Capetown Harbor Area

The harbor area--Victoria (and Alfred [sic]) Mall--is a re-development, of course, but one of the biggest and best we've seen anywhere.

Table Mountain from the harbor

In addition to shoppes, cafes, restaurants, even a few cultural
attractions, there was plenty of live music (reminiscent here of
Tropical Montana)

Cruises to Robben Island

Sculpture

Really impressive sculpture

More performance

Harbor rides aboard the Jolly Roger

But the show-stealer was this, um, yacht,
parked outside the mall; Howard and Jenni,
real sailors, headed there first

In for some repairs; on a round-the world cruise; registered
out of Isle of Wight; crew not permitted to reveal who the
owner is

It's the Mirabella V, the world's largest sloop-
rigged sailing vessel (so it says); 256 feet long

Carries its own seaplane [I'm writing this from St. Tropez, and
there is nothing here to compare, not even close to close]--so
my new standard for yachts is whether they carry a seaplane

Inside the giant mall, which had every luxury shoppe we could
think of; impressive, in a way...; in any case, thus ended our long
but excellent day tour of Capetown

Capetown Table Mountain

Few great cities have a backdrop like Table Mountain, towering a couple thousand feet above, the most distinctive part of a long, once defining ridge. Of course, the city has now grown to envelope the mountain. Still, it is a sight that no photographs can prepare you for. After the Company's Gardens, our bus took us to the cable car station and a ride to the top of the mountain. As happened on so many other occasions on our African tour, the weather broke just right.

From the Company's Gardens

Time for just one more art deco...

From the cable car station

We'll be riding in the red one

The cars are huge, accommodating 50 or more

Most interesting, as it rides up the cable, the car itself rotates,
so that everyone gets the 360 degree view

Thus

Also interestingly, if they have to rescue you, they can only
do it seven persons at a time

Us, there

Harbor area, where we'll go next

Capetown's enormous futbol stadium; rugby is their thing, I
assume

Looking down among the limestone towers

Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned

Helpful model #739

It's a long way to SF

Also DC

Looking toward the actual Cape

And south of Capetown

Capetown Company's Gardens And Environs

Our walk continued to the Company's Gardens--originally vegetable and fruit gardens in this once company town--now a public park and small botanical garden (there's a big one down the peninsula...maybe next time). At the bottom of the park is the cathedral where Desmond Tutu was bishop.

Some huge old specimens

With a gorgeous backdrop

Dirty, rotten, filthy, lice-ridden...wait,, no; Egyptian geese

I neglected to take a picture of the tree, but did get its Maori name--Pohutukawa--
which I will need to use next January

Beautiful place

More history that is not beautiful, the slave quarters

Tutu's cathedral

We LOVED this church welcome

Interior

Back into the Garden

Centre of the Book! The national library is near)

Camellia blooming right on schedule

Wifi Tree (as a companion observed)

Rhodes Monument

Cute kiddie swings in the Garden

The Gardens as they once looked