Cape Town/South Africa

24.5.2024 Cape Town

Today I had to get up at 3:30 a.m. so I could shower, drink coffee and pack in peace.

At 4:30 a.m. our two buses drove to the airport. At the entrance to the airport we had to get off the bus, go through a scanner and have our hand luggage scanned. Then we were allowed back on the bus. No problem.

We finally left the bus in front of the departure hall, gathered all our luggage and went to check-in. No problem here either.

Then a thorough security check. This time I even had to send my trouser belt through the X-ray machine separately.

Passport control was a bit annoying. Both of my passports were examined page by page and finally stamped. I had to take off my glasses to look into the camera and have all ten fingers scanned. And that was when I was leaving the country!?!

Then the "icing on the cake": Another thorough check. This time not only the belts, but also all shoes and wallets were sent through the X-ray machine separately. I was shocked when I didn't see my wallet again at first. I then found it under the conveyor belt of the X-ray machine. Now I was no longer surprised why passengers had to be at the airport three hours before departure.

I passed the time by exploring the really big "Jomo Kenyatta International Airport" and looking for a sensible use for my last Kenyan shillings. I bought myself a coffee to enjoy immediately and a selection of tea bags for later.

The flight distance was about 5,200 km. We had a stopover in Victoria Falls/Zimbabwe. After about eight hours we reached Cape Town.

After a pleasantly quick passport control, baggage collection and customs control, we met our new tour guide Franco, who led us to our bus. During the drive to the hotel, Franco told us a little about the history of South Africa. We saw the famous Table Mountain and other mountains and finally passed the Waterfront, near which our hotel, the Radisson Blu, is located. While we waited for our room keys, we were able to get coffee and other refreshments. We even got vouchers that we could exchange for beer or wine at the hotel bar.

So we sat on the sunny terrace with the drink of our choice and watched the ships, the seagulls and the Ferris wheel. We also noticed numerous helicopters.

Finally we got our keys and were able to take our luggage to the really spacious rooms with sea view.

I was still surprisingly fit and adventurous. So I set off to the waterfront, partly to discover the secret of the helicopters. I found it, hidden behind a large construction site. There are three companies there that offer all kinds of helicopter flights. One of the companies has what is said to be the world's only "Huey" from the Vietnam War that has a private flight license. Interesting.

I was starting to get hungry. I walked to a big, fancy shopping mall, got some cash from the ATM and looked around the mall. Very few restaurants and Louis Vuitton doesn't fill me up.

I left the mall and headed towards the hotel. I used Google Maps to show me nearby restaurants and found one: "Grand Africa Café & Beach" sounded exactly like what I wanted. It turned out to be a quaint place that was only frequented by young white people. My seafood pizza was excellent and, even though I had ordered the smaller size, I could hardly finish it.

Very satisfied, I returned to the hotel via dark paths.