DAY 5: Friday

This was an absolutely gorgeous day full of beautiful people and things around Cape Town. Frans, one of the tour guides, sat down to breakfast with me and I was able to discuss my gluten-free food issues with him as well as the medications I brought.  I told him I didn’t want to cause any trouble and I had all the necessary prescription bottles and corresponding letters from my doctors and he alleviated my worry right away.
“No worries about these things at all,” he said with a smile.  “None of the border guards ever check inside the bags on the truck.  We are not going to mention your medications and they aren’t going to ask.”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t declare them at customs?” I asked.
And he bellied laughed and said, “No way.”
Even though I was a little shocked at the lawlessness I was about to engage in, I later understood why it was necessary when we crossed the Namibian border ( coming up in the next post). And I agree with him. No one will ever know and that’s the best thing for everyone, truly.
I befriended a server at the hotel (or perhaps he was the one who befriended me!) named Sesetu. He went above and beyond to be nice to me and assist me with whatever I needed every time I went into the restaurant for a meal. This morning he asked me if I had ever had a red cappuccino and would I like to try it? I confess, I’ve been drinking their cappuccinos like they were going to run out of them at any moment and Sesetu probably thought I needed less caffeine. I said, no I hadn’t even heard of this before but I would love to try it! He brought me a cappuccino that was a decidedly red color and when I tasted it, I realized it was made from rooibus tea!  He told me it was very healthy and I will admit it was delicious too.  But I need more caffeine than that, hahaha!

The group all piled into the Green Elephant (what we call our monster truck) and we drove to Hout Bay on the southwest side of Cape Town.  It looked like a lovely fishing area, and there were some locals trying to sell their wares.  Someone mentioned seeing sea lions and I excited started going in their direction.  I saw several and went up quite close to them, but they were very tame and each had a human that had obviously trained them.  I was reluctant to take photos because the people wanted money for them and they kept on encouraging me to go up and pet them.  I was soooooo tempted, but seeing as the seals in South Africa are suffering from an outbreak of rabies, I figured I shouldn’t.

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE

On our drive to the Cape, we stopped several times in the middle of the road because of baboons ambling in the road or a troupe of them running across the road like bandits and jumping fences.  Some of them were obviously male and Frans joked that they were being very naughty showing us their penises! Evidently these guys are very aggressive and they will steal food right out of your hands in a heartbeat as well as bite you to get what they want.  We ate lunch inside the truck so we wouldn’t give them the chance to consider mugging us.  Can you see the itty bitty baby in between the two baboons in the first picture? He’d poke his head out a couple of times but was obviously very shy.

We also saw wild ostriches!

The coastline was just breathtaking with the rugged mountains in the background and the waves crashing onto the rocky banks.  We arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, which is supposedly the most southern tip of Africa, and there were waaaaaay too many tourists for me.  The walk up to the lighthouse was like a traffic jam the whole way and honestly I should have foregone that hike because my back was killing me afterwards.  But it did afford some beautiful views.

BOULDERS BEACH

There is a colony of African penguins who lives on Boulders Beach, and right now is breeding season for them.  We had to pay money to go and see them but it was worth every rand/dollar.  This was also extremely crowded but I could have spent all day just sitting somewhere and watching these little guys.  They mate for life and are so cute waddling up the steep beach to their nests.  Like everything else it seems, they are endangered, but South Africa does seem to be doing its best to preserve the penguins’ environment. I watched Penguin Town about a year ago on Netflix and because of this show, one of the main reasons I wanted to come all the way over to Africa was so that I could be with the penguins. My heart.  I can die happy now! :)

EVENING ADVENTURE

The four single travelers (including me) decided to go out on the town for dinner, despite it being dark.  We studied our route so we could walk confidently and like we were on a mission (lost tourists = assaulted tourists). The Waterfront had a huge, vibrant nightlife.  No one was walking alone; everyone congregated in groups.  We listened briefly to a group of young chorus singers, and we passed by many yachts and boats bobbing in the water with brightly colored lights on them.
Unbeknownst to us, the bridges and several walkways closed after 7, so when we tried to get to our restaurant for our 7:15 reservation, we couldn’t figure out the way to get there. We definitely looked like lost tourists, and we started getting worried about our safety, but thankfully there were a couple of nice people who pointed out the way. We finally made it to GOLD Restaurant in one piece.

GOLD was an unbelievable treat and worth every minute of stress and coin. All of the servers, performers and cooks are from different countries in Africa.  They serve a prix fixe meal where you try 14 different small plates, some from Ethiopia, some from Malawi, others from South Africa and Namibia.  There were four flights of stairs in the restaurant and each flight had enough room for a bar, a few chairs for customers and room for performers to dance and play instruments.  The food was absolutely delicious, and everything had so much flavor and spice to it! We tasted springbok and ostrich for the first time.

It was the first time I have truly enjoyed food in a very long time. (Food is complicated for me. I never have an appetite and having to always find gluten-free food is often unsuccessful or severely disappointing.)
I was in heaven watching the performers in their beautiful outfits as they danced and sang in their own languages.  So much energy! So much life! I can’t figure out how to attach videos to SubStack, but I took several. This continent has so much diversity and beauty!  We all left very fat and happy.

SATURDAY

Most of today was spent driving in the truck. Some days will be like this because we are covering large distances. We drove 590 km/367 miles, leaving Cape Town behind, driving through the Cederberg Mountains and Namaqualand and ending up in the Namaqua Desert on the west side of South Africa.

I discovered that this truck and I are not going to be good friends, haha!  My feet can’t reach the floor because my legs are too short, the seat angles are in just such a way to kill my back (my back spasms are out of control!), and the jostling and jolting make me constantly concentrate on holding all my body parts together.  It’s exhausting.  It has big beautiful windows, but many people are too cold when I lower my window, but I am boiling whenever the sun beats down on me.  Oh my lord…and we are still on the “good” roads!!

What I was most worried about was getting my heavy-for-me bag in and out of the difficult-for-me-to-get-up-and-down steps, but I needn’t have worried because all of the men in the group have been so helpful and kind to me by lifting that stupid bag. What a relief!

We stopped at a gas station for a quick lunch and I stood outside a long time watching these Southern Masked Weaver birds flit in and out of the hanging nests that they had woven into the tree.  They were all chattering and chirping to eachother and it was quite entertaining to watch them!

I’ve been talking to Frans, our guide, and asking him a million questions and he’s been able to answer every single one so far about birds, animals, and trees. I have started a list of everything I am seeing on this trip. I am very grateful he is one of our guides!

In the evening we finally arrived in Springbok for the next 2 nights at the lovely Felix Lodge and Units built right on the Orange River. Each individual unit was basically like a hut with a thatched roof, but it had all the amenities we are used to. It was very cold and rainy this day (4-5 C/40’s F), and the hotel staff had glasses of sherry for all of us to “warm” up.  That was a delightful surprise!  It was the first time I had tried sherry and I thought it was quite delicious. I had two, hahaha!

The lodge also had their very own kitty which I fell in love with (of course!)

It was a beautiful location and the only downside was that there were literally millions of mosquitoes flying in large clouds everywhere.  It was the first time I have seen any mosquitoes since I arrived in Africa, and oh my goodness, no wonder they cause so many problems! (Zoom in to see the mosquitoes better.)

I pre-treated all of my clothes with a permethrin before I left, and as soon as I got into my room, I proceeded to spray myself with Ben’s Tick and Insect Repellent which has 98.11% pure deet, making sure I covered every part of exposed skin, including hands, neck, face, and scalp.  I laughed maniacally when I watched the mosquitos bounce off me harmlessly.  I’m also taking malaria pills every day so that helps too.

Next stop on my journey is Namibia!
Keep on, keeping on, friends.