Journey to the Western Cape
How and why
They would ask me, who at school had a solid, long-term five in geography, what do I know about Africa, in addition to the physical and political map of this continent.
Then, in the distant Soviet times, relying on the knowledge received from teachers and strictly dosed, TV and newspaper information, I would divide Africa into three unequal parts.
The first, northern - Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Egypt - the Arab countries, together with the adjacent Sudan, Somalia - territories populated mainly by Muslims.
The second, central, divided by very conditional borders into poor, but "free" states, the black population of which for many years "groaned under the rule of white colonialists", and then, suddenly, for some reason, almost simultaneously, "thrown off the slave yoke", began to build a new independent life. Moreover, according to the principle "who is in the forest, who is for firewood. "
As you understand, all these are Soviet information "stamps", except for the last sentence.
And, finally, the third part, a small one, the southernmost, somewhere near Antarctica. At that time we knew almost nothing about it, except that there, in racist South Africa and Rhodesia, "the white minority brutally oppresses numerous black local residents" striving for the "shining heights of independence" like their northern brethren, and this, as we were told, would lead to the grandiose flourishing of the economy in these countries, the natural resources of which are barbarously plundered by the white colonialists.
Suddenly, somehow unexpectedly, in 1980, Rhodesia came under the control of black natives, the "bloody dictator" Ian Smith sank into oblivion, and he was replaced by a local leader with a strange European-African name - Robert Mugabe.
Everything happened very quickly and almost imperceptibly for the rest of the world.
In 1994, the same thing happened in neighboring South Africa - white President De Klerk voluntarily handed over power to black Nelson Mandela, head of the previously banned African National Congress. The same Mandela, whom De Klerk and his predecessors kept for 22 years in prison on Robin Island, not far from Cape Town. And now they hugged like best friends.
However, even after these all, as almost all world media claimed, fair reforms, the flow of information from the extreme south of Africa not only did not increase, but even noticeably decreased. The "independent" liberal press had many other hot topics, and more highly paid by the "warmers".
And yet, there was something wrong in the "South African kingdom" and in neighboring Zimbabwe, the former Rhodesia.
The decision to go to South Africa came somehow unexpectedly, spontaneously. At first it seemed unreal, a dream.
However, in my free time, I gradually began to collect information.
After browsing the Internet, I found that there are quite a lot of sites about South Africa in Russian, but they provide only general information, at the level of a geography textbook or a tourist brochure. However, at the same time, the first South African site in Russian appeared, mainly designed for emigrants and made by them.
A kind of information from the field.
This new site included a forum section, where you could view not only reviews and impressions about trips to South Africa, but also a look at the country from the inside through the eyes of new Russian-speaking citizens.
And the more I delved into this stream, the more contradictory the received information became, that is, one often completely contradicted the other, sometimes reaching the point of absurdity.
On local official, mostly English-language sites, everything looked very beautiful and tempting - skyscrapers, parks, safaris, two oceans, innumerable natural resources, a high standard of living.
At the same time, in the Russian-speaking, and also in the English-speaking forums, a lot was said about crime, appalling poverty, "cans" for blacks, and many other internal problems. And then rich cities were described, magnificent roads, the wonders of Sun City - the city of entertainment, the local analogue of the American Las Vegas. Completely lost in this forest, I went to the nearest travel agency and unexpectedly found an agent who had recently returned from a trip to South Africa. The information received from him finally turned my already tangled knot into an almost ununtiable one. So, for example, to my question about whether there is public transport there, the travel agent replied that yes, there is, but not for whites.
I asked again if there were trains, city and intercity buses in South Africa.
. The agent repeated once again - yes, there is, but not for whites and he does not advise using them.
But how to move around the cities and around the country, if, for example, you are going to South Africa on your own? It is best to travel with an organized tour, or finally rent a car, he replied. At first I thought it was just an advertisement. Moreover, in another travel agency there was also a person whose close relatives live in Cape Town and he often travels to them. So, according to him, in South Africa there are no problems at all with the movement of public transport, both in cities and between them.
Later it turned out that both were right, but the truth of each of them worked under certain conditions.
And one more fact of the general plan, but also quite indicative.
South Africa currently has eleven official languages, three capitals - Pretoria - the seat of the President, Cape Town - the seat of Parliament and Bloemfonteil - the seat of the country's Supreme Court.
In addition, there are unofficial capitals - Johannesburg - the financial capital, the largest urban agglomeration, Sun City - the entertainment capital, and so on.
Distances in South Africa are also not small. So, between Johannesburg and Cape Town about a thousand kilometers in a straight line, to Durban - about eight hundred. These are the three largest cities in the country.
This information knot could be unraveled in only one way - to see with your own eyes.
Finally deciding on this trip, my wife and I agreed to limit our trip to one province - the Western Cape.
More specifically, the program looked like this - a flight to Cape Town, a stop there for a couple of days, and then, in a rented car, drive along the ocean, or rather two - the Atlantic and the Indian, in an easterly direction as far as we can, then return back to Cape Town, stopping along the way to the Wine Route.
And although all this was planned theoretically, the program was carried out almost completely.
Before starting the description of our trip, I want to warn that this is a story about what we saw, without politics, history - just an unbiased view of a tourist.
Yes, and it is difficult to claim any generalizations. when we were there only a week and only in one province - the Western Cape.
About her and my story.
On the road
So, we received tickets, vouchers for a hotel and for renting a car. We flew by Lufthansa to Germany - to Frankfurt am Main, and from there, by the same company - Frankfurt - Johannesburg - Cape Town.
The duration of all these flights, including transfers, is about 24 hours. Gross so to speak.
Flight Frankfurt - Johannesburg - Cape Town. Everything is fast and clear, there is no check and protection. True, we came from the transit hall and therefore were considered, as it were, already checked.
The audience on this flight, compared to the first, is already different. There are dark-skinned and, judging by their appearance, not from the poor. Most likely, the "new Africans" are businessmen and or something like that. However, the bulk of the passengers are white. But they are also different from Europeans.
So, among those who return home, there are many people whom I would call "farmers". They are somewhat similar to cowboys, real, rural, not Hollywood - weather-beaten tanned faces, hard-working calloused hands, simple functional clothes.
There was a small group of scientists from Russia on the plane. They continued the flight to Antarctica with a change in Cape Town.
And also, of course, European tourists, as always mostly Germans.
We are flying due south. They flew across the Mediterranean Sea, and the African continent along.
On the way, Lufthansa prepared a little surprise for the passengers. This flight was organized in such a way that, both in the forward and in the opposite direction, the plane crossed the equator at exactly midnight. The idea is certainly great, but in the middle of the night, few people were interested, especially after constant offers of something to drink. And the drinks are by no means light. On the carts that the flight attendants drove along the aisle at intervals of the Moscow metro trains during rush hour, there were bottles of vodka, cognac, schnapps, whiskey, and somewhere below you could hardly see cola, schweppes and something else such mineral. The temptation was too great, and an hour after takeoff almost the entire plane fell into a deep sleep. Some from drunk "free" alcohol, and some - just from fatigue.
So this is what she is
Ten hours after taking off from Frankfurt, we landed at the international airport of Johannesburg - the largest metropolis of the Republic of South Africa.
Here the main mass of passengers got off and the cabin was empty by two-thirds. The crew has also changed.
Johannesburg Airport struck with its size. A mass of planes, mostly South African Airlines, a gigantic terminal building. The personnel on the airfield are all black Africans.
After an hour of parking, we take off and make a circle over a huge metropolis, which includes not only Johannesburg, or as it is called here, sorry, E-Burg, but also the capital of the country, Pretoria, and the black suburb of Soweto, notorious for its crime.
But from above it is impossible to make out where the poor are, where the rich are, where the blacks are, where the whites are. We continue flying in a southwesterly direction.
There is a map on the monitor screen and you can quite accurately imagine where we are at the moment.
Our trip took place in May, that is, at the end of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. And even from the plane it is clear that last summer was hot here, the earth is gray-red in color, greenery is almost invisible.
But diamond mines were clearly visible, somewhat reminiscent of lunar craters.
The flight over the territory of South Africa took place over a fairly flat surface of a mountain plateau, which occupies most of the country.
Suddenly, the plateau ended in high cliffs, turning into a seaside valley. We flew up to the southern edge of the African continent.
The plane continued to fly over thick clouds. However, this whole picture outside the window looked somewhat unusual. Here and there, peaks of black basalt peeped out from the undulating field.
And this combination of white clouds and black mountain peaks created a truly fantastic picture. Descending, the plane broke through these thick snow-white waves and it turned out that we were already quite close to the target. Despite the thick fog, the ground was brightly lit by the morning sun.
From above, shopping centers with parking lots filled with cars, villages with houses under red tiled roofs and obligatory pools were viewed.
The ocean was ahead. The plane made a circle over it, returned to the mainland and landed at the international airport of the city of Cape Town, the center of the Western Cape, the first goal of our trip.
Cape Town - first impression
The terminal of the Cape Town airport turned out to be relatively small, but brand new, very comfortable and perfectly clean. Under the ceiling there are posters dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the "liberation" of South Africa, but they are not intrusive and look more like bright advertising.
At passport control, they don’t stamp, but stick a piece of paper almost the size of a page - we are allowed to enter the country and stay there for up to three months, without the right to work.
We pass the green corridor of customs and go to exchange dollars for rands - a local, rather highly convertible currency.
Here, too, not everything is so simple. They make a copy from the passport, then write down all sorts of data - the purpose of arrival, the flight number of arrival, the flight number of departure, the name of the hotel where we are going to stay, etc. Only after these procedures are exchanged at extortionate interest.
I will add that we had the pleasure of visiting another exchange office, in the very center of Cape Town.
So there, at the entrance, before all the above procedures, they first let you into the vestibule, tightly close the outer door, look at it with TV cameras, film it on video, and only then, if you, in their opinion, are not dangerous, open the inner door. Almost like a spacewalk.
But there are very good reasons for this.
Having received the ordered car, since the Europcar parking lot is located directly opposite the exit from the terminal building, we drove onto the national highway number two in the direction of the center of Cape Town.
Driving in South Africa is left-handed and at first it was unusual and difficult to drive a car. It is good that there were not so many cars on the road on this Sunday afternoon.
The highway is multi-lane, with excellent coverage, very well maintained, a lot of signs, mostly in English, but there were also signs in Afrikaans - one inscription "Cape Town" in English, and the next "Kapshtadt" - in Afrikaans, although there are much more signs in English .
We booked a hotel in the city center, mainly due to problems with parking.
As advertised, the hotel has its own guarded parking lot.
We decided this way - you can walk around the center of Cape Town on foot, and drive to remote objects by car. Outside the city, parking is usually much less of a problem.
The hotel itself is located on Greenmarket Square - a place known for its bazaar selling souvenirs and various African handicrafts. On this Sunday, there was no trade, and we drove up to the hotel without any problems, where a small parking lot was indeed found in front of the entrance.
During checkout, I asked the African lady at the front desk what time breakfast was. And I received in response that we only paid for the overnight stay. Then, pointing to the voucher, I put the question differently - what does the B & B written there mean.
And then the time and place of breakfast was announced. A person is wrong, it happens. But, most likely, there was no mistake here.
So the first meeting with the "new" South African service took place.
Two hefty Negroes dealt with parking issues, but already behind another counter, a little to the side.
They explained to us that the guest parking lot is very close, "only" two blocks from the hotel. And in front of the entrance you can park only for a short time, for example, unload things.
From the window of our room on the eighth (actually the tenth, given the technical)
floor offers a great view of the city centre.
Everything was mixed up here.
Buildings of the so-called English colonial style coexisted with mostly gray skyscrapers built in the thirties and forties of the last century and completely new towers.
The background for this "carnival of architecture" was the mountain ranges in the background and individual peaks of black basalt, the same ones that were visible above the clouds when approaching the city.
Evening was approaching and we, after a little rest, went to wander around the center and, at the same time, see the night parking place.
Around the corner of our hotel, in an alley, a very strange building was discovered.
The seven-story building, entirely painted red, was decorated with moldings in the form of the Soviet symbol - the hammer and sickle, as well as sculptures of Lenin. Yes, yes it is him. Vladimir Ilyich was depicted in full growth, in a coat, cap and attached to the facade at an angle. I counted seven such identical Lenins.
They, apparently, serve as a place for the installation of red flags during the proletarian holidays. What can you not see in this world.
Considering this miracle of architecture, we were somehow distracted from the reality around us. And it was impossible to relax at such a time.
Groups of Africans of the most unpresentable kind crowded around the edges of the square. They came up to us, followed us, said something. Many looked rather aggressive. Not a single white face. We did not know what to do, how to behave, did not understand a word. The condition is not pleasant.
Therefore, deciding not to tempt fate, we returned to the hotel, got into the car and drove to that part of Cape Town, which is called "Victoria and Albert Waterfront".
Following the advice of tourists who have visited South Africa, while driving, especially in the evening, it is imperative to lock the car from the inside.
In addition, local drivers try, if possible, not to linger at traffic lights for a long time, even at a red signal. Since there was little traffic on this Sunday evening, almost all local drivers did not wait for the green signal. In the evenings in the city it is dangerous to stand in one place for a long time, even in a car locked from the inside. At the same time, Cape Town is considered the most peaceful city in South Africa.
Victoria & Albert Waterfront
This is one of the main attractions of Cape Town. Previously, a seaport was located here, then a new one was built, much larger and more modern, and a huge entertainment complex was created in the buildings of old warehouses, which includes shopping centers, cinemas, including the only IMAX in Africa, the Aquarium, museums, hotels, restaurants, etc. P.
There are also piers from where pleasure boats leave for Robin Island - the place of detention of Nelson Mandela - now there is a museum in prison, in Century City - the city of the century and other tourist attractions.
On our first evening when we arrived here, we were amazed at the difference between the center of Cape Town and the Waterfront area.
Here, despite the late hour, it was full of people, mostly whites, and if there were Africans, they were pretty decent. Moreover, the police are almost invisible, but I am sure that this place is guarded very carefully.
There are many foreign tourists, all shops, restaurants, souvenir shops are open and filled with people. Street bands play, there are also small circus performances.
In general, a completely different city.
We went to many boutiques, looked at elegant clothes and shoes, wandered around a huge shopping center - a mall made up of several old port buildings and therefore quite confusing, and then sat in a small street cafe on the seashore.
True, not for long, as it was quite cool on this autumn May evening.
When, having passed through a completely empty center, we returned to the hotel, we did not dare to go to the parking lot, the one that is "very close", but handed over the car keys to the reception and asked them to park our car, which they forgot or were simply too lazy to do.
From the window of the room at that hour such a picture was visible.
The center of the brightly lit Green Market Square is empty, only freshly washed cobblestones glisten. But in the corners, in the bushes, some suspicious shadows flicker.
Bringing them closer with a video camera, I saw the same Africans - beggars, who settled down for the night right on the ground, placing some kind of rags under themselves.
After all these walks, we slept very soundly, but at six-thirty in the morning we were awakened by noise coming from the street, even through a tightly closed window.
The square was filled with people gathering stalls. Around were bags, trunks, boxes. When viewed from above - a complete farce.
But exactly at seven o'clock the souvenir market opened and was immediately filled with numerous tourists.
Where did they come from this early?
Walking in the center of Cape Town
The central part of Cape Town on this sunny Monday morning looked like the business center of any western city.
Clerks hurried to work in numerous offices and banks. Many of them are both white and black.
Adderley Street - the central axis of the city, or rather its business part, is filled with cars, mostly new, latest models. Multi-storey department stores, despite the early hour, are already open, the cleanliness of the streets is perfect, as if they had been vacuumed.
Adderley Street and its extension Herrengracht is a wide avenue stretching from the new port and, located next to it, also a new business center, to the park or, as it is called here, "government alley". Herrengracht is a tribute to the Afrikaans language and its speakers, and from the central railway station the name changes to Adderley Street, although, in fact, this is the same street.
So along it we moved in the direction of the "government alley".
There are a lot of squirrels in this park, they are almost tame, they are not afraid of people, they are constantly fed by everyone who is not lazy, and they approach passers-by without any fear.
Here, at three hundred meters, on both sides of a wide boulevard, called for some reason a park, there are many attractions.
First of all, the official ones - the building of the Parliament of South Africa and the residence of the President of the country, though not the main one. The main one is located in the city of Pretoria.
Despite the size and wealth of South Africa, the symbols of its statehood have a rather modest, provincial look.
The parliament building is low, two-story, more like a school, and not a place where the fate of almost 45 million people is decided - such is the population of the country.
Located next door, the presidential residence looks like a rural estate of a wealthy landowner. A small one-story house is surrounded by fields of carefully trimmed emerald grass, and only in a few places are groups of trees, mostly palms, visible.
Not a single policeman is visible in the district, no security, and only behind the fence of the residence are several black gardeners in green overalls taking care of the already perfect lawns.
This purely English garden style persists despite the ten-year rule of the new government.
In the same park - boulevard - the Museum of South Africa, an art gallery, an old, the first on the continent, the Protestant Cathedral of St. George, a synagogue, a Jewish museum and a Holocaust museum.
The South African Museum, the oldest and one of the most significant museums in the country, is located in a huge mansion, to which new buildings were gradually added over time. Here you can get acquainted with the very first inhabitants of the subcontinent and the entire natural history of South Africa. The museum has a famous collection of Bushmen rock art.
But in general, the exposition is rather scary because of the many skeletons of animals of the prehistoric period - dinosaurs, pterodactyls and other giants of the ancient world, placed in all corners.
There is also the only whale skeleton in the world.
In general, a mixture of paleontology, zoology and history. And also a planetarium.
The Art Gallery is the most interesting art museum in South Africa. In the permanent exhibition - paintings by foreign masters, mostly Flemings, temporary exhibitions of works by African avant-garde artists are organized.
There are so many interesting and unusual places in the Republic of South Africa that, in my opinion, these two museums can be visited if you have a few extra hours.
And I assure you that there won't be any left.
However, this is my personal opinion.
The park is filled with numerous groups of schoolchildren. They are all dressed in the same uniform, but each school has its own.
On the left is the Jewish Museum, on the right is the Holocaust Museum, straight ahead is the Central Cape Town Synagogue. For some reason, neat packages of hay are stacked around her.
In the center of the courtyard there is a large memorial stone, and on it is a plaque on which it is carved that Nelson Mandela himself was present at the opening of this square.
In Soviet times, this meant that Lenin was here, no more, no less.
We were let into the synagogue.
A huge hall, beautiful chandeliers, everything is well-groomed and clean and outwardly like in the whole world, it can even be a little more luxurious.
Without delving into history, I will only say that during the so-called apartheid, the Jewish community of South Africa experienced years of special prosperity. Almost the entire diamond mining and processing industry was concentrated in Jewish hands. The Holocaust and, in particular, the extermination of the Jews of Holland - in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, where there were diamond processing centers, especially influenced the growth of the community.
All this then moved here to South Africa.
Despite the apartheid that flourished in the country, the Jews of South Africa, for the most part, not only did not support it, but, on the contrary, were in the forefront of the struggle for the rights of the local black population. And, as always, they fought.
I don't say this lightly.
One day, wandering through the channels of local television, I got on a program dedicated to the history of the struggle against apartheid. After watching it, and it was by no means an anti-Semitic, but a purely scientific program, I confirm everything said above.
As far as I understood from the explanations - and we were accompanied by a synagogue worker - in Cape Town, compared to the Johannesburg area, the community is smaller, but there are enough Jews. This man tried not to go into politics, although I really wanted to ask how he lives now, under the new regime. But he didn't ask.
table mountain
Returning to the hotel and transferring to the car, which had been parked since yesterday in the parking lot "for five minutes", we headed for Table Mountain - the symbol of the city. You sail to Cape Town by ship, fly up by plane, and this unusual hill is visible from many points in the city.
Imagine a mountain about a thousand meters high, but where, instead of a sharp peak, there is an even horizontal plateau, stretched for several kilometers in length, flat as a table. Hence the name.
You can go up by cable car.
The lower station is located at an altitude of about three hundred meters above sea level and already offers a beautiful view of the city. Here we sit in the trailer and begin the ascent. During the movement, the cabin floor rotates, so that, standing in one place, you can see the full panorama. Before approaching the end station, the trailer passes through the clouds and moves almost vertically, parallel to the mountainside.
The entire Table Mountain is a national park. At the top there is some vegetation, a restaurant and an unforgettable view of the city, very clear and distinct, despite the fact that we are above the clouds.
In general, low cloud cover over Cape Town is a constant phenomenon. It is explained by the fact that two oceans meet in this place - the Atlantic and the Indian, or rather two currents - cold from the west and warm from the east. The temperature difference gives rise to this condensate.
And on the top of Table Mountain there are many furry little animals, which are called Dassie here - something like a gopher, only several times larger. They are not at all afraid of people, as they are used to being fed by numerous tourists. All these animals are quite well-fed. Some sleep right on the edge of the plateau, above the cliff, while the rest rub against the legs of the guests and do not ask, but demand refreshments. Apparently they have a division of labor or shift work.
Aquarium of two oceans
Our next facility is the Aquarium, located in the tourist area of Waterfront, where we spent our first evening. The Cape Town Aquarium is done on a grand scale, like many things in this country.
Its exact name is "Aquarium of two oceans" - Atlantic and Indian. The organizers of the project used the geographical position of the city to show the inhabitants of the underwater world from all corners of these two oceans.
Due to the difference in temperature between the two currents encountered here, the underwater inhabitants themselves differ from each other.
You can spend the whole day in the Aquarium, how magical, beautiful and exciting this sight is.
But I will talk about only one hall - the hall of meditation.
Imagine a large room with a carpeted amphitheater and visitors sitting right on it. The hall is plunged into darkness.
In the center, to the full height - a huge glass cylinder - an aquarium, brightly lit from the inside. In it, fish slowly swim in a circle.
Quiet music, corresponding to the rhythm of their movement, serves as the background of this picture. You sit on the floor, focusing your eyes on this aquarium, which stands out brightly in the dark hall, and listen to music. Here it seems - that's all. But, after some time, you can no longer see either the hall or the fish. There comes a state of relaxation, complete distraction from everything worldly. The impression is indescribable.
It's getting dark outside. Evening is approaching, and with it the curfew. So I call here the dark time of the day, which is not conducive to walks. Although the nightlife in the city is quite vibrant.
Cape Town is considered one of the world capitals of sexual minorities.
A whole industry has been created here for them - special hotels, beaches, clubs, restaurants.
Guidebooks are issued separately for gays, separately for lesbians, etc.
These are rather thick books with many addresses for all occasions.
They can be obtained at tourist information centers, which are in every city, even a small one. And in Cape Town there are several of them, with a very rich selection of literature and not only for sexual minorities.
At night, life in the city does not calm down, but rather the opposite. This applies primarily to the area of the Waterfront, the City of the Century and other carefully guarded "reservations for whites. "
But not only.
The famous Long Street, running parallel to Adderley, right behind our hotel, is filled with all sorts of bars, restaurants and strip clubs, mostly open at night. And there come, do not come, numerous visitors, even from the local "beau monde".
You just need to know where and when to go.
We did not know, therefore, after six or seven o'clock in the evening, there was a "curfew" for us.
Although two of the three evenings spent in Cape Town, we have not lost.
City of the century
If our first day ended with a visit to the Waterfront, then the next evening we spent in "Century City" - in translation - the city of the century.
If you drive ten kilometers from Cape Town along highway number one, then, not far from its intersection with the seventh highway, we get to the Ratang intersection. A few years ago, a native of India, and there are many of them in Cape Town, Ratanga built a city of attractions here - like Disneyland, only in the local version.
At the end of the twentieth century, a grandiose construction unfolded near this place. A network of canals was made, connected to the Atlantic Ocean, and it is not so close from here. Buildings for offices, hotels, restaurants were erected. Construction continues to this day. All together, this is called "Century City" - another South African "cry from the heart", or rather, wealth.
Recently, a huge shopping center - "Chanel Walks" - opened here.
At the heart of it is a Western-style "mall", somewhere around four hundred shops, cinemas, cafes, etc.
Unusual exterior and interior design of the building. Here you can see a whole exhibition of architectural styles, but rather overflowing luxury.
The ceilings are decorated with frescoes, the columns - with antique-styled capitals.
But don't say anything, it's beautiful.
At the end of the evening, after walking through this realm of shopping, we went to the shore of one of the man-made canals. There was a summer cafe, completely empty, apparently because of the cool weather - after all, the end of May, autumn.
Quiet music sounded somewhere, the brightly lit, fabulous facade of the building and the bridges thrown over the canal were reflected in calm water. I didn't want to leave here. But it was already late, and we had to return to the evening Cape Town.
We were driving down a brightly lit highway. To the right, towards me, a stream of cars, mostly the latest models, was rushing by.
At the opposite end of this peninsula is the Cape of Good Hope. Hence the name of Cape Town - Cape City.
Although tourists here are told that the Cape is the southernmost point of the African continent, this is geographically incorrect.
The extreme point is located two hundred kilometers to the east, but there are few tourists there, so Cape Town has taken responsibility for maintaining the "Edge of the Earth". Even being on the Cape itself, it's hard to imagine how far we have come.
And only when you see a pillar with many signs that say that to Jerusalem, for example, 7468 kilometers, to London 9623 kilometers, etc. , you begin to understand where you are.
This day of ours we completely devoted to getting to know the Cape of Good Hope and everything that surrounds it.
The road was long. Partly along Highway One, and then through small towns scattered along the shores of the peninsula.
Early morning on Highway One.
Towards, in the direction of Cape Town, a continuous stream of cars is moving.
The peninsula gradually narrows and looks like a triangle in plan, the top of which is the Cape of Good Hope. Our road goes along the coast, passing several coastal towns - Fishhoek, Simonstown. It runs along their main streets filled with cars and pedestrians, built up with houses in the English colonial style, slightly diluted with local color.
This is mainly a shopping area.
And aside - huge villas climb the mountains. It seems that these places are far from poor.
Parallel to the highway, closer to the sea, there is a railway line, judging by the buildings of the stations, built somewhere at the beginning of the last century. The last stop in this direction is the city of Simonstown. We will visit it on our way back.
Outside the city, the road narrows and goes along a narrow strip between the mountains, which occupy the entire interior of the "triangle", and the ocean.
At the extreme point of the peninsula, a lighthouse rises on the mountain. You can climb the cape itself by funicular, or you can walk along the road. It's not that far.
At the top, as on Table Mountain, stands an old basalt house. It, of course, has a gift shop and a post office from where you can send a letter, fax, email. And on the outer wall of the building - a telephone - automatic. Call wherever you want and report what you say while standing at the "end of the world. " Here is the mentioned pillar with arrows indicating the direction and distance to some world capitals.
We stood at the lighthouse and looked at two oceans at once, in the place where they meet.
It is clearly seen from above that the water of the Atlantic Ocean is much darker than the water of the Indian Ocean, and there are many funnels at the place of their confluence.
Despite the piercing wind, we could not take our eyes off this beautiful picture for a long time.
But it's time to go down
There are many more buses in the parking lot.
This means that the tourist people woke up and came to look at the "kr