South Africa

Our first two weeks in Cape Town have given us a much needed break from our travels. We have been constantly moving up to this point, so it was nice to have the time to unpack our belongings before moving on. We are staying in a nice little cottage attached to a B&B in the fishing village of Hout Bay. It is a scenic area with the majestic Table Mountain outside our front door, and the beach only minutes away. After a few days of R&R by the pool, we dove in and started making the rounds of tourist attractions. We started off with Kirstenboch Botanical Gardens. Located at the base of Table Mountain it offers spectacular views and hikes directly from the gardens to the mountain summit. Our next trip was to Simon’s Town and the Penguin colony located just south of the town. It is one of two natural penguin colonies located in the Cape, and you can walk down the bridge finding yourself only a few feet from the tiny little African Jackass penguins in their natural habitat. They are so cute! We also took a trip to the Two Oceans Aquarium downtown and looked at the sharks, sting rays, and giant turtles. The sharks would come right up to the glass and stare at you with their cold eyes; wouldn’t want to run into him in the water. The beaches here are lovely, and there are several to choose from, but the Atlantic Ocean is too cold to swim in this far south.
Culturally we have found South Africa to be pretty similar to home. You can find all the same foods that you would at home (even Mexican!) and the grocery stores look just like the ones at home. Of course, right when you convince yourself that you could be in California, you drive past a township or see a sign warning you not to feed the baboons. Things here are much cheaper than at home though. We went to see a movie at the theater for only $3.50! People here are very friendly, and when they hear our accents they will spend 20 minutes asking you about your travels and offering suggestions of sights, restaurants, beaches and shops for you to explore during your stay. There is still a lot to see here, and we are looking to our next two weeks in Africa.

South Africa