Capetown

Arriving in South Africa again gave me a safe and welcoming feeling, but somehow I was still on the boat and used to that lifestyle....took me a while to really arrive. I took my rental car and drove up to Bokaap, where I stayed with my friends Henk and Suna. I just got in and said hi before they went off to a concert. Showering and unpacking, but soon left towards Waterfront mall to get a local SIM card. I knew my way around and got there quickly, but unfortunately the network for new SIM cards didn’t work today, I should try tomorrow.

Really hungry I drove down to Camps Bay and had dinner at the restaurant Butcher, which was managed by a friend of mine Steven. We chatted by the time I finished my food and went back since I was tired from a long journey. Anyway it was good to get out and trying to get used to the different part of my journey....sunset helped to get comfortable!

In the morning I started after breakfast straight to the phone shop and managed to get the SIM card. My appointment at Langaro Spa started at noon with a pedicure followed by a hair treatment. Felt so good to be fresh again. 

Late afternoon I visited Frank in Camps Bay, with whom I will stay from 22 February on. We had some wine and chatted. His place is just stunning with 5 bedrooms on 3 floors, a swimming pool, gym and staff that makes a stay here simply comfortable and carefree. 

The evening I spent with Henk and Suna, having some food and wine. Their neighbors had a small get together in their place, so we showed up and I instantly felt welcome meeting so many nice people, you could connect easily. That is what I really enjoy in Capetown, that people are so friendly and open. After a few drinks we were soon off to bed.

My friend Wahl, who I had met 3 years ago in Stormsriver on a blackwater river tubing tour was here for his holidays until he had to return to his job on a yacht in the Caribbean. Since he was leaving already three days later, I decided to drive up to Gansbaai Pearly Beach, where his mom lived and he stayed. The following two days we spent with some friends and his dogs chatting, hanging out at the beach and having good food. After haven’t seeing eachother two years, we just started where we ended two years ago. True friendship doesn’t stop no matter distance and time passing.

Tuesday I dropped him off in Stellenbosch where he spent the night before his flight back. I drove back to my place in Bokaap and relaxed before going on an adventure next day.

After loading the car and getting together with Henks friends we made our way 1 hour Northeast towards Paarl, where we parked in the Limietberg National Park and hiked along the river up and down through rocks and bushes until we reached this amazing waterfall running down from the top of the rocks in a pool. A bit of refreshing and relaxing made this hike a very special experience in the middle of beautiful nature.

For the night we stayed in a hut close to the river. Mountain club members can book these huts for really cheap fares, providing bunk beds, washing rooms and a fire place to hang out. We prepared a delicious Braai and slept very soon, we very exhausted but happy from the amazing day.

After breakfast next morning we made our way along Wellington and Bains Kloof area to check out different sites for the next adventures, Henk was organizing for his business as the Secret Adventurer. I was happy to be a part of his tours...more to come soon :)

Evening braai at Franks villa in Camps Bay was a perfect final for the day, watching sunset and a glass of wine in your hand.

Next day was all about me: Delicious breakfast, spa treatment and hanging out at Clifton beach on a warm sunny day with a little breeze.

Arriving back in Capetown from being a week home in Germany was as if I had never left. After I picked up my clothes at Henk and Sunas place in BoKaap I drove to the top of Camps Bay and moved into the villa of Frank, a close friend of my family. It was the first time that I felt not alone but lonely....a very important person in my life, who was supposed to be here, was missing. Within a few weeks things had changed, not only him not being here, but instead being even further away. Kind of hard to accept I tried to make the best of it and got to talk to Franks friend Gabi, who cheered me up a little. I didn’t really have time to be trapped in my mood because shortly after my arrival some friends of Frank came over for some drinks and snacks. As the evening passed, I stopped thinking and due to long travels went to bed quickly.

Next morning I started my day with sports....spreading a mat towards the ocean view and music in my ears I could concentrate on myself. Gabi surprised me with a cappuccino. Stretching and enjoying the view with a coffee while cooling of from sports - that was be again, centered and peaceful.

After breakfast I dropped Gabi at the beach and drove to the V&A Waterfront mall to get some things done. Saturday wasn’t the best time to go there, too many people, so headed back to Camps Bay to rest at the pool.

By the early evening some guests came, some already familiar, some new faces too. One of them Patrick was originally from Ivory Coast, but lived in Capetown. We got to talk and shortly after he invited my to join for wakeboarding next day with some friends. That is exactly what I love about Capetownians, they are open, warm and welcoming people. 

The evening passed while Sushi and salad were served, of course with wine and champagne, so the pool party went on...and long!

Early pick up by Patrick didn’t give me much sleep, but I could rest a bit on the almost 2 hour drive to Misverstand, a small town close to the Cederberg National Park area. They had built a damm at a river to generate electricity and so the top part of the river was shallow and calm...perfect conditions to wakeboard. It was my first time, but to have kept some memory of kitesurfing in my body, I went for it. First shot and I glided along the river. What an amazing feeling being naturally talented to do this! After a chilled lunch I gave it another try and again it worked. Well, trying to wake over the wave at my third session made me fall forward directly on my face. Kind of painful I finished for today, but being happy that it had worked so well.

The four of us drove back napping a bit in the car until I reached Cafe Caprice where Frank and his friend Monika were waiting for me. I had no choice but join them since there was no one at the house and they wanted to spend the evening at the cafe. Sunday evenings were famous for the who-is-who gathering at the Cafe Caprice with wine and house music. Kind of fun watching all these hipsters walking up and down the promenade showing off themselves, but I was happy that we left by 8.30pm...I was sooo tired from the day.

Feeling your body is good, but feeling pain is not what I expected from yesterday’s wakeboarding....my neck was kind of stiff from the last crash into the water. Apart from that I felt my muscles ake from all the workout, so I decided to book a massage to loosen a bit. The rest of the afternoon I spent by the pool relaxing and swimming until I left for Bluebergstrand, where I met a friend from Germany, who was there for kitesurfing. We sat at the beach for an amazing sunset view along the cost with Table Mountain and Lions Head far away but clear. This place deserves its name Sunset Beach, one of the most beautiful views in Capetown. 

When the sun set we walked up to a steak house, but for fish and calamari. I drove back to Camps Bay quite late, but worth the visit.

The next day I took it easy with little workout and yoga in the morning followed by shopping at the V&A Waterfront mall, but back for lunch in the afternoon. In the evening I met Simon and Danni, who I‘d met at Franks party....we went indoor climbing at City Rock. This huge hall offered a gym, bouldering and climbing for 160 Rand all day, about 10€. We climbed two hours and had so much fun the three of us. I left for the airport at 10pm to pick up my mom, she was visiting for a week.

Easy start for mom, so after comfortable breakfast we left for Table Mountain. The tickets we had bought online, so we went right through and up. Table Mountain is one of the worlds 7 wonders of nature and even though I had been up there before, still impressed by the nature’s beauty. We walked around the top of it with weather changing every minute: fogg, clouds, breeze, sunshine everything.

As I saw two guys abseil, I short notice decided to do it as well. I quickly cleared the payment and waited for the guides to come back up after the two guys were finished. We had limited time because Frank wanted to have lunch at 3pm at the house, it was already 1pm. I just don’t like being rushed on my travels since you easily get trapped by time, keeping you away from the unexpected beautiful occasions can come to you when you simply go with the flow. 

In this case we had to unfortunately leave because the two guys took too long going down.

We arrived just in time back in Camps Bay for lunch. Quickly after my mom and I left for to go downtown, I wanted to show her a bit around. Again time was limited, but I managed to take her to the Yours/Truly bar on Kloof street for a sunset beer and a Gin Tonic at the Gin Bar on Wale Street.

We walked back to Barrack Street to the restaurant „De Cousins“, where I had made a reservation and Frank and Monika were supposed to meet us. One of the owners was with us on the wakeboarding tour on Sunday and so I had to try his homemade pasta....and they were amazing! They prepared the Tagliatelle in a creamy mushroom sauce and in the end fliped it on a big piece of Grana Padano. What a delicious pasta! Even the garlic mussels as starters and Afogato as desert were so tasty. Even though Frank wasn’t that convinced at first, having difficulties expressing that it was good, we enjoyed the evening and went back quite early.

For today I had planned to visit two vineyards, one in Somerset West called „Vergelegen“ and the other in Stellenbosch „Spiers“. We arrived early at Vergelegen, walked around the sites, gardens and old houses from the 1700s and took a few sips of good red wines before we left for Spiers. From 2pm on we were privileged to be taken around the Spiers vineyard by Neil, the closest friend of my friend Wahl. He is the head of agriculture department at Spiers and showed us different sites of vine, cow, pig and chicken farms as well as the facilities for self sustaning almost the whole site - from solar systems to sewage tanks, that are cleaned in tanks and reused.

Two hours of highly interesting input, we were so greatful for the beautiful day and drove back to Capetown.

Waterfront mall for some seafood dinner, dropped Frank of course at Cafe Caprice and the three of us went straight back home to have a drink while playing my favorite Musafir dice game 10.000 :)

...hike, what else. My friends Henk and Suna wanted to explore the routes on Lion‘s Head reopening today after heavy fires two weeks ago. 5.30am meetup and up we went besides many others that had the same idea. It wasn’t the best weather and kind of cloudy on the top, but you get the best views with cloudes as we discovered in the dark and with daylight on our way down. By 8am we were back at the cars and everyone went their way to start the day....just right with sports!

After breakfast Monika, my mom and I hit the road along Chapmans Peak passing Nordhoek beach to Simonstown to see the penguins. Furtheron we drove to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. No matter where we got to, besides the perfect weather the cues were short and therefore timing was perfect. Picture time with stunning views at each point along our route made unforgettable memories.

For dinner I had reserved a table at the Kloof Street House, where we enjoyed Ostrich and Salmon steak. 

In the morning we noticed that breakfast wasn’t served before 10.30, which was too late for us already starving and fully awake at 9 o‘clock, so we left for Old Biscuit Mill. A former slavery place transformed into a vibrant food and art market on Saturdays. We walked along the different international food stands, had breakfast coffee and fresh juice before we took a tour through the shops and drove back.

For the evening Frank had invited some people, so Monika and my mom prepared the food....Indian finger food and salads. We sat amongst good people having conversations and music. I wasn’t in a perfect shape haunted by some emotions, so went to bed quite early. The evening for the others went on another hour, so soon it was quiet in the Villa.

In the morning we tried to get up to Table Mountain for the Abseiling, but we would have to wait at least 2 hours in line, so we decided to postpone once more. We stopped for a coffee in Seapoint, bought some snacks for the concert and went back to prepare and rest a bit. Kirstenbosch‘s summer concerts were every Sunday afternoon from November to March and I had managed to get tickets for my mom and myself. It takes place in the middle of the Botanical Garden as a huge picknick. You are allowed to take all drinks and food with you to sit on a blanket and watch the concert beneath the mountains. We left early in order to get a good spot, first come first serve. We got there at 3.30pm and were amongst the first 50 people, so could choose a perfect spot. The minute the music started with a DJ and singer the whole croud stood up and danced. This was the time to open our wine bottle and move to the beats. The main act started at 6pm and almost every one of the mostly local people sang along her songs, South African soul singer Amanda Black. Seeing so many local people dance and happy enlightened my mood instantly. Even after the concert they were still singing their own songs and danced. We were caught by their vibe and stayed for a little while, just until it almost became dark. What an exceptional experience and feeling this event gave us, no words could describe!

What to do on a Monday, when it’s raining...shopping! I took the ladies to Access Park Outlet Mall, just half an hour outside the city. Only 5 out of more than 50 stores consumed all of our time we had planned to stay. 2 hours later we drove back to pick up Frank and have late lunch together at the Waterfront. A restaurant Den Anker I had chosen just by the port offered one of the best mussles we had so far. After Frank and Monika left, my mom and I walked through food market and art halls, having a rest watching and listening to traditional African choirs between the different halls. We simply enjoyed our free time.

In the meantime the sky had cleared and promised to give us a perfect sunset....where else than at Sunset Beach in Blueberg Strand, where we watched the kitesurfers catch one wave after another in the sunset...

Since the first two times I didn’t manage to do the abseiling on Table Mountain, I had booked it early morning this Tuesday. We caught one of the first cable cars to go up and I could put on my harness right away to get started at 9am. After the first instruction they left me down the vertical wall of 112 meters. Making a little jump here and there slowly reached the end of the wall, the last third was simply free fall until I reached the final platform. Great experience and stunning clear views with not a single cloud in the sky.

The way back was along the rocks about 15 minute hike to reach the top again. 

We got back to the car, drove back and had breakfast together. 

My mom and I wanted to get some souvenirs at Spiers, so made our way there and on the way back spent the afternoon at Llandudno Beach, for me the most beautiful beach in Capetown...especially when it’s a sunny day with almost no wind. Even the waves looked ok and not too high, so I jumped into the 17.5 degrees cold water - icecold but a wonderful refreshment!

Our last evening we spent with Frank and Monika in the house having dinner and drinks. They were both off early next morning. 

My mom had her flight late at night, so we had the whole day to spend together. We visited Whals mom in Pearly Beach close to Gansbaai for lunch and had a wonderful time together, the moms getting along so well together that my talking time was paused for a few hours ;).

The morning after she left I started the day with sports. It was drizzling outside, by the time I drove down to Seapoint it started raining. Anyway, running in the rain is great, so I parked the car and ran up to the public swimming pool and back, about 5k. Soaking wet I got into the car, got some fruits and croissants for breakfast at Knead bakery and had my breakfast in the villa. The rest of the day I spent in the house working on my website since the weather wasn’t getting sny better during the day.

Finally I moved out of Camps Bay into an Airbnb place in Greenpoint. Didn’t spend much time there until I met some friends from Germany in town at Kloof Street House for dinner and then another guy for drinks, who I had met in the climbing gym the previous evening. Didn’t stay that long and drove back home.

It’s kind of interesting how you can spend day by day meeting people and doing things without really a purpose and let time fly easily.

The next day I met the Spanish guy for breakfast in Greenpoint, whose family my mom and I met at Kirstenbosch concert, so the morning past quickly.

In the afternoon I took a hike along pipe track below Table Mountain for about 2 hours passing pipes, that were built in 1922 during colonial times. The weather was kind of cloudy and windy, so it was more about doing sports than having a perfect scenery. Anyway the views were great.

Slowly I was kind of tired, so stopped at the Mojo Food Market for some late lunch. The market hall had all kind of different international food, hart to decide....some mussels with pita bread were just right. 

It was my last evening in Capetown and I hadn’t seen Henk and Suna for a while, we were supposed to meet in Bree Street at 7.30pm. Expect the unexpected as always my friend Jonny offered to join for a sunset drink with his friends on Kloof Corner just below Table Mountain next to Lion‘s Head. With a Gin Tonic it was one of the most beautiful sunsets for my last evening.

I ran a bit late, parked my car close to Hank‘s bar in Bree Street and joined them. Everyone came together, old and new friends for drinks and a little Loop Street party, that never killed nobody ;)!

A bit hangovered I could surprisingly think clear enough to make a lifetime decision: have a new tattoo! After a pedicure to of course make the feet look good for the new „jewelry“ I drove to Woodstock and got my tattoo Nr. 9.

It felt hard, but at some point I had to leave Capetown...staying another day after having such a nice evening wasn’t adding more to my experiences, especially not with a hangover. I decided to hit the road to arrive after six hours in Nature’s Valley. I felt lonely in my car after being surrounded by friends all the time, now leaving this behind and getting to an unknown unexpected place again. The further I got away from Capetown the easier my thoughts and feelings got. I guess it’s part of the journey to move on and meet new people, create new stories. The best thing is to not think about it too much and be open for what comes. The more expectations you create, the more disappointment you can get in return.

I was ready for a new journey!