Day 6 – Islands and Mountains
I had two main goals when I awoke this day: to visit Robben
Island and to reach the top of Table Mountain. They aren’t lofty goals, as they
are pretty much must-sees when coming to Cape Town (especially Table Mountain),
but in terms of sites to see inside Cape Town proper, they are about as far
away from each other as possible. The ferry to Robben Island is located at the
far end of the Waterfront, so I was out for another walk towards the
waterfront. Today was windless, cloudless and just about perfect (if a little
hot). The seas could not have been less rough for the ferry to Robben Island,
and the skies could not have been any clearer for Table Mountain, so all was
set for my last day (sad face) in Cape Town.
The ferry to Robben
Island was at 10 AM, and we were tightly packed onto the boat. You have to book
tickets at least the day before (if not more) in the high season, so it was no
surprise there was little room to move on board. The view from the ferry was
incredible, with a full panorama of the peaks surrounding Cape Town proper
(Lions Head, Table Peak and Table Mountain), and the city underneath. I reached
for camera, and then realized I had left it. It is kind of a sinking feeling,
knowing that one part of you is missing. I now knew I had another trip to go
on, as I needed that camera for Table Mountain. We reached Robben Island in
about 15 minutes, all of the while wishing I had a camera to take a picture
with.
After reaching, we were stewarded into buses to take us on a
tour of the prison at-large, and take us to the center. The prison itself
wasn’t very newsworthy. It seems like a less scary Alcatraz, who’s real claim
to fame is having Mandela there. When we reached the center, and were led to
Mandela’s cell, we were given a glimpse inside the prison, which was a little
haunting, but what maximum security prison isn’t. Finally, we reached Mandela’s
cell, and it was there that it really hits you what an incredibly strong person
he was. He was cooped in this little cell for 17 years at Robben Island, with
only hope as his friend, and left a stronger man capable of leading a united
South Africa. Again, the cell isn’t anything worse than Alcatraz, or Riker’s,
but no one ever expects the prisoners of those locations to be one of the most
important civil rights leaders in history. Overall, Robben Island is an
experience, but probably one that doesn’t have to be done unless you have time.
Unlike other famous sites of torture/imprisonment, like the camps in Europe,
this one isn’t particularly horrifying. It is a prison. Then again, after one
hour, I was ready to go, so I can’t imagine spending 148,920 hours there.
When I reached the Waterfront again, I began to formulate
the days plan. There was one big restaurant left on my docket, Miller’s Thumb
(Tripadvisor’s #3 in Cape Town), and I realized that it was close to Table
Mountain, so it might be easier hitting that for lunch (less of a line also,
especially on a Friday), so then the question became where was the dinner
destination. I limited it to Harbor House or City Grill (again). In the end, I
went with City Grill. Harbor House specializes in seafood, and while I’m sure
it is good, it is a more expensive version of Miller’s Thumb, and I’m going to
a lot of places with good seafood (Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia,
Japan) and Cape Town is the only place I’m going to get
Springbok/Crocodile/Ostrich/Kudu type food. Anyway, to fund my two nice meals,
I decided to forego a breakfast, and get what I call an ‘Irish Breakfast’, with
one last Milk & Honey beer at Mitchell’s (might not be the last, depending
on the situation tonight). After I finished the beer, I got into my cab to
Table Mountain, the top attraction in South Africa.
On the map, Table Mountain isn’t that far from Miller’s
Thumb restaurant, but by GoogleMaps walking directions, the 3 KM walk takes
about 45 minutes. After driving past it, that seems like an underestimate. The
drive to the ‘base camp’ of Table Mountain (the lower cable-car station) is a
winding, uphill climb that would have taken me at least an hour and a half.
Walking down is doable, I guess, but walking up would’ve been a disaster. The
view when you are at the bottom of Table Mountain is great, providing some nice
picture opportunities. You can see most of the city, a eye-to-eye view of the
Lion’s Head and the mountains afar. That said, it is not even close to the view
from the top.
There are many great views in this world. There are the
views of cities from the top of buildings or towers, from the top of mountains,
from planes. Table Mountain is something different. As I already said, the view
from where the cable car journey begins is already really good. When you ride
the 5 minute cable-car up, the views just get better along the way. I give a
ton of credit to the people who run that whole exercise at Table Mountain,
because they came up with a pretty genius idea to stop people from jockeying
for a good spot in the cable-car. The car is a cylinder, and the floor in the
cable car rotates, so everyone gets the view they went. The windows in the
immediate front and back of the car are open panels, while the rest are
enclosed, and those view are great… and then you reach the top.
Still on the cablecar on the way up...
Table Mountain is rather expansive at the top, with
structured walking paths creating a loose oval, and unstructured rock walking
paths funneling out in all directions (it is obvious where these paths are – so
it is far from dangerous). Everyone one of these spots offers a great view.
Truly, the view is made because the way Cape Town and the Western Cape is
situated just makes for beautiful viewing. The southern view is a view of the
Cape of Good Hope. You can’t see to Cape Point, but you can see damn close,
with the mountains layering behind each other. You get a great look at False Bay
and the Atlantic Seaboard. That side is probably more aesthetically pleasing,
but the side with the view of Cape Town the city is more interesting. From the
top, when viewing Northeast back towards Cape Town and further to Stellenbosch,
I realized that Cape Town isn’t nearly as small as it seems when you are at the
City center. The city weaves around these natural obstacles of the mountains,
so while its overall size is small, it is quite spread out. You can see the
airport afar, the mountains behind it, isolating the Western Cape from the rest
of Africa. You get a great view of Robben Island (which seems far bigger from
that far away than it does when you are touring around it), and the new Stadium
built for the World Cup. Cape Town is a truly beautiful city, one that I am sad
to be leaving, and it has some of the most stunning sightlines that I have ever
seen.
When I reached back down to the bottom of Table Mountain, I
took a cab heading to Miller’s Thumb. This was around 2:15, and I had a
terrible feeling that Miller’s Thumb, which from the outside looks like a
mom-and-pop establishment (and very well could be), might be closed for lunch
before they open for dinner service. Lo and behold, it was, and I was
absolutely irate at myself, but moreso at Cape Town’s bizarre cab policies. In
Cape Town, it is nearly impossible to pick up a taxi on the street. You can
call ahead at any time, o9r pick them up and certain locations (waterfront,
Table Mountain, Train Station, and some others), so my plan was set up to
maximize ease of getting taxis. Because of this, I missed out on Miler’s Thumb
(lunch ended at 2:00). I had a backup of where to go for Lunch (Arnold’s where
I went on Day 3), and it was still a satisfying lunch, but because of the taxis
needed, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be able to make it back to Miller’s
Thumb for dinner. Alas, there is always next time, and after my experience in
Cape Town this week, there certainly will be one.
Lunch at Arnold’s was good, as I expected. I got Kuke
Blingots, which is basically Kudu jerkey, as a small appetizer, and it was as
it sounds, dried Kudu. It was basically a far more tasty and less salty jerky.
The main course was their specialty, Gembok Wellington. The Gembok is the
cousing of the Springbok, and it proved to be a very tasty meat, probably
behind only Crocodile and Ostrich in terms of the meats I’ve tasted. It came
wrapped in bacon, and those two were wrapped in a puff pastry, with a vegetable
filling /between the two. These pieces rested upon mashed potatoes and the
whole thing was in a mini-moat of red wine sauce. It definitely was very good,
but there may have been too many competing parts. I don’t think the parts
elevated each other, but they were all individually very good and still was
quite delicious. I also tried out a new beer, going with my first South African
cider, Hunter’s Dry. It wasn’t anything special, but was an above average
cider. Lunch was done around 3:45, and I had really no idea what to do after
that.
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens is the only major site left
on my list that I hadn’t been to yet, and I probably had the time to go, but
the biggest issue with Kirstenbosch is that it is very far. On the other side
of Table Mountain, you need to make a semi-circle out of Cape Town Central to
reach it, a minimum 150 rand cab fare there and back (or 150 by the hop-on,
hop-off, but that takes forever and a day). It is much more acceptable for
someone who has a car. In fact, Cape Town in general is better for someone who
can rent a car, because walking is a terrible idea after 8 PM unless in really
short distances in select areas, and cabs are hard to get and quite expensive.
In the end, I passed on Kirstenbosch (stop #1 for me for my 2nd
visit to the Cape, that and Miller’s Thumb), and decided to wander around Long
Street for a bit, fund a haunt to get some brews, and just relax on my last day
(which was my plan originally, until Wednesday – Day 4 – became the de-facto
relax day because Robben Island was cancelled. I had a hard time giving up
Kirstenbosch or Miller’s Thumb, but you can’t do everything. Everything won’t
run perfectly. Because of the shortsighted cab rules, getting to random places
is pretty difficult, and in the end, that ruined my chance to go to Miller’s
Thumb and Kirstenbosch.
Long Street isn’t really cheap when it comes to alcohol,
which seems to be due to sort of standard alcohol prices in the city. No place
was really cheaper or more expensive than any other (a little tip for those so
inclined, including me on my next visit, whiskey seems to be surprisingly
cheap). It wasn’t easy deciding on a place to go to on Long Street, which is a
direct result of there being a ton of them, all moderately full on a lazy
weekday at four o’clock. Being on Long Street, or anywhere in Cape Town
Central, seems like a different world from the Waterfront, which will being far
more commercialized and tourist-friendly, has a lovely breeze, and spectacular
views. In the end, I think where you stay ends up being where you go most of
the time. Had I stayed in Cape Town Central, I probably would have spent more
time on Long Street. It isn’t that I didn’t try. South Africa was a last minute
addition to the trip, so many of my first choice hostels were in that area, but
they were unavailable for the days I needed. I’m happy that I found the Altona
Lodge, because it is a nice place, in a great location, and because I think
Green Point is more uniquely Cape Town-ish than Cape Town Central, which resembles
a bunch of European cities.
I don’t have much to say about the place I landed up at on
Long Street, the Paper Lion, other than it seemed quite hip, and was one of the
few places on Long Street (or South Africa in general) that sold truly craft
beer. I tried their ‘personal choice’, Flying Dragon Stout, which was a dark
stout infused with cinnamon and peppermint (yes, both). It was definitely
interesting, and had a strong, unforgettable initial taste, but by the end of
the pint, I was kind of ready to stop drinking a beer that was a little too
strong for its own good. I then took a cab back to the Waterfront (deciding to
walk to the Lodge from the Waterfront, which allows me to save a little on cab
fare and get as many walks in this beautiful weather as possible) and passed
many of the Cape Town Central areas (Strand Street, St. George’s Outdoor Mall,
the Train Station, the unfinished overpass) for the final time, as the rest of
me night would be localized in the Waterfront area. That might be a sad thing (not
as sad when you count saving about 100 rand), but I do think the Waterfront is
the part of Cape Town Central that best encapsulates what is so great about
Cape Town. It is full of a bunch of people just relaxing and having a good time
together in a city with perfect weather.
After walking around the waterfront and getting a more
intricate look at the Victoria Wharf (there are two main malls in the V&A
Waterfront, that and the Alfred Mall which is more upscale), which is far more
expansive than I imagined. It stretches through and around multiple corridors,
and when I reached my turning-back point, I saw Willoughby’s & Co. a pretty
famous restaurant in Cape Town, known for their sushi. It is very popular,
supposedly very good, but the biggest drawback is that despite being at the
Waterfront, it is fully inside the Victoria Wharf, and has no view. That said,
I probably would have gone there, but when you are visiting Japan, going to any
place in South Africa, or any of my other spots, because they are known for
their sushi seems irresponsible.
I finally reached back to the lodge a couple hours later,
with a nice, strong daytime buzz setting in. That brings up a great part about
South Africa, or any place that isn’t the Northeast in the US, Honestly, on
vacation alone (or I guess with a friend/girlfriend/wife when you’re young)
there is nothing better than a daytime buzz. The best part of my time in the
bar there was that as evening set in, many locals came, I’m sure all set to
start letting loose after a long week off. Little did they know that my
extended weekend was ending, as in Vietnam, I have a different language to deal
with, along with rikshaws, uneven roads, and less than stellar weather and
environment. I then freshened up and made the walk to the waterfront one last
time, back to City Grill for the 2nd night in a row. The last time I
remember eating in the same place two nights in a row was a seafood place in
Izmir (Turkey) with my family, but this would quickly prove to be different.
The view of the Soccer Stadium on my final walk to the V&A Waterfront
I had a table reserved, but seeing as the weather was a lot
better, I asked for a table outside. I was told that it would be a 30-minute
wait, and the hostess took me to the restaurant next-door (I’m assuming a
sister restaurant) to their bar to wait. The first sign that I was more than
just a regular customer was that I was seated within three minutes. The next
sign was that one waiter – who was dressed differently, giving the impression
he was the head waiter or some other higher position – welcomed me back,
although he and I had never met. The final sign was them giving me a sherry as
a welcome back gift. Now, this was all well received by me (obviously), but
kind of strange. The one guy I knew at the restaurant was the guy who took my
initial reservation Wednseday afternoon (Day 4), and who was the main host
Thursday night at my initial meal, and then took me second reservation this
morning. I also met him, completely coincidentally, on Long Street at the Paper
Lion, where he told me he was done for the day, was in medical school, and we
had a drink together with his two friends (wasn’t anything special, I paid for
my drink). So unless he notified the wait staff at City Grill, I have to assume
they do this to every repeat customer, or they think I am some high roller by eating
at this place alone. Little do they know for this quality food and view (and
being that I could sit outside, atmosphere) I would probably have to pay double
in NYC). I was not used to being treated as a high roller, so it was nice for a
change. Of course, it was another sad reminder of what I am leaving behind by
heading to Vietnam. I’m having a sad, sad feeling that I’ve saved the best for
first on this trip (although, I have a much happier feeling that Australia will
change all of that).
I ordered grilled Calamari as a starter, which came with it
a side of that mushroom sauce from the previous day. The sauce was just as
good, and the Calamari was grilled quite well. It wasn’t as tough as a lot of
grilled calamari dishes, and any non-fried calamari is a welcome change coming
from the US. The portion wasn’t very large, but that would have been more of an
issue had I had to share the dish, one of the underrated advantages of
traveling and eating alone. While I was eating about 4-5 tables around me were turned
and couples came. All of them were couples of two, and none of them received a
complimentary chute of Sherry. This might sound sad, but I haven’t felt more
important in a long, long time. For someone who came here just one time, and
didn’t order the most expensive dishes, I couldn’t be prouder of what my
loyalty caused. Little did they know how much I wanted to come here and their
food to be good after reading the menu the first time on-line two weeks ago.
Another point of pride was the amount of people using the ‘City Grill’ blankets
outdoors because they were feeling cold. I love having the power of handling
cold better than the common man in warm-weather countries, and this is no
different. The irony is that in summer in NYC, we would dance in the streets if
the average temperature over a full week was 75 degrees.
My main course was Crocodile kebabs, which I was very much
looking forward to. My other options were ostrich kebabs, ostrich fillet and
Springbok. I had had Ostrich fillet already, and Springbok seemed too close to
the Gembok I had for lunch, or any other normal deer-like game meat. Crocodile
is easily the most unique meat available here, and I wanted to try it again,
after the great experience with Crocodile Ribs at Arnold’s v. 1.0. As I waited,
I realized that there was a different energy around this day. It probably was
because it was a Friday, so more local South African’s were around, but even
then, it was a weekend. The large ferris wheel was lit up brightly. There was
music being played all around. The wind was negligible so the outdoor seating
areas were full. It was exactly what you would want your waterfront to be, and
I was the man, the guy who got the
complimentary Sherry (I’ll never get past that, even if I was the only person
that saw it). When the crocodile came, it looked very much like the warthog in
presentation, with the same vegetables (not a problem since the vegetables were
good with the Warthog and good today), the same rice (ditto), and a creamy
sauce. This time, the sauce was peppercorn-accented and a little more spicy
than the creamy mushroom sauce, but that was offset by the crocodile, which was
succulent and crunchy and everything crocodile is. I can’t recommend Crocodile
enough, honestly. After I left my palace, I went to Mitchell’s one last time,
got another Raven and another Milk & Honey (one of my Top-10 things about
Cape Town) and headed back home, sad to leave a great city in its little corner
of the world, but a little excited to venture into a more exotic place of
strange languages, strange ‘Wat’s and strange foods. Vietnam, here I come, with
just another 11 hour flight (Johannesburg to Bangkok on Thai Airways) in my way.
The best part of Cape Town? The weather. While the rest of South Africa was rainy (bottom of the screen), Cape Town was perfect (right panel of screen).
