We did it! We managed to get our motorcycles out of customs and in our precious little hands. They are both in good working order and both started right away.
After a nice breakfast, some sightseeing was in order. Cape Town is a very modern city ... nice wide streets ... with a European feel and signage ... left hand drive ... lots of GS's everywhere ... lane splitting is OK.
The people here seem to always be in a good mood ... smiling, laughing, singing, poking fun at each other. It certainly warms your heart ... makes you remember how contagious happiness is.
There are also a lot of immigrants around here ... Gerald, our customs clearing facilitator, was an engineer from Zimbabwe, the Uber drive (yes, Uber) was from a medicine student from Tanzania, the coffee shop barista from Zambia. A very cosmopolitan city with good energy and a good vibe.
Went to the beautiful white sand beach at Camps Bay ... temperature was cold (around 60 degrees) but people were out ... surfers, sunbathers ... a TV commercial was being filmed on the streets ... nice people watching. I learned that Charlize Theron is from these parts.
Had time to also visit the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art (MOCAA) inside a repurposed grain storage facility ... incredible architecture and incredible art all around. It is funny how art, good art, has the unique ability to shutter the outside world and make you be present ... even if it is for a while ... you can forget about things, forget about where you are, the past, the future and just be there, for that instant, enjoying whatever you are seeing.
At the end of the day, we went to dinner with Jill and Garry by the V&A Waterfront ... a nice area full of shops, restaurants, people ... and a huge Ferris wheel to see the city from the top. And, on the way home, we had the chance to meet Jill's parents at their house ... in a neighborhood her whole family has lived in for generations.
Tomorrow, we are planning to go to Mossel Bay with Garry and Jill to "see some amazing parts."
After a nice breakfast, some sightseeing was in order. Cape Town is a very modern city ... nice wide streets ... with a European feel and signage ... left hand drive ... lots of GS's everywhere ... lane splitting is OK.
The people here seem to always be in a good mood ... smiling, laughing, singing, poking fun at each other. It certainly warms your heart ... makes you remember how contagious happiness is.
There are also a lot of immigrants around here ... Gerald, our customs clearing facilitator, was an engineer from Zimbabwe, the Uber drive (yes, Uber) was from a medicine student from Tanzania, the coffee shop barista from Zambia. A very cosmopolitan city with good energy and a good vibe.
Went to the beautiful white sand beach at Camps Bay ... temperature was cold (around 60 degrees) but people were out ... surfers, sunbathers ... a TV commercial was being filmed on the streets ... nice people watching. I learned that Charlize Theron is from these parts.
Had time to also visit the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art (MOCAA) inside a repurposed grain storage facility ... incredible architecture and incredible art all around. It is funny how art, good art, has the unique ability to shutter the outside world and make you be present ... even if it is for a while ... you can forget about things, forget about where you are, the past, the future and just be there, for that instant, enjoying whatever you are seeing.
At the end of the day, we went to dinner with Jill and Garry by the V&A Waterfront ... a nice area full of shops, restaurants, people ... and a huge Ferris wheel to see the city from the top. And, on the way home, we had the chance to meet Jill's parents at their house ... in a neighborhood her whole family has lived in for generations.
Tomorrow, we are planning to go to Mossel Bay with Garry and Jill to "see some amazing parts."
My crated motorcycle coming out of the Swissport warehouse.
Gerald, our handler and fixer, next to my bike.
Welcoming committee right outside the airport.
A view of the center of Cape Town.
The old part of town.
Camps Bay
Beautiful beaches facing the Atlantic.
The "Twelve Apostles" mountain wall
Clifton Bay looks windy!
Yes! The World Cup soccer stadium where the vuvuzelas were born.
The carved innards of the MOCAA art museum.
This Zimbabwean artist painted this as the last elections in his country were unfolding.
No words required : )
A dance troop at our restaurant. Amazing.
Richard and Garry with the waterfront complex in the background.
The gang of 4.
Cape Town at night from Signal Hill.
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