When you travel you meet so many people. With some of them you spend an afternoon, with some maybe a couple of days but very few of them you’ll meet again after the trip is over. There are a couple of great people I saw again though. Like Victoria who I met in Mexico and, almost 2 years later, had a lovely Christmas evening at her families house in Buenos Aires with. Or Sharon who shared the amazing trip to Antarctica with me and who invited me to her home town Dublin a year later (where I also met up with Christine who I met in Thailand the first time). And then there is my South African friend Saranne. We met in Mexico and travelled (or should I say chilled) in Guatemala together for a week. I told her one day I would come to SA and so, 4 years later, we arrive at her doorstep!
Now, as we all know HIV/AIDS is a big issue in Africa, and South Africa is no exception. My friend Saranne works for the Western Cape Department of Health as the manager of the global fund. She runs the projects regarding anti retro viral medication, the program to educate children and communities and the project to provide support and care for families and HIV positive people. Super interesting!
Last time meeting up with ‘our’ Dutch family Kamp
Saranne, a penguin and me :)
We spend a couple of days in Cape Town. Kosta gets a new tattoo, we defrost Saranne’s fridge (trust me, that needed to be done LOL) and enjoy a lazy afternoon with my friend. No touristy things yet as Kosta’s mother will join us for two weeks soon. And the first day here is enough to make me love CT! It is truly love at first sight: I love the vibe of the city, the Waterfront, the view of the Table Mountain and the proximity to the beach. Yes, if I were South African, I could easily live here.
Kosta and mom
Chapman’s Peak
At Cape Point
On Sunday we leave Saranne’s apartment to get ourselves settled in a cottage. Kosta’s mom Ruth is arriving and so we have rented a nice place to spend the first couple of days at. And then it is finally time to be the tourists we are and do some site seeing. We drive down to Cape Point to stand at the most south-western part of Africa. It is truly a great day with amazing scenery along the way. I tell you, South Africa is such a beautiful country! We also visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and many other political (and criminal) prisoners were held. Only black, coloured and Asian men were imprisoned on the island. White men and women were brought to a prison in Pretoria. The inmates of Robben Island had a very rough time, working in the sun all day long without any shade or sunglasses to cover their eyes. Many of them had eye damage because of this. Nelson Mandela for example can not cry any more as the tear gland got damaged while working in the blistering sun. In 1991 all political prisoners were released and in 1994 they closed down the prison. Nowadays it is a museum and many of the people that live on the islands were former political prisoners or even guards. They live side by side now and some of the political prisoners work as tour guides.
On Robben Island
After the interesting tour on Robben Island we spend time in the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens. Saranne told us it was a nice place and truly it is a must see. Just incredibly beautiful, peaceful and relaxing.
In the must see botanical garden
Nice one : )
And then it is time to get ready for Namibia. Kosta and I have seen what we wanted to see in fantastic SA, now we go and discover the beauty of Namibia with Ruth. She will fly out of Windhoek and we want her to have an unforgettable trip toward Windhoek.
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