I had quite the busy day on Sunday and was granted the opportunity to see Cape Town at both its best and its worst. My friend Audra and I decided to hop on another sightseeing bus aboard the "blue" route that takes its passengers to different stops in the area than the previous "red" route we had taken the first week we arrived. We had originally planned to just visit Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens for a picnic lunch, but got ambitious Saturday night and lengthened our plans to a full-day excursion.
After absorbing some morning sun rays from the top deck of the bus, we disembarked at the Kirstenbosch Gardens, lunches packed and excitement sky-high. We had been told numerously from our first day in South Africa that the gardens are spectacularly beautiful and we were definitely not disappointed. Though not springtime, thus not in full-bloom, the gardens were nonetheless stunning - I don't think I have seen anything so green in my life. What seems like endless pathways extend every which way, making the gardens feel infinite. I felt like I was in a fairytale, spurred even further by the fact that we walked along a path called "The Enchanted Garden." The landscape of the mountains behind the fields of green also made me feel like I was in the Sound of Music!
After scoping out a shady area to enjoy our picnic, we hopped back onto the bus heading toward our next stop, which was a 45-minute tour of a township near Hout Bay called Imizamo Yethu. The township served as quite the antithesis to the paradise of the gardens. For those of you less familiar with the history and anthropology of South Africa, townships are huge settlements outside of the city center where non-whites were forced to move during the apartheid era. They are characterized by street after street of tiny shack houses with no running water and up to one or two rooms; electricity is a paid-for privilege. Imizamo Yethu houses about 30,000 people, half of which are unemployed while the other half work in the city centers as cleaners or construction workers. The settlement has no running water and no sewerage system, so there are a few communal outdoor toilets that remain completely filthy. Our tour guide, a woman who lives in the township, told us that there are a few toilets that are kept clean by those who live in the area, but due to the "better quality," those who want to use it need to pay one rand. We were shown several "small businesses" around the township, some of which included a tiny salon (where they were very proud of their nice mirrors) called the Michael Jackson Hair Salon, and a one-room shack with no floor displaying artwork and jewelry. While the amenities were certainly lacking, the talent was not - one woman made a living selling necklaces and bracelets made out of recycled cereal boxes and they were absolutely beautiful. Audra and I were the only ones on the tour, which was beneficial to getting a private guide, but it also made us incredibly stand out. We could tell that the children of the township enjoy seeing foreigners roaming their community; three little ones ran right up to me with huge smiles during the tour and gave me the biggest hugs.
The tour was heartbreaking and uncomfortable, but I'm really glad we did it. I had studied much about the townships during my anthropology of Africa class and felt fulfilled being able to witness it in person. The hearty ways in which these people live from day to day is nothing short of inspiring. Returning to the sightseeing bus, we hopped off at Mariner's Wharf, a beachside strip of restaurants and little stores right next to Hout Bay. We had returned to basking in Cape Town's natural beauties, but will never forget the hardworking South Africans who don't have the privileges we do to experience it.
Though drained from being in the sun all day, my energy quickly picked up when the entire group of us went out to dinner at a sushi restaurant called Beluga for my friend Melissa's birthday. I had an incredibly good time, as always, and the sushi and cocktails were mouthwateringly delicious. I'll have to take my dad and Jess there next weekend! A new intern has also just arrived from London and already fits right in with our group. I spent a good deal of the dinner chatting with her and soon found out she is the European version of me - she went on a safari with her sister and dad last year (and had AMAZING things to say about it!), is really close with her family and while she adores traveling, her home will always be her home. The night ended on a superb note when we found out that Melissa's brother had very generously paid the entire bill - not too shabby for a party of hungry, booze-filled twelve!
It's great to know that I'm building so many bridges with my friends here. I know I'll have a familiar face to see if I ever make my way to London, Scotland, Toronto, Australia, Belgium, Seattle, New York, Chicago, LA or even Sturbridge, Massachusetts.
So sorry for the long post! May your week be filled with smiles. :)
xo Em
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens (so hard to choose which photos to select!)
Imizamo Yethu Township
The communal outdoor toilet
Mariner's Wharf
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