Cape Town 🇿🇦

From the south of Spain, I then traveled much further south to Cape Town. However, despite the summer, I ended up in winter. But thankfully, I arrived safely in Cape Town with a bit of a delay. This time, I exceptionally booked my airport transport in advance to get to the hostel smoothly and securely. So, someone was already waiting for me at the airport and took me to the hostel. The first thing he explained to me after a 10-minute drive was when he pointed to a neighborhood in Cape Town that if I went in there, I would never come out alive. It was super dangerous, and I definitely should not do that. I thought to myself, well, that's quite a warm welcome, but thanks for that. Anyway, all good, I didn’t really plan to wander around there. Upon arriving at the hostel, I treated myself to a long and hot shower. After that, it was already time for dinner, and I chose a nice little restaurant near the hostel. The journey had indeed been quite long, with little sleep, so I headed off to bed. The next day, I wanted to explore Cape Town. I set off early to the harbor and strolled along the promenade. Passing by a really cool farmer's market, or rather weekend market, where I, of course, had to take a look. Because, well, as you know, I love markets more than anything! From there, I had a breathtaking view of Table Mountain, Lion's Head, and Signal Hill. The view couldn't be much better. After spending quite a while there, I marched into the downtown area of Cape Town. There are more or less 3 main streets where there is something going on and where a tourist can stroll around during the day. So, I did exactly that. 2 of these streets are filled with restaurants and bars; one is a bit newer than the other, but both were nice. From a distance, I heard music and thought there must be something happening, so I looked around. In the end, I found myself at another market filled with African clothes, wooden statues, and other traditional items. I was really fascinated and actually spent some time there. The music was coming from a girls' choir, who were singing, dancing, and drumming on the street. They actually caught most of my attention. However, after deciding to move on, I randomly passed by a tour guide offering free tours through the city. At first, I declined, but 2 minutes later I thought, well, why not? I didn’t really have anything to do, and I was interested. So, I turned back and joined the tour. He took us through the Bo-Kaap neighborhood, where the primarily Asian and Muslim population lives. The houses are all painted in bright colors and are really cool to stroll through. After the tour, the guide also showed me some good bars and clubs for the evening in case I wanted to check out the Saturday night life. At sunset, I headed back to the harbor promenade. Packed with people and life, I watched the sunset behind the mountains of Cape Town. In the evening after dinner, I really considered briefly whether I wanted to experience the nightlife but ultimately decided on my bed. I wanted to enjoy my last day in Cape Town and not be totally tired and hungover. After breakfast, I made my way back to the city to the Campden Gardens. Since the weather was not so great for that afternoon, I enjoyed the morning outside and took a look at these gardens. Afterward, I visited the National Gallery of South Africa and let myself be inspired by the art. Right next door was another museum about the wildlife and constellations of South Africa. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect here, but it did sound somehow exciting. This museum also had its own planetarium built like a cinema. The seats could fully recline, and you lay back more or less in them, with a 360° screen above you. Everything was explained about the star world of South Africa and the various constellations. That was quite a crazy, exciting, and super cool experience! After that, I checked out the remainder of the museum. Surprisingly, it was also incredibly well done. I spent pretty much the whole afternoon there. When I came out, I was immediately surprised again, but this time by the rain. So, I strolled back to the hostel in the rain. Picked up my backpacks there and marched with all my gear to the next hostel. That’s where my Africa tour for the coming weeks would start. Super excited, I checked into the hostel and immediately met my roommate for the next night. We hit it off great right away. Later, we also got to know the rest of the group and all went out for dinner together. After that, we had a drink or two. But not for too long since an early start was planned for the next day. After breakfast and the first briefing, our bus was packed, and off we went! After almost 1 year of solo travel, it’s actually quite exciting for me to hand over the reins for 3 weeks. 🫶🏼