Cape Town Round 1

Despite being a peninsula known for plentiful surf in a variety of conditions, Cape Town never provided much swell during my stay there. (A week after I left though they got some pretty massive swell, enough to run an event at Dungeons.) I did however, get the chance to explore quite a bit. There was a lot of walking, hiking and public transportation involved.

The minibus taxis are vans that drive up and down the main roads whistling, honking and yelling to get more passengers. It makes a stroll down the street less than peaceful. They pack 15 people in at a time and cost the equivalent of about 70 cents. They have a reputation for being overfilled, badly maintained and unsafe in accidents, that’s why is better to have a guaranteed in case an accident happen, get more information about this at http://www.accidentlawyerdallastx.com/.

Most of my rides in them were unremarkable with one notable exception. We got stuck in a swarm of minibuses. They were all weaving in and out of each other, informally racing, making change through windows at red lights and generally driving like crazy people….all to a killer soundtrack — pumping 90s dance grooves that synchronized to the slamming of brakes and sudden accelerations as we narrowly missed striking pedestrians and other cars. To breathe deeply was to inhale exhaust as it rose up through the seats. It an odd sort of way, it was a rush.

It is no secret that I’m not a crowds person, on land or in the water. Cities tend to not be my favorite destinations. The brilliance of is that nature is so near by that one can quickly escape the hectic city life.

Table Mountain overlooks the civilization, a rugged form that could not be conquered by development save for a humble cable car which takes tourists to the top. The sea wraps around the land in endless bays and outcroppings. At times during my stay the winds were exceedingly strong — a howling, door slamming wind that sounded like a constant tornado. They call it the Cape Doctor because without those winds, the air would be quite polluted. Get near any older looking vehicle there and you quickly realize the perks of a functioning catalytic converter.

One of our first outings is up to the Rhodes Memorial. Cecil Rhodes is famous for founding De Beers, being a fan of British Colonialism, founding Rhodesia, believing in anglo-saxon supremacy, and the Rhodes scholarship. Certainly a larger than life and controversial character in history.

I did get one surf in at Muizenberg. It was extremely small, longboard territory, with strong offshore winds. I took my board on the trains. They can get so packed at certain times of day that you cannot get out so the thought of facing that with a surfboard brewed up some hilarious scenarios in my mind. Luckily we timed it out on off peak hours and made it there and back trouble free.

Surfer’s Corner in Muizenberg has quite a classic scene. They still have boardrider’s clubs where a surfer can store his or her surfboard and get a hot shower after a surf. There’s also a Roxy club so there are a lot of ladies meeting up for surfs or getting lessons.

The water wasn’t as cold as I expected but this is the warmer side of the cape. The highlight of this session was meeting up and sharing a few waves with John Bramwell who made my board. He tells me about seeing Occy at the Country Feeling contest in Jbay, the constant presence of sharks, and where they paddle out when the surf is bigger here.

Unless there is a really large swell running, the waves tend to be quite mellow…suitable for learning and logging. I met one Dutch surfer in Cape Town who had only been at it about 4 months. “The waves in Muizenberg are just so nice and gentle, I want to hug them, ” he said after recounting his tale of a premature trip to Jbay that resulted in a thorough beating.

While the waves are weak and non-threatening, the area is well known for its population of Great White Sharks. Though statistically rare, attacks happen and have recently. Shark watching and cage diving are big tourist attractions in Cape Town and are often debated. The practice of chumming is opposed by many surfers in the area and it makes sense. Animals associating people with food may not be the best idea (see also the number of baboon incidents). There are even people with the job title of Shark Spotter here. But other than potentially getting chowed by Jaws, the vibe at Muizenberg is really relaxing.

This was painted on a wall in Muizenberg. I don’t know if this was a mural or graffiti but it is such a strong statement about the attitudes, perceptions and things I saw during my travels here.

“Cry, the beloved country, these things are not yet at an end. The sun pours down on the earth, on the lovely land that man cannot enjoy. He knows only the fear in his heart.”

I was given the classic Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton to read by my friends in Jbay. It is so tough to fully understand the complexities of a place, culture or history in such a short amount of time but this 1948 novel gave me perhaps just a little insight into themes still prevalent today: transitioning cultures, racism, crime, inequality, dwindling resources and undertones of fear.

What was reinforced for me was not to let fear paralyze life. I seldom go into the ocean without acknowledging the potential risks yet rarely do I let those risks stop me from going in at all.

 

Enough of the heavy thoughts. Allow me to share with you the experience of the best train ride I’ve ever taken and the pure joy of seeing penguins on one incredible beach.

Part of the train ride to Simon’s town runs along the ocean. You can stick your head out of the window and gaze into the sea and distant mountains. It is something to behold.

I stayed in Observatory with Lisa, my old roommate and good friend who is going to UCT. She took me on a lot of awesome adventures, including this one.