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| Erin's South Africa Journals - 11-06-02 Today we wanted to plan the rest of our time in Cape Town and get in touch with Renate, a Cape Townian whom we'd met up at Lake Baringo as well. We called her at work after breakfast and arranged to meet up with her for drinks & dinner after work, and got some details on an apartment she'd referred us to. A friend of hers had an extra condo that she rented out for just about the same price we were paying for our double room at the hostel! ($18 US per nite for a 2 bdrm furnished condo??) For the day, we walked along the ocean front to the V&A Waterfront shopping complex, a cluster of upscale mall shops, theaters and restaurants near the working docks of Cape Town. It was only 15 minutes walk from the hostel, and we spent half the day meandering through the stores. We saw an incredible framed painting on faux rock, which we both really wanted but had to put off till we have incomes again! We took the artists' card and website, for possible ordering at a later date! We ate lunch outside by the water, and amused ourselves watching the extremely aggressive seagulls. They actually stole a fry right out of one woman's mouth!!! Eat at your own risk! We were soon tired of shopping - you don't buy much when you're carting everything around on your back - and I voted for a nap out on the grass along the water. We lay out for about an hour before needing to head toward the town center to meet Renate at her work. It was only about a 20 minute walk, and we arrived just on time. She generously invited us to use a computer to check our emails again, which delayed us almost another hour. After stopping for cash, we headed to the Dharma Cafe, a trendy little spot with a gourmet menu and cool Morrocan style seating on pillows on the floor. The live singer walked though the restaurant doing sultry jazzy numbers, and the atmosphere was great. We had very tasty meals and good conversation with Renate, who generously offered to pick us up the next day and take us to the apartment we'd decided to move to. It was slightly out of town, but accessibly by bus, but we had the complication of planning a trip to Cape Point the next day and wouldn't arrive back in time to get there on our own. We thanked her and said we'd see her the next evening, then called it an early night so we could be up early for our trip the next day. |
| Erin with some nearby Jackass Penguins, an endangered species which makes the Cape peninsula its breeding ground |