On a peninsula rising from sea level to mountain top, Cape Town takes your breath away.
The Botanical Gardens of Kirstenbosch sit nestled on the lower slopes of Table Mountain. This garden contains flora from all over the world, some collected by Cecil Rhodes when he owned this vast acreage.
This last flower, the King Protea, is the national flower of South Africa. It's huge...and comes in many vibrant colors.
Even the "elusive" guinea hens poised for us...
Keeping an eye on the clouds, our guide suddenly said, "Time to go up to Table Mountain!"
From the top, I really got a sense of the awesome beauty of the area.
Who doesn't love a wine tasting tour?! The Stellenbosch region (and city) of South Africa is home to many wineries complete with picturesque settings, gift shops and of course, wine to taste...and buy!
No conversation about Cape Town would be complete without mentioning the euphemistically named "townships", or as we would say, slums.
Townships are the remnants of South Africa's tragic history of apartheid . Unbelievably, up to a million black African people occupy one township...and there are multiple townships.
Picture a corrugated tin shack about the size of a small bedroom that houses a family with NO running water, NO sewer and NO electricity. It was mind boggling.
And, finally, the surprise I did not expect...drum roll, please...
The meeting of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans is the Cape of Good Hope, a wild and windy spit of land...so happy I was on land and not out at sea!
Before I say good bye to my African memories, I want to thank my wonderful friend, Karolyn.
If there is a perfect traveling companion, she is it. Always a smile on her face, always a spring in her step.
When her luggage was lost for 3 days, never did I hear a complaint.
Thank you, Karolyn. It was awesome and so are you!
😇
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