First days in Cape Town

On Friday afternoon, I finally landed in Cape Town. Cape Town alone has almost twice as many inhabitants with nearly 4 million residents than the whole of Namibia with its mere 2 million! ;)

The water shortage here due to the extremely long drought is so severe that signs hang everywhere in the hostels, restaurants, and public toilets, urging people to save water! Don't flush after urinating, only flush after a bowel movement, take a max of 2-minute showers with a bucket underneath to collect water for reuse, etc.

Since I couldn't find a Couchsurfing host, I had to check into a hostel. It's located on Long Street and is called "Long Street Backpackers". The hostel looks unassuming from the outside, but it's actually quite beautiful inside! The open courtyard is like a little jungle and even has a barbecue area! =)

As the name suggests, Long Street is very long and THE entertainment district of Cape Town. Unfortunately, this also attracts pickpockets and beggars... In the morning and early afternoon, it's still quite calm and you can walk along here relatively undisturbed. In the afternoon, it gets crowded here! We were even warned not to carry valuables when walking through Long Street at that time, not even the cellphone! But leaving the house without a cellphone! The joke was good! ;) Since it's already quite cool in Cape Town, it's autumn here now, I always wear something with long sleeves. So sleeves over the watch, hands in the pockets, hold onto the cellphone and wallet tightly, and let's go! But in the evening, I try to avoid going outside as much as possible and either stay in a group or in the hostel. It's nice here and the people are friendly! Well over 50% of the guests are Germans, a few Dutch, initially also some Israelis, and occasionally people from other countries. 2 of the Germans are traveling craftsmen who have already made their way to Namibia and now South Africa! =D

On Saturday, I joined a Couchsurfing group to hike up Lions Head, a mountain near Table Mountain. We started at the parking lot at the foot of Lions Head. From here, we walked about half an hour along normal and wide paths. Then it becomes a climbing tour and sometimes quite challenging! But once you're at the top, you're rewarded with a breathtaking view again! This time over Cape Town, Table Mountain, and the sunset behind the sea! While it was getting dark, we descended the rock walls again and before it got completely dark, we were back on the good, wide paths.

On Sunday afternoon, I met up with a group of Germans that I had already met in Luderitz, at the clock tower at the Waterfront, and from there we walked along the beachfront to Green Point. Here we coincidentally met 2 people from the Lions Head group from the previous day, a German and a local Couchsurfer who had also given me a ride. They joined us and he showed us the "Mojo Market", an indoor market with different shops but mainly all sorts of culinary delights! Each of us got something to eat at one of the stands, we sat up on the balcony and listened to the live band playing below. =)

So the first days in Cape Town were already over! Next up would be the Cape of Good Hope! ;)