Durban Sights

Wow! What do we see?


Victoria Market is filled with these crammed curio shops.

There is a chance Natty needs this by week's end! (Just kidding, Mom).



Beaded stuff. They do that well here.

Lily pad, Durban Botanical Gardens.

Soccer!

After generously allowing my parents an hour of rest, we scooped them up at their hotel, ate a quick dinner, and hustled off to the MTN Finals. It was the Moroka Swallows vs. the Orlando Pirates, both from Soweto, the sprawling township outside Johannesburg. We had no idea who either team was, but when we found ourselves seated in a Pirates section, we became ardent fans. Sports, like everything else here, are divided along race lines, and soccer is an overwhelmingly black sport. We fretted for a few minutes about what to do if we got lost in the huge crowd, but decided we'd have no trouble tracking each other down. I was a terrible vuvuzuela blower, and my dad put me to shame, blowing taps loudly. Apparently, we chose the right team - the Pirates won!

All Things Cape Town, Volume II

When we woke up and saw the sun shining, we hustled over to Table Mountain, as the gorgeous views are often hidden behind the "table cloth," the low covering of fog that often sits on the mountain. It was lovely, and Gail survived her fear of heights by making sure she always walked on the inside of the path. That afternoon, we wandered over to the Company Gardens in the city center, where we saw nine weddings. Yes, nine, and several of those with the more outrageous bridesmaids dresses I have ever seen. After, we stumbled upon an incredible little exhibit about Desmond Tutu and the anti-apartheid marches he lead in the 1980s. The next morning, we explored the Bo-Kaap, a Muslim community with vividly colored houses. Then, it was back to Durban, which for now, feels like home!Emerging from the dungeon. Natty was our self-declared tour guide at the Castle.

Cape Castle, the oldest building in South Africa.





Vivid colors of the Bo-Kaap.
Our car guard at the Bo-Kaap. Yes, he is carrying a sword.

Our balcony. Not a bad view.
Wedding seven.
Wedding three.
Wedding two.
City Hall.

Robben Island, the harbor, and the soccer stadium, the tiny oval near the water.



Notice my tight grip on the wall. I'm NOT going overboard.
Gail, wondering if she'll make it.

Natty, with his anxious, "I need to know how it works" look.

All Things Cape Town, Volume I

Having conquered the wineries, we headed down to the Cape of Good Hope, with a stop to see penguins along the way. We arrived just in time to watch a storm arrive across the Atlantic, which put a damper on our plans to hike. With the clouds and rain swirling around us, it was easy to imagine how ships could run afoul of the sheer cliffs and rocky coast. As we were heading to a hotel, we just happened to pass Steenberg wineries, which was the vineyard that produced some of the wine we served at our wedding. Clearly, we had to stop, and clearly, we had to buy more wine than we could carry.
Gail is a master gardener, and so the next morning, we went to Kirstenbosch, Cape Town's botanical gardens, and went on a two and a half tour. Natty loved it. He couldn't fathom why I thought a nearly three hour tour was a lot of tour. But it was a gorgeous day and the flowers were lovely. That afternoon, we took a tour over to Robben Island, a maximum security prison for political prisoners during apartheid. The ride over gives you a sense of how formidible the ocean is, as the ferry crashes through the swells, and how terrifying it must have been for the prisoners. They managed to continue the struggle even while incarcerated, educating each other and even the guards. The tours are led by former prisoners, and it's a powerful reminder of how very, very recent apartheid was. Walking through the empty halls and into the open cells is a chilling experience.
(The pictures are out of order).

Prison blocks
The guard tower
Rations: Even in the prisons with no whites, apartheid persisted.


Mandela's cell

The site of Mandela's garden, where he hid the manuscripts for his book, A Long Walk to Freedom
Our guide




The quarry where they worked and held secret classes

Ostrich!



Look, we still like each other even after weeks of being together every moment.

View from Cape Point


Our guide at the botanical gardens

King Protea, the national flower. It's bigger than my head.