and Sister Baxter and Elder Hunt.  They all even snore and they don't care who hears it.  They were zonked....Not me, I never sleep on the plane, I have to stay awake for the crash or the hijacking...what ever craziness my mind conjures up prior to a planned trip.

We stayed in a cosy little Inn at Green Market Square.  It was older, but had been remodelled for the World Cup soccer games.  It was nice.  It was surrounded by a very large African Market  and  little specialty shops that on the most part were very nice. 




When we arrived we went down to the water front for a
while, then just shopped around our hotel area.  There were some interesting people, but we felt very safe.  Cape Town the city is very clean compared to Joburg. They have street cleaners night and day.  It is listed as  the number one vacation venue in the world for 2014.  I am sure part of that is because the Rand is so devalued compared to the dollar.  (I can't see that, this little mission has cost a bit.)
I do understand the Townships in the Cape Town area are dangerous and dirty.  We drove by some to and from the airport, but did not really see any while we were there get a feel for them.

Our hotel is right across the street from this neat church. I took lots of pics  because the architecture was intricate and neat.  The hotel had a great view of the sky line.  We walked around and found this interesting little alley.  We went down it and found this nice little restaurant.  Note the pepper grinder.  The food on the trip was very good.

Day One

Because our time was very limited, we had the travel agency plan it.  It was great.  Every morning the van would pick us up and off we would go.
The first day was a trip to table mountain.  The ques (lines) were long!  But, because we had tickets we could go to the first of the line.....However, the mountain was closed.  Really, you are lucky if you are there when it is open.  It opens and closes all day.  It all depends on the wind factor. The guide recommended that we go see other parts of the city and they would call him if it opened and we would go back.  He did not seem optimistic. 

We did get to go back to Table Mountain toward the end of our tour.  They called and we rushed back up there,  we walked to the first of the line and went up.  It was a steep tram.  The views are spectacular. You can see for miles, clear to Cape Horn at the end of the African Continent, that's what they say, but I couldn't see it.  We went to some view points of Table Mountain.  It is on the list of one of the wonders of the world.  It beat our the Grand Canyon...not sure I agree with that...But, I am not the travel judge!

Part of the first morning was spent in the Malaysian District.

South Africa has an interesting history.  There was the period of time of the Voortrekkers (very similar historically to the Mormon pioneer movement and occurred during the same period of time but, in different parts of the world....that is a story for another day) but, years before Africa was very vested in the slave trade.  Not the slave trade of African Slaves going to America, but slaves were brought down the eastern coast to Durban, Port Elizabeth, and Cape town.  They were from India, Malaysia, and other parts of Indonesia.  This was the beginning of a very diverse culture.  During apartheid the Indians, Malaysians, Muslims, and others were persecuted the same as the black Africans.  In the struggle against apartheid all of these cultures joined together to get rights.  It is a fascinating story. 
The Malaysian District above was beautiful.  The homes were painted brightly, it was very clean and just fun.  The homes were very quaint.  To live in this area homeowners agree to very strict historical covenants with the city.  While here we ran into a little demonstration.  It was pretty interesting.  Where we do our work the demonstrations are burning tires in the road etc, but this was just some kind of little ralley.

Later that day we went to see various parts of the city.

 
 

 The Castle of Good Hope was an old castle built in the late 1700s.  It was a fort surrounded by rock walls.  They had many artefacts  and recounted a lot of history.  The tour guide is above.  He grew up in the Malaysian District.  Some of his ancestors were from Indonesia.  There was a lot of intermarriage when they got here, so he is considered "coloured".   He was very articulate and knowledgeable.   

 
 
 
This is a large government building built in the 1800s.  The architecture was wonderful.
 
The balconies below are on the front of this
building.  Nelson Mandela stood there when he gave his acceptance speech when he became the first black leader of a country that is 99% black and prior to him they were basically slaves in their own country.  

DAY 2

Day two was a long day tour about the Cape of Good Hope.  The Cape of Good Hope is the furthest  southern tip of the African Continent.  The ride was beautiful.  The ocean was spectacular.  Approximately 40 miles from here the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet.  We were told that you can actually see a line where they meet and the each flow their own way.

The first stop was seal island.  We took a little boat excursion out to see the seals.  There were thousands of them.   The light house was the first one built in Africa.  There was a little band that greeted us as we got on and off the boat.....not great but, they gave it a good shot!

Then it was back into the van and off to Cape Hope.  The Ocean is not easy to describe, but it was spectacular.  The water ranged from deep blue to various ranges of blue-green.  The group picture is off the people on our tour.  We had the same people for two days.  There two newly wed doctors from India.  They smoked like troopers (not on the van, but when they got off).  They were cute.  A really cute girl from Australia.  She was some environmental engineer that had been working in Joburg.  Over all it was a fun group. Then off to see the penguins.  I had no idea South Africa had penguins....thought it was just elephants and lions, but there were penguins....lots of them.  I loved holding the baby Penguin! (actually trick photography by my Indian Doctor friend---clever)
The plants below were from the Cape Town botanical gardens.  They were beautiful and had the largest ferns and tropical plants I have ever seen.



Day 3

ROBBEN ISLAND

 



The third day was a half day trip to Robben Island.  It was a prison for political prisoners.  It got its claim to fame because Nelson Mandela spent 16 to 18 years of his 27 years of imprisonment there.  Political prisoners from all over were imprisoned there, but most were resisters against apartheid.

 

We caught a ferry from the "bumble bee" type house.  It was a 30 to 40 minute boat ride out to the island.  Notice the two old "fluffers" have not awakened yet from the plane ride.  It was a job dragging them along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robben Island is very desolate.  Not much prettiness.  It is surrounded by shark infested waters.   It made me think hard about people willing to give up so much for principles they believed.  I think there is some internal flame that wants freedom.  To gain an understanding take time to see the Nelson Mandela story "Long Walk to Freedom".  When you get off the ferry there is a long walk to the main gate where you catch a bus.  There is long sign about the resistance.  We liked the quote "Freedom cannot be Manacled!"  Despite being in captivity these men were strong to their believes.  The guide told of one prisoner that was a comrade to Mandela.  He was put in solitary confinement the whole time he was there.  He was not allowed to talk to anyone, not even the guards and the other prisoners were forbade to talk to him or make eye contact.  He lived in a six by six cell house and had a 9x6 yard that was surrounded by high fencing.  Every day the other prisoners walked past him.   Every day he would stand by the edge of the fence, stoop down and grab a handful of dirt and let it slowly sift through his hand.  It was his statement telling the others to be true to the land and their fight for freedom.

 

 

Some facts about Robben Island.

1. Prisoners lived in these rock barracks

2. This was a typical room in which 60 to 80 inmate lived.  They slept on floors until right before Robben Island was vacated, then they were given these small cots.

3. The showers and bathroom facilities were common....in my mind not nearly big enough for sixty people

4.  This was the room of Nelson Mandela.  He stayed in it the whole time he was on Robben Island.  The more risky prisoners were kept in isolated, single quarters (an 8x8 foot room)  They slept on the floor, had one little table, and one bucket for their human waste that they emptied once a day.

5. A guard tower

6 & 7.  Prisoners were assigned to hard work daily.  They harvested kelp from the sea.  This often resulted in cut and bleeding feet.  And, they worked in a quarry digging rocks.  The sun was usually blazing.   The guide indicated that during breaks they would go back into the caves and sit.  It is said that is where the first constitution was written by these prisoners granting freedom to everyone--- blacks, coloreds, and whites.

8.  Before Robben Island became a prison it was a leper colony.  Lepers lived there for many years isolated from others.

A place with an ugly history of segregating people for generations for one reason or another.

 

Every late afternoons and nights we went down to the piers.  They were neat....lots of shopping...

 

 

The African are very artsy.  You could find amazing sculpture, pottery, and art here.  Unfortunately, we did not get to stop in the art area. 
The elephant with the big white tusks is made out of tiny gray, white and black glass beads on a wire frame.(thousands of beads) 

 

We did liked Cape Town.  It was a quick trip and we did saw a lot.

But, we still like it best where we stay.  It is beautiful here.