Finally, I have made it — today I arrive in Cape Town!
I’ve long suspected I would love this city, and that hunched is confirmed on my first afternoon here. I haven’t even visited any of the major sites yet — Table Mountain, the V&A waterfront, Robben Island — and yet I’m already under Cape Town’s spell.
This is our first view of Table Mountain as we approach the city:
En route to my hostel, I spot these two headlines on a post. Anyone who knows me will recognize why I had to photograph this: my last name is Meyer, and I worked in soap operas for the better part of a decade. So the randomness of these two headlines running on the same day and tacked to the same post is a weird coincidence. In fact, I saw it from our overland truck window en route to the hostel drop-off and did a double take (what does “soap wars” even mean?!) and then later I passed the exact same post while walking so I could snap a photo. I feel like they did this just for me. Thanks for the welcome, Cape Town. Message received.
After settling into the hostel where I would stay for the first two nights (Ashanti Lodge Green Point), I walk towards the water. It’s a gorgeous day and I am so happy to be here — both in Cape Town, and at the end of my overland travel. I take a moment to sit on a bench facing the ocean and let it sink in… as of today, I have successfully completed 2.5 months of overland travel down the coast of East Africa, plus trips to Morocco and Ethiopia. I’ve made it so far! All I have left is six weeks in South Africa, traveling solo again. Just navigating the map on my own feels like a return to form; I’m in charge of my itinerary after months of following someone else’s — which was a relief in its own way, but I’m glad to be back in control.
After watching the waves crash awhile, I turn back inland and walked through Green Point Park. Gosh this place is pretty. It reminds me of San Francisco in a few ways — pretty city on the ocean with an offshore island prison (Alcatraz / Robben Island) — except there’s a giant, flat mountain rising in the distance that makes this landscape totally unique. One glance at the skyline and there’s no question where you are — that’s Table Mountain, and this is Cape Town.
Well, not exactly, as Table Mountain is sort of hidden from this vantage point. That peak you’ll see in the photos below this one is Lion’s Head, a prominent point on the Cape Town skyline.
Most of the people from our overland tour have scheduled a few extra days in Cape Town so we all meet up for dinner at Rafiki’s the next night, a restaurant suggestion made by our guides. They are known for their pizza, but they also serve great burgers and burritos.
And their cocktail list is pretty epic. This is a lavender mojito — it’s outstanding.
Earlier that evening, our friend Jeremy had left his camera behind in a cab and feared it was gone for good, but the driver very kindly returned it when we called the main dispatch number to report the missing item. How great is that? Jeremy is so relieved he buys Springbok shots for the whole group.
I order the weirdest thing on the menu, and it ends up being DELICIOUS — if I could eat it again right this second, I totally would — it’s a bacon banana burger. They heat the banana until it’s caramelized and then spread it on the bun. Don’t take my word for it; stop in to Rafiki’s the next time you’re in Cape Town.
And you should definitely go to Cape Town. I fall hard and swift for this place. Should the opportunity ever arise to go back for an extended period (they have a bustling TV industry…) I would happily move here. Can’t wait to share more from this place over the next few posts.
