I have seen a new side of Cape Town. My knowledge of the area is limited to the main street of Rondebosch, city center, Observatory, Liesbeck, Claremont, Clifton, and Camps Bay (might need to look up on a map these areas but note that most are just small neighborhoods/suburbs of Cape Towns). That is actually very limited. The day that Dustin got a car my view of Cape Town widened ten-fold. Now we could get into the townships, to the movie theater, to Long Street, to the beach, all without paying a R20 cab fee. Included with this was the opportunity to visit Fish Hoek.
Monday was a National Holiday, Family Day. Now what is Family Day exactly? I have no idea, but one thing I found out was that all the stores and restaurants that were open the day before, Easter, were now closed. Instead of showing Dustin a dead city we decided to enjoy the beach. Before going to the beach, however; Dustin’s childhood friend, Sebastian, called to hang out. He entered the Chapel Compound in airy “Africa” tie-dyed pants rolled up on one leg so that they wouldn’t catch in the chain of his bike.
Dustin, Sophie, and I spent the rest of the day with Sebs on the beach talking about politics, South African law, schools in America, sand art. In each conversation Sebs usually took the discussion to another level, often too high for the three of us to appreciate or even enjoy. But all in all, I really like him, and we said yes when he invited us to his birthday braai the next week.
So because we had a car, Dustin, Sophie, Sophie’s friend Etan, and I drove to Fish Hoek Sunday night. As we drove the other side of the Cape Peninsula came into view and here the Indian Ocean spread out before us. We drove down the main street of a few small towns including Muizenburg and Kalk Bay. Each had a bustling economy and smelt of fish and ocean.
On our way out of Fish Hoek after the braai, we drove through the mountains and back up through Hout Bay. The drive was so scenic, an awesome scene where massive rocks meet turbulent waters. My appreciation of how beautiful South Africa grew once stepping outside of the city and into the passenger seat of the car.
