CAPE TOWN

Just prior to my trip to this country my friend Laura mentioned something about seeing God at Cape Point. I tried to find the Almighty through the dense clouds but the best I could do was catch some baboons chilling on the road to the Cape of Good Hope.

Now don’t get me wrong. It was a very spiritual experience seeing a mama baboon nestling her two-day old infant in between her legs. We also saw some Southern Right whales (they’re breeding early this year) along the way in Simon’s Town, some penguins and ostriches both in the midst of their mating season. The drive from the city to the Point has to be one of the most scenic paths to heaven in the world. Even on a real pea-souper of a day, the sight of the Atlantic Ocean waves crashing against the cliffs and the mountains covered with a variety of colorful bushes—it really doesn’t get much better than that.

It certainly did wonders to alleviate the funk I had been in all day. It all started at 6:56 a.m. when I had been awakened prematurely by a phone call telling me that my planned trip to Robben Island was canceled because of the weather. I looked out my window at the lovely Cape Grace Hotel on the Cape Town waterfront and although it was a bit cloudy, I’m no meteorologist but I saw no reason why we couldn’t make the trip since it wasn’t raining. Apparently, however, the seas were a little too choppy and the ferries weren’t going to be running all day.

Launch Slide Show! 

The contingency plan was to visit Table Mountain.

Me: “How far is Table Mountain? I’d like to book a car.

Hotel concierge: “I’m sorry Ms. Turner, that has closed down as well.”

Me: “Huh?”

Hotel concierge: “It’s too windy. I’m terribly sorry.”

Me: “Dang!

Well, what does one do when one’s plans go awry? Buy wine. One of the chauffeurs at Cape Grace pointed me in the direction of a good wine shop where I purchased a couple of bottles of a Pinotage I had sampled in Johannesburg. I wanted this great wine called Catharina (a blend of five red wines) that I’d had on at the Steenberg Vineyards on Sunday, but Vaughn’s Wines didn’t stock it.

After that I explored the waterfront area that includes a couple of malls, a huge craft market warehouse, loads of restaurants, an aquarium and a museum. There are also a variety of ships and ferries docked around the harbor. Think Baltimore’s Inner Harbor but three times bigger. It’s very touristy, but quite quaint as well.

Upon my return to Cape Grace, Sheba, one of the receptionists suggested that I book a table at the black-owned African Café. She said it was a great place for vegetarians and that I’d love it. Unfortunately, they were booked so I settled for Mama Africa, a place that someone else suggested.

Mama Africa was more like Mama White Castle.

First, I was kept waiting in an empty restaurant for about 15 minutes before any one took my drink order. About 10 minutes later a waitress came by and said: “We’re out of red wine at the moment but a guy just went to get some. Would you like to wait for it?”

Me: “Sure.”

Now if we had been in Napa Valley, a guy going out at 7 p.m. to get some wine for a restaurant might have been fine. But we were in a trendy part of Cape Town that looked very much like Bourbon Street in New Orleans. When homeboy came back carrying a BOX of red wine I had a serious Whitney Houston “ah hell to the naw” moment! Since I had already ordered a veggie curry I decided to stick it out even though I was in total red wine withdrawal. 

Taking a chance on the food wasn’t a good decision either. It was horrible. I paid for it, hopped into a cab and headed to the African Café where I put on my best “I am somebody” face and got in. That’s the spot. They have dishes from around the continent. The service was superb and my wine came in a bottle.

It was the perfect end to an imperfect day.

Miki Turner is currently touring South Africa. She can be reached at oaktown89@aol.com