When we scheduled our time in Cape Town, we wondered if we had allotted too much time—three weeks. Did we really need that much time? But after a week of being constantly on the go, we’re wondering—are we really going to see everything we want to see?

We had just come from Zimbabwe where we visited Victoria Falls—humongous, beautiful and wet! The falls spew huge clouds of mist; even wearing ponchos, we got drenched.

We’re staying for the first half of our time in the most unusual hotel we’ve ever seen. It’s called a “boutique” hotel located in Bo-Kaap, a colorful Muslim community with pastel colored houses. To get to our tiny room, we have to pass through four fob-controlled gates (which includes walking outside to get to the fourth gate) and then climb two sets of very steep stairs. Most of the guests are young and come for a night or two—we’re here for 10 nights. There’s a simple breakfast, served at a long table—so we’ve met other guests from many parts of the world. Our French host is very nice and accommodating and the place has a certain rough charm. Everything is clean, the rent is cheap, the location is convenient—so we’re having a good time. 

In a few days, we’re moving to an Airbnb place in Sea Point, by the ocean.

On our first day, we took a hop-on-hop-off bus and got an overview of the city. We learned that much of Cape Town is actually built on the ocean floor—which was filled in with enough sand to build a city.  It’s a remarkable city—on one side there’s the ocean and in the middle is Table Mountain—huge and flat on the top.

We’ve seen quite a lot so far:

–Kirstenbosch Gardens—beautiful and very large – the land was purchased by Cecil Rhodes. We went on a very hot day, so we searched for shaded paths and benches.

–the South African Museum of Contemporary Art—magnificent art—we spent a full day there.

–the South African Jewish Museum—a number of Jews in South African were instrumental in anti-apartheid activism.

–the Company’s Park—a lovely park in the middle of the city—it was established by the Dutch East Indies Company. On our Sunday visit, we watched folks feeding peanuts to the pigeons and squirrels.

–Long Street Market—a very large and very colorful flea market—the only way to shop there is to bargain.

–the Heart of Cape Town Museum — in the Groote Schuur Hospital — this is where Dr.Christiaan Barnard and his team did the first successful human heart transplant—fascinating. Dr. Barnard learned to do heart surgery at the University of Minnesota.

–the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront – lots of restaurants and shops, including an artisan workshop. The food in Cape Town, by the way, is excellent and relatively inexpensive, given the exchange rate.

–winery-farms in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek– we took a wine-tasting tour of three farms, each a little different – in one the wine was paired with cheeses, in the second with chocolates, and the third offered bubbly wines—the South African version of Champagne.

But there’s so much more we want to see. We want to take a table car up to Table Mountain—one of the wonders of the world—but for the last few days the whole mountain has been enveloped in a large cloud. We want to go to Robyn’s Island, where Nelson Mandela and others were imprisoned—but it’s so windy that we can’t take a boat out there now…

So—we have another week and a half or so—more to see…