Table Mountainand Bo-Kaap

The second chapter of the South Africa trip. The day we saw Cape Town from above, and learned that cute colourful houses can be not cute at all.

Table Mountain

We were very lucky with the weather: Table Mountain is often covered by cloud or wind, and the cable car gets shut down. We had a clear day.

One of the plans was to hike up, but not everyone liked the idea, so we took the cable car. We bought tickets online in advance, and I strongly recommend doing the same: it’s cheaper online and you get through faster. We got there by taxi, like everywhere in Cape Town.

At the top we walked across the whole summit and looked at the city from every side. We saw Lion’s Head with a funny cloud “cap”. We were also supposed to meet dassies up there, fluffy animals the size of a rabbit, but we never ran into any. Still, we loved it.

The City Bowl and a café in a church

After the mountain we wandered around the City Bowl, as the centre between the mountains and the ocean is called. There’s a famous café there, Heaven Coffee, right inside the Central Methodist Mission church on Greenmarket Square. The church is beautiful, and everything around it is too.

Greenmarket Square itself has a market. We went in but didn’t find anything especially interesting: classic souvenirs sold as African, though they look the same as anywhere. Then we got a little lost, but quickly realised we were heading the wrong way.

Bo-Kaap: how we nearly got scammed

Next we went to Bo-Kaap, the neighbourhood of colourful houses that seems to be on every Cape Town postcard.

A man started talking to us there. He said he was very poor and needed something to eat. We had read that buying food is a normal gesture, so we agreed and went with him to a shop.

And in the shop, his friends were already waiting. They crowded around us and piled up a mountain of stuff: not just food, but nappies, litre bottles of oil, expensive goods. When they showed us the receipt, the total had grown to the equivalent of $60–130. Then a man in uniform came over, saw that something was off and simply said: “Go.” And we ran out of the shop without paying anything.

Spoiler: buying food really is a normal gesture. You just have to do it differently: our guides explained this to us later. You immediately name the maximum amount you’re willing to spend, and you choose the shop yourself. If the person isn’t happy with that, you simply walk away.

The colourful houses look very sweet, but you need to walk there carefully: take photos with an eye on your surroundings, don’t stop for long, and don’t agree to go anywhere with strangers. We tagged along with a big group of tourists, about twenty people, and walked with them until they got on a bus. Then we called a taxi.

Company’s Garden and the Waterfront

We took a taxi to Company’s Garden, a small park in the centre. There are lots of squirrels and ducks, it’s very pretty, and it feels safe.

In the evening we went to the V&A Waterfront, a promenade with shops and restaurants. We strolled a bit, chilled, and I bought a bigger bag: my old one could no longer fit my things. Then home, to get ready for the next day and the tour to Langa.