weekend in Cape Town

Just a quick one to let the faithful followers know that I am in Cape Town for ten days. We got here last Thursday, in order to wave goodbye to Pieter who had his flight leaving from Cape Town on Tuesday. He traveled up first with Sander, and then Goedele, Thomas and me drove up in a rental. We stayed at a backpackers in the Center (long Street) and did tons during the first three days, actually 12 out of the 24 recommended highlights for Cape Town and the Garden Route, in an amazing three days:

1. Cape Point and Goede hoop (with even two whales)
2. Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden
3. the Cape Flats and townships: driving through them and vistint them with the Field Band project
4. Table Mountain cable way and walking up through the Botanical Gardens (2)
5. African cuisine: a change from Plett's limited offer: Marco's Africa restaurant and African Image, both worth a visit.
6. Cape Dutch architecture: the neighbourhood of Bo-Kaap and Muizenberg with the oldest colonial house of South Africa (where Agatha Christie learned how to surf ;-)
7. Boulders Beach, the one of only two existing places where you can see the jack-ass penguins (official name : African penguins)
8. the wine tasting along the Stellenbosch wineries
9. Robben Island where Nelson Mandela had been incarcerated

Since we still had time to spare, these are some of the others things we did, and recommend:
- artist Imma Stern museum
- National SA Art gallery
- the Company's Garden and the cute squirrels there
- Lion's head
- The District Six museum
- going out to Bronx and other fun places
- meeting up with Kate (our first Couch Surfing experience), and Ian and Magda (our most recent CS experience)

- the ballet with a Queen musical (not that great though)
- going out to a striptease joint and getting two cm nipples pushed in our faces
- Sunday morning church

I am staying till this weekend 13th and 14th of Oct. and see the field band projects here, maybe stay in the township around Stellenbosch to meet up on Saturday with Sacha who's coming for a week of holidays from Congo.

Next, maybe plans to go to Zimbabwe?