Finally a Tourist and Joburg

Sunday was my last day in Cape Town and first free day to be a tourist. Feeling as though I had seen a lot of Cape Town while working, I decided to go for a jog along the promenade that winds above the breath-taking coastline through Greenpoint (home to the new soccer stadium for the 2010 World Cup), Sea Point, Clifton, and Camps Bay. It seemed as if all of Cape Town was out for a Sunday stroll, watching the surfers tackle the large waves breaking on the rocky shore and navigating the dense collections of seaweed.

After taking in the views, I headed to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront for some shopping. Finding everything to be a bit out of my price range, I opted to taxi over to the Green Point Flea Market, where I found a myriad of hand made beaded jewlery and arts and crafts. Everything in the market was made by people from the townships. Having experienced their living conditions, I felt it was inhumane to bargain down their asking prices, which still was not much, and I wished I could have helped eached person.

I left the market with a bag full of great African jewlery that I couldn't wait to wear. I had the taxi drop me at Arnolds Cafe which had been recommended to me by numerous locals (and I was also given a coupon for a free bottle of wine so I couldn't pass that up!). I was dining on delicious Mozambique prawns and enjoying my South African wine when a young couple came over and asked me to join them. As it turned out, the woman is moving to Huntington Beach in September for a new job- what a small world! After a few glasses of wine and many laughs, we exchanged emails and I returned to my hostel to pack.

Arriving in Joburg midday, I was greeted by the loveLife driver and shuttled to their national office where I was immediately handed a laptop and asked to write an article for their internal newspaper that is read by about 7000 people who are involved with loveLife. Sifting through my experiences and emotions about my adventure thus far, I began to write, reflecting on what I had seen and learned over the past week.