Rob and I both crashed pretty early last night - which you might’ve noticed by way of yesterday’s post arriving several hours late, due to me waiting until early this morning to finish it. We got up and had a nice brekkie at the hotel, enjoying the cooler morning temps and eating out in the courtyard.

We spent most of the morning poking around the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront and the various malls and shopping centres there. The mall is very large, clean, and has all the brands you’d expect, plus some new-to-us ones.

We browsed a nice bookstore (I love poking around bookstores, especially in foreign countries) and Rob bought a Cape Malay cookbook. Cape Malay is a cuisine popular in Cape Town. There’s a bobotie recipe in it, although Rob already makes a really good one.

There’s a nice chain store called Out of Africa that has touristy stuff, but not the mass-produced schlock you find at souvenir stores. I got a nice embroidered shirt with animals on it.

Oh, and look what else we found!

Afterwards, a couple of iced lattes with a nice view

A quick bite at a Scottish pub - I had a wee toastie (basically a grilled cheese) and Rob had a killer peanut brittle milkshake. The people-watching was second to none, as is to be expected here. With tourists from all over the world and a local population with a diverse and blended cultural makeup, you could see almost every style and look imaginable. Take this trio, for instance.

The gorgeous, backless form-fitting blouse with the cute matching handbag was even more impressive from the front, where you could see how well it matched his full beard. It’s not a look that everyone could pull off, but dude was killing it. Confidence is sexy.

After lunch, we went back to the hotel and I got the good camera and went back down to the waterfront for some photo taking. Found the old clock tower.

Found a huge store of African handicrafts and other items in an old building.

Outside the store, a contortionist was doing unspeakable things with his body.

Saw some seals in the water and followed them to a spot set up for them to sunbathe without the tourists getting too close to them or bothering them.

They were quite vocal and two of them got into an argument. You know you’ve got something you really need to get off your chest when you’re willing to bend your head backwards to say it!

The marimba band who played on our ship a few days ago were here, delighting everyone.

With a much better and closer look today, I noticed that all of the marimbas were homemade from scrap lumber. Seriously impressive! They sounded fantastic.

Had a long walk from the waterfront down by the cruise terminal, almost to the central business district, then through a few swanky neighbourhoods on the way back to the hotel. One of the neighbourhoods was set alongside a canal.

Back to the hotel, picked up Rob, then back to the waterfront for a bit more shopping and sightseeing. Found more seals - a LOT more - hanging out on a dock near the mall.

Dinner at a Scottish pub, where we met up again with Aussie mates Doug and Heather. The food was really good and the company even better.

Then we said goodbye to them and to the waterfront…. but not to Cape Town. Big fun ahead with a new home base.

Back to this trip’s main page

Back to the travelogue page