Beattys Overseas

Cape Town's famed Table Mountain Arriving in the lush and sunny city of Cape Town following the last few months in Europe was like receiving a surprise bunch of sunflowers.  We smiled and giggled and wondered why we were so lucky.  Situated on the Southwestern coast of South Africa, Cape Town is a major port city and tourist destination that BOOMS this time of year with Northern Hemisphere pilgrims like ourselves. 

We were staying in a leafy suburb of Cape Town in a private guesthouse, and drove into the city to the V&A Waterfront on our first day.  The waterfront area is quite touristy, and reminds Whitney of San Francisco's Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf area.  We kept giggling at the place's beauty; with the Atlantic Ocean shore just yards away and the powerful view of Cape Town's famed Table Mountain in the background, it was like walking around inside a brochure.   We stopped into the mall to buy a few things for replenishments (new shoes for each of us), and marveled at how much further our money was going here, as opposed to Europe.  The American dollar goes 1 to every 7 South African rand, so the prices seem high at first - our lunch was 175 Rand, but divided by 7, that was 25 bucks for three beers, a burger and a plate of calamari.  Awesome.

At the Point of Good HopeOn Friday we took a long drive down the Cape Peninsula to Cape Point, the spot at which the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet.  It was a gorgeous drive filled with sights of beaches and local communities.  We were told by the managers at Timour Hall to be aware of the baboons near Cape Point.  Baboons???  Yes, they live in the bush alongside the road and can be very aggressive with visitors, even snatching your purse or backpack to find any food inside.  Also, we should keep an eye out for the ostriches that roam the Cape Point park area.  Wow, how exciting, we thought.  All that time in Europe with no wild animals except for the drunk guys on the train in Munich, and now we'll have to fend off baboons and ostrich. Yahoo!  HOWEVER, after our 2.5 hour drive down the coast to Cape Point, it seemed we arrived during the blazing afternoon when the animals take long naps.  We couldn't buy a baboon sighting, no less a good ostrich chase.  Sigh.  We hiked a little from the park's parking lot to the Cape of Good Hope, where dozens of ships have crashed - and some of the wrecks still possible to view from the cliffs above - and John spotted some little wombat-type thing.  And even it turned and ran before he had his camera.  Despite no run-ins with tourist hungry animals, we enjoyed the amazing scenery and the history of Cape Point.

International Police visitors leave mementos as Timour HallOur accommodation in Cape Town were arranged through the International Police Association, which runs a gorgeous inn in the suburb of Plumstead called Timour Hall.  It's a historical building on large, leafy grounds with Egyptian Geese and Guinea Fowl running around like a petting zoo.  The proprietors were so kind on accommodating us when, upon our reservation a few months ago, they didn't have any space at the inn but offered us a 3-bedroom house two blocks away from the inn where we could stay.  A three-bedroom house, jut for us?!  Sure!  When Jo [a member of the Timour Hall staff and the sweetest thing to his South Africa since Amarula] picked us up at the airport and brought us to the house, she quickly explained that the house was a recent addition to Timour Hall's lodging artillery.  It had been the house of an old woman, whose children, upon her passing not too long ago, decided to turn the house into a guesthouse and have Timour Hall manage the property.  Jo was quick to mention that no updating has been made on the house and all the furniture was original of the old woman.  We quickly named this place "Grandma's House," as an ode to the woman whose collection of dishes and tiny port wine glasses could rival any American pack rat.  We unpacked in one bedroom, making it our large walk-in closet, and settled into another with the softest bed.  There was a washer available and a gated driveway for our little VW rented car.  It was great, save for no Internet and bathtub-only bathroom. 

Exploring the neighborhood near "Grandma's Place" was fun, finding an open supermarket on Boxing Day was a nightmare, but overall we navigated Cape Town well.  Figuring out that some neighborhoods were less-desirable than others was tricky, but we never felt out of place.  South Africa tends to have a certain reputation - especially in The States - of being racially divided and a little dangerous.  We found it to be quite the contrary.  Although Apartheid ended less than 20 years ago, the social structure seems to be balancing itself out very well, and the crime issues seem just as relevant as any major American city.  Craig, our South African friend who lives in London put it best when he said, "I was terrified to go to New York City for the first time, thinking it was as dangerous as I'd always heard and seen on TV. The same is true for Johannesburg, and you'll be absolutely fine in Cape Town." Safe as can be, just mind your Ps and Qs.  

Although we expected a very noticeable "African" social chain, we hardly felt like we were in Africa, as the Cape is extremely modern and very Westernized..  There was a little glimpse into the level of poverty prevalent in the country, as we drove along the major highway connecting the Cape Town Airport to the City Center, where shanty-towns are crammed into fields along the highway fences.  And, most startling were the pedestrians on the highway, including children walking along the road or even playing with each other on the shoulder of a 4-lane highway.  On a brighter note, the South African people that we encountered were beyond welcoming, one waiter even saying to us "Thank you for supporting our country," when we told him we were from the U.S.  A few others that we met told us they don't get too many American visitors, which is a shame because this place is so beautiful.  Start your tour bookings now, people! 

- Whitney