Bloemfontein Airport.
I grabbed a meat pie in the cafe and could only manage to eat half after Forbes' asked himself outloud if my ass would fit in the airplane seat if I finished the whole thing. He's really not a nice person.
On our flight were many musicians and we chatted with a couple of them. Bloemfontein had an arts festival last night and there were two of the bands on the plane. The inflight magazine even had one the bands profiled and several girls came back to the lead singer and asked him to autograph their copy.
The approach into Cape Town was spectacular. Towering mountains reaching into the sky at random, valleys covered in a green carpet, and a slight mist flowing inland. Johann explained that Cape Town is opposite of the rest of the country as they get most of their moisture in the winter, hence the green. We landed at about noon, made our way to the car rental shack, and drove to the hotel called the Southern Sun. It's a 32 story hotel, once the only five star in Cape Town. It hasn't been updated since the 80s so you can tell it was a magnificent space in its time, but that magnificence has faded and is now more below the surface. Much like Forbes.
Approach to Cape Town.
Me and the airplane.
Table Mountain as seen from the car.
After settling in the room, we had a few drinks in the hotel bar and convinced the shuttle driver to take us to the water front in his beautiful Mercedes. We strolled through the shops and craft markets. Prices on goods seem quite reasonable though serviced-based items more expensive.
The Waterfront.
After having a drink in a waterfront Mexican cafe with terrible service, we boarded a sunset champagne cruise on what appeared to be an old converted fishing boat. We went to the upper deck and set sail. The boat went around the cape while the sun was setting, allowing for some great pics.
Johann and Forbes on the boat.
Table Mountain as seen from the boat.
With well-rounded corners, we poured ourselves into the Quay Four restaurant where I had a very delicious filet of Hake, a locally caught fish. We then took a taxi to Somerset street which is the street indicated in Forbes' Sparticus guide as being the gay area. We walked up and down the street until finally finding a bar with a rainbow flag. We order a beer and find out quickly it is lesbian night. We ask around and everyone tells us that all of the other gay bars have closed for the season but will reopen in summer. Eventually we found someone willing to give us information and discovered a much larger dancey kind of club. It was approaching 10pm so it wasn't busy yet but I was starting to nod off. I hadn't had a proper night's sleep since I left so I was eager to get back to the hotel. Forbes and I left Johann who was chatting up a local and wanted to stick around. We got to the hotel and I spent the last 10 Rand I had on a beer so I asked the bartender where I could find an ATM and was told they close at night. I don't know if it's to prevent crime or another reason, but it's certainly inconvenient.
We were in bed by 11pm and for the first time, I slept until 7am. It felt great. We both showered and went down to the breakfast provided by the hotel which was quite good. Nothing overly strange except the kidneys which I mistook for mushrooms and quickly discovered my mistake. As were finishing, Johann showed up (he's staying in his own room) and told us he got home last night at 4:30.
We washed up and jumped on a hop on-hop off double-decker bus to tour the city. we rode until Table Mountain and hopped off to ride the cable car to the top. The views are striking. Sheer cliffs practically greet beautiful white sand beaches. I wish I could attach pics but I'll have to wait until I get home - I forgot my camera cable.
At the top of Table Mountain.
We got back on the bus and rode it back to the hotel. After freshening and a quick beer at the bar, we got in the car and are now driving to the Cape of Good Hope - the southern most point in Africa.
