Thursday, February 4, 2021

South Africa - Cape Town

 Almost a year ago we made our last big trip to South Africa. We flew to Cape Town, to be precise. Had a smooth flight, arrived on time and got our luggage quite fast. Short taxi ride to the hotel: Hilton in Bo Kaap. We arrived there around noon, so first took time for lunch, and for the rest of the afternoon (it was raining) spent time unpacking, went to the swimming pool and had a cocktail there, then lounged in the excecutive and drank wine and nibbled at some tasty bites.  Went to bed early because it had been a tiring day.

The next morning we woke up with a blue sky and the sun was already out. After breakfast we took the hotel's shuttle to V&A Waterfront (a must-do in Cape Town) to do some sighseeing. Had lunch there and also did some shopping. Got myself a nice swimming suit!


The following day, Monday, we had an appointment with Luc, who was going to take us on a private tour of Cape Town. He brought us to the Castle of Good Hope, to the oldest church, to the slave lodge, etc. The tour was completed by a visit to Table Mountain.


On Tuesday we went to Signal Hill to try out paragliding. What an experience! We landed on the beach and our friendly taxi driver was already there to pick us up and bring us back to the hotel. The rest of this day we spent at the Waterfront and at the hotel's pool. It was another very warm day.

The following day we took another day trip. This time to the winelands, Stellenbosch and Franschoek. A nice and relaxing tour. We could sample some wine, saw picturesque villages and of course the vineyards. We also visited a museum and the Animal Sanctuary, the one where the painting pig lives - Pigcasso.


On Thursday we took it easy once more, and then on Friday (our last full day) we made a trip to the peninsula. We rode along the coast, took a boat to see the seals. After that, we had lunch along the waterfront, then visited a penguin colony and finally arrived at the deepest point, the Cape of Good Hope.


The next day we had to return home. I could have stayed longer here. Cape Town is a nice place to be, and we have no problem with the language Afrikaans, as we speak Flemish. Afrikaans is derived ot our language - in the 17th century people from Holland and Belgium emigrated to South Africa and of course they spoke their own language (which is au fond the language spoken in the 17th century).