First Impressions of Cape Town, South Africa

By Nicole Brewer

Sawubona! I hope all is well on your end of the globe GTs! I’ve been settling into Cape Town quite nicely over the past few days.  I pretty much hit the ground running after my initial day of recuperating from jet lag, you have to love the jetsetting lifestyle of globe-trotters ;-).  Within the first twenty-four hours of landing, I managed to acquire a cellphone; get settled into my new apartment with my awesome new roommates (one a Capetonian and another an Italian that just moved here a couple days before I); as well as get a little sightseeing in, in the form of checking out the wharf & the gorgeous Table Mountain! It’s a bit chilly here but I’m ok with experiencing a South African winter.  I’m absolutely loving the diversity of this country thus far! 

I’ve trotted to the Neighbourhood Goods Market yesterday in the Old Biscuit Mill building, which is in walking distance of my new neighborhood Woodstock. It was chock full of local vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables, cool designer clothes and souvenirs.  I met some really nice girls on vacation from Johannesburg, whom I ate lunch with in the outdoor seating area which was full of cuisines from Turkey, Argentina and even Germany.  I found it quite amusing that I managed to trot all the way to Cape Town from Germany and one of my first meals in days consisted of a chicken swarma wrap and gluhwein (one of my favs from the Xmas markets there)! I managed to find some Germans from the local Rotary Club selling the hot delicious drink, with proceeds going to a local NGO here providing shoes to hundreds of thousands of children.  

Thus far, I’ve met more expats than locals in my time here, which as a globe-trotter is totally cool with me as I love meeting people from all around the globe. Nevertheless, as I discussed with a GT (Globe-Trotter) from our iluv2globetrot travel community that made a quick trot to South Africa from teaching in Rwanda, you will be told that one doesn’t have quite the “African” experience in Cape Town as in other parts of the continent.

However, what defines having an “African” experience? Should it consist of only dirt roads and poor water conditions as opposed to the dynamic and vibrant city life that Cape Town has to offer thus far, along with modern transportation modes including the MyCiti bus system that I am totally using to trot all around the city.  Take a peek at the awesome collection of photos that I’ve managed to capture in just my first few days of Cape Town. My first impressions of this amazing city are that it is simply breathtaking! Enjoy GTs!