Cape Town - Day 1, 14th Nov
Posted by Della Parsons on Friday, November 27, 2009
Today is Saturday the start of the weekend – my first weekend in Cape Town, South Africa - and to make it perfect we have all been given the weekend off. Yippee! There is so much to see and do here but I still feel the need to ween myself away from the boat gradually. I also feel the need to have a 'normal' life day rather than a mad tourist day so I spend the morning in the yacht club, packing up my laundry to send off, catching up on emails and trying to research a few things to see and do. Having felt that I didn't really see much of Rio I wanted to make sure I ticked a few more boxes around Cape Town.
Shark Cage Diving was on my list – as was climbing Table Mountain. However the thing I really felt like doing that afternoon was going shopping. Which I did – with ferocity at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Waterfront shopping centre! Shopping for myself is not something I'd done much of in the last two years. Funds have gone first on the house and secondly on this small thing called a Round the World Yacht Race – so apart from waterproof socks and thermal base layers- which I'm not sure anyone could get really excited about buying – I'd not had a lazy wander through shops for some time! A good few hours and many bags later, I arrived back at the yacht club with the happy glow of a girl who had just bought a new dress, new knickers and socks, several bars of Cadburys Fruit & Nut (oh yes!), a new lip-liner, body spray, a replacement head-torch – for the one that now only works if it's in the mood and a zip-up fleecy top which I reasoned would be good for both port and an extra layer for the Southern Ocean! My only dampener was the fact that I still hadn't found the illusive Cinnabon outlet that I knew was lurking somewhere in Cape Town!
Back at the club some of the new crwe were starting to show up – Kirsten who would be joining us as far as Jamaica arrived with her friend Lily (they had been holidaying for a few days already) and Charles M who would be sailing with us as far as California – arrived with his son who he'd just been on safari with. All had come to say hello to the team and had been disappointed to find the Marie Celeste! Soon all were up to date and a few crew appeared. Lou, Kirsten Lily and I headed back off to the V&A for dinner (Ostrich kebab for me – Yum!) via the Tourist Info place to pick up details of various tours and to find a map of Table Mountain. I'd persuaded all that climbing to the top was the only way so we poured over the map to decide our route and a plan was hatched for our assault the following morning.
Shark Cage Diving was on my list – as was climbing Table Mountain. However the thing I really felt like doing that afternoon was going shopping. Which I did – with ferocity at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Waterfront shopping centre! Shopping for myself is not something I'd done much of in the last two years. Funds have gone first on the house and secondly on this small thing called a Round the World Yacht Race – so apart from waterproof socks and thermal base layers- which I'm not sure anyone could get really excited about buying – I'd not had a lazy wander through shops for some time! A good few hours and many bags later, I arrived back at the yacht club with the happy glow of a girl who had just bought a new dress, new knickers and socks, several bars of Cadburys Fruit & Nut (oh yes!), a new lip-liner, body spray, a replacement head-torch – for the one that now only works if it's in the mood and a zip-up fleecy top which I reasoned would be good for both port and an extra layer for the Southern Ocean! My only dampener was the fact that I still hadn't found the illusive Cinnabon outlet that I knew was lurking somewhere in Cape Town!
Back at the club some of the new crwe were starting to show up – Kirsten who would be joining us as far as Jamaica arrived with her friend Lily (they had been holidaying for a few days already) and Charles M who would be sailing with us as far as California – arrived with his son who he'd just been on safari with. All had come to say hello to the team and had been disappointed to find the Marie Celeste! Soon all were up to date and a few crew appeared. Lou, Kirsten Lily and I headed back off to the V&A for dinner (Ostrich kebab for me – Yum!) via the Tourist Info place to pick up details of various tours and to find a map of Table Mountain. I'd persuaded all that climbing to the top was the only way so we poured over the map to decide our route and a plan was hatched for our assault the following morning.
null
