Capetown, South Africa
What a beautiful place! I stayed in an Airbnb in the foothills of Table Mountain with amazing views. I took the cable car to the top of Table Mountain on day 3 of my visit which was the first day that the mountain was visible and I could ascend.
Tip for Roaming
When visiting Cape Town, go to Table Mountain on the first clear day - the weather is very unpredictable and if it’s cloudy, the cable cars don't run up to the top.
My Airbnb host, Allison, was amazing and she provided me with so many opportunities to engage and learn with local people.
When I told her I wanted to visit the Cape Winelands. She told me about the Black-owned vineyards throughout Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, the more famous areas of the Winelands, but there are many others throughout the southwestern region of the country. I explored the Black-owned vineyards and met with the owners.
One of the most memorable experiences of the trip was a visit to Langa, the oldest township in South Africa. Many people are familiar with Soweto in Johannesburg, but Langa pre-dates Soweto and has a rich history. I had the opportunity to visit an entrepreneurship center there and meet with local entrepreneurs and students.
Another experience that connected me to locals was volunteering to do breakfast duty at a primary school. The students at this school leave home at 4:30 in the morning for a two hour ride to to get to school in the city. What a fun morning working side-by-side with women committed to improving their community. My favorite of the group was with Auntie Pam,
an Anglican priest.
At the time Covid had not been declared a pandemic and South Africa had only one case of the virus. These women told me that they had been through the Ebola epidemic, so they felt prepared to handle whatever Covid would bring.
If you want to get an authentic local experience, I highly recommend volunteering while you travel.
Cape of Good Hope is the southwesternmost point in South Africa and a must see because of the stunning landscapes. There were ostriches roaming around and baboons were everywhere at the visitors center, ready to snatch anything they could including purses and phones. Hire a driver for the trip because it’s quite a distance from Cape Town, but so worth the add to your itinerary.
In the middle of all this fun I had a couple of business meetings. South Africa thank you for welcoming me.
NOTE:
When I left for South Africa there were no cases of Corona there. When I arrived, there was one reported case. Ten days after my arrival in South Africa,there are 61 Covid-19 cases. The South African president closed the borders.
Three days before I was scheduled to leave, the pandemic was declared. Luckily, I was able to depart on my scheduled day, which coincided with the South African president asking tourists to leave the country. On my Monday flight there were people who had arrived in South Africa two days prior and had to turn around and return to their home countries. Little did we know the tremendous impact Covid-19 would have on the entire planet.
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