Afrique 3 – CAP TOWN THE CITY

 Cape Town 2

First bad news, I send a message at about ten warmshowers cyclists in Cape Town, and I have only one answer, negative, so I will be alone here. And the collegues of Martine in Comunicare office are cool with her, but dont worry about entertaining us by the evening.
So Martine is here to do 2 weeks voluntaring for Comunicare, which is a society making buildings for riches and with the benefits buildings for poors. One of these buildings is an appart-hotel for old riches, and Comunicare lodges us in the guest flat, Bedroom and dining room. We have free food from the cantine too. The old are already ghosts, and I nearly never see or hear them. It is very quiet.
At the start Cape Town seems great, with the sea on one side, and the table mountain back. But apart trekking around< which means to have a car to go to the treks and make the things for tourists, each 100$, as diving in a cage to see squales, or flying over the mountain, there is not so much to do. The town itself is boring.
Martine is happy with its work, me I am boring. Cape Town is just a town like thousands, new ordinary buildings, streets parallels crosssing en perpendicular, no little places, no monuments. It used only for business and officials and tourism, it doesnt have any local life, no artisan. They are 3 main streets, Georges maill for tourism and official, with the expensive shops and the parliement, long street for tourists with all the lodges and stupid shops and pubs, and loop street with the business buildings. They are a few one hundred years old buildings in these streets, but nothing marvelous. The other touristic place is the harbour, where are only restaurants, shops, handcrafts for tourists. Well the view on the boats is nice, and some are big. At the top of Georges mail there are the old parliement, 2 museums and a little nice botanic garden, where I saw my first big game, squirrels and mices.
It has no sign of Africa here. That are the same shops , cars, and buidings as anywhere in Europa. People have the same clothes and the same look and the same behaviour than in Europa. Streets are clean and asphalt. Sure a lot are black but I barely notice it, as they look so in western ways. A suburb in Paris is more typical than here. The only African things are for tourists.
On tuesday i did a go and go back till the luthier to catch the mandolin, 70km, and on the way back I crossed the pass behind Cape Town. It is steep, but possible, and with a lot of trafic and no scenic view. It is not shorter than following the sea, so there no interest to do it. Then I wander downtown andd i play music.
This weekend we took the car of Comunicare to go till Cape Point, where we cycle a little in the national park. It is a narly flat area, with stones and shrubs and grass and windy. Cape Hope peak is nice, with the yellow cliff, an on the road going at it foot, we were along the sea, and we saw ostriech, tortoise, birds, flowers, and baboons. Then we lunch in Fishoek in front of the sea looking at the surfers, in the sun, for 2 hours. And then we go to the Botanic Garden by the mountain road. Well it is naerly the same, stones and shrubs, and views on the sea and the valley. It ends in a very green suburb with a few houses in trees. The park is nice but not so big, with trees and flowers from Africa.
It wont happen anything new till Sunday, the day we move to Roberston, I suppose.