Cape Town Day 1

After some early morning kareoke of Wham's Club Tropicana (the mikes in our room work!) to pay back some loud Americans next door, we got nice breakfast at a Long St cafe then headed out exploring.

We firstly stumbled into Archbishop Desmond Tutu's St George Cathedral, then went to a slave museum housed ina former slave camp (Cape Town was buit on slave labour esp from South East Asia hence its melting pot quality today). Depressing. Lunch in the Company Gardens (where the first Dutch settlers grew veggies) watching squirrels race around. Then a zip round the Planetarium and Museum. Getting a bit museumed out at this stage. We then went to the Greenmarket market square to haggle over wooden hippos and table cloths (for a table we dont have). We walked to the waterfront to book tickets for later in the week to Robben Island (ie where Nelson was imprisoned) and stroll. People stuffing pamphlets in our hands for traditional healers cough witch doctors cough. Bought more touristy stuff then after a 'great' idea from me, I went to see Iron Man at a Waterfront Mall theatre while Francoise saw some period piece at an artsy theatre in same mall. We set out walking home at 10ish..hmmm Cape Town seems a bit less safe than Petone at night, dark figures waiting (or staggering) in car parks and far too deserted and unlit between the Waterfront and the central town. We managed to get a bit lost before jumping in a cab who agreed it was not wise to walk home as many homeless people and those drugged up lay in wait for unsuspecting Iron Man viewers. No more movies out at night methinks. There are some nice local jazz places I want to pop into some time this week...

More kareoke then bed I think.

Hope the weather clears soon so we can see/climb frikking Table Mountain. Its like Wellington weather here!

Manfred