snapshots from cape town

a city of contrasts

Cape Town is a city of contrasts. One of the most naturally beautiful cities in the world to be sure. With dramatic mountains and cinematic horizons over the waterfront, often drenched in sun with a generally mild Mediterranean climate. It’s also very much a patchwork city. Every neighborhood feels distinct. A product of its messy history of cultural clashes and mixes.

Cape Town is a city in transition. It faces many challenges, infrastructural, economic, social. A drive around the city will show emerging business hubs, luxury hospitality, and some of the poorest townships in the country. The inequality in inescapable, even as a traveler visiting. And there are many opportunities to learn about the history and engage in local communities in a responsible way. It’s changed a lot over the past few decades and that is felt throughout the city.

Cape Town is a city of multitudes. There’s no dominant culture or identity. Immigrants, expats, multi-generational South Africans that hail from various ethnic heritages. English, Afrikaans, Xhosa mingle with other local languages. The divisions of races and social classes feel ingrained in the fabric of the city, even in shared spaces. And the various parts of the city seem almost disparate. There’s the mall-like V&A waterfront, the luxury beach town feel of Camps Bay, the colorful houses of Bo Kaap, the bustle of C.B.D., the Victorian mansions of Greenpoint.

My first impression of Cape Town was a harsh reminder that August in the southern hemisphere is winter. Gloomy rainy days, the kind of windy, wet coldness that sinks in.

But then one day the sun came out and I opened my window to a panoramic view of Table Mountain and the city in the golden glow of sunrise. And suddenly all was right.

V&A WATERFRONT

The Waterfront is lined with hotels, shops and restaurants, a playground of commerce and frivolity. A constant stream of cars circling in and out of the parking lots to pick up and drop off tourists.

It evokes that special blend of chaos, of the same strain as Third Street Promenade and the Santa Monica Pier. There’s a full blown mall, a sprawling complex that almost makes me nostalgic for the suburban malls of the early 2000s. There’s the obligatory ferris wheel to make it a family destination. And a better than expected farmers market with a lot of great food vendors.

But early in the morning, before the shops open, before the chaos really sets in, the waterfront promenade is incredibly peaceful in the morning light. Palm trees and the water lapping gently. Mountains on the horizon.

For most of my time in Cape Town, the V&A Waterfront was home base. As soon as I rolled up, I felt like I was home. It felt like being in a coastal city in California. Heavy San Diego energy. For the most part it was an easy place to be. Great views. Nice for morning runs. But in many ways it felt like I was quarantining from the rest of the city. Like I barely knew what it looked like beyond this strange Disneyland strip of the coast.

ROBBEN ISLAND

Off the coast of the Waterfront, a 30 minute ferry away, is Robben Island.

The trip to Robben Island is like a pilgrimage for visitors to Cape Town, a core part of South Africa’s history, and more broadly of 20th century global world history. On the island, the structures are sparse, a stark contrast with the lush fields and blue waters surrounding. The former prison holds a weight of a dark history so recent, so present in today’s South Africa. And then you are dropped off outside, facing a breathtakingly beautiful view of Cape Town in the distance. A harsh juxtaposition of the sober prison buildings, the indifferent ocean and the majestic silhouette of Table Mountain on the horizon.

BO KAAP

Bo-Kaap, to those who may not know better, could be misjudged as a neighborhood made for Instagram, or at least a postcard. And to be honest, on the internet, it certainly looks the part. A quick search will bring up color drenched façades as backdrops for many an influencer.

But for those who do, it’s a neighborhood rich in a complicated history that spans generations. The neighborhood is a living community, with a rich cultural tapestry woven by the descendants of slaves from Southeast Asia. The vibrant colors of the houses are symbols of freedom, of ownership, of people who would never take for granted the ability to choose the color of their home.

And within the bright pinks and warm yellows, the striking oranges and bold blues, a life that carries on, new generations of families opening up shops, telling history in museums and murals.

What was particularly remarkable was the number of houses with murals painted in support of Palestine. A people who understand the pains of oppression can last long after institutional oppression is dismantled. It’s no wonder South Africa was the one to come forward with a genocide case against Israel. And it was really powerful to see the solidarity painted onto the façades of houses that they so proudly claim ownership of after all this time.

a community that holds on to its heritage through spice shops and homey restaurants serving up traditional Cape Malay curries

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

Every guide or recommendation list I consulted before this trip named Kirstenbosch as a must visit. And while I love a botanical garden anywhere I go, this one was truly unlike any I have seen before.

Calling it a botanical garden almost feels like an understatement. It’s more like a curated natural park, framed by the watchful presence of the mountains surrounding. The cinematic drama of the garden felt like stepping into the set of a blockbuster adventure film. The kind that might cast Dwayne Johnson in khaki.

The sprawling pathways, lush meadows and majestic trees in the arboretum, wild birds hanging about a living catalogue of South African flora. It’s big enough to maintain an atmosphere of tranquility even when there are a lot of people there. There’s room to spread out, to wander, to get a little lost, feel a thrill of discovery around a corner. Appreciate the delicate little flowers as much as the breathtaking vistas of the city far beyond. A quiet reprieve from the bustle of the city, and a beautiful way to spend an afternoon.

TABLE MOUNTAIN

My last full day in Cape Town happened to coincide with the first day the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway opened for the season. It also happened to be the first brilliantly sunny and warm day after an unusually cold and wet winter. Which is to say, it is a crowded an unpleasant day to ascend the mountain. But beggars can’t be choosers, and the clock was ticking so in spite of the traffic and closed streets and confusion, up we went.

As chaotic as it was to get up the cableway, all was forgotten as the rotating car gave 360 views of the city and mountain and ocean beyond. And then as soon as you step out at the top, it feels like seeing the city for the very first time.

The nice thing about having a mountain that has a flat top is that the plateau offers great surface area for a natural park. The expansive park feels like another world. There’s various loop trails around the rocky terrain that give an easy tour of not only the mountain but also the views to each direction, where you can spot landmarks in the glittering city and the expansive Atlantic and Indian Oceans beyond.

It’s an easy place to want to linger, to sit down and just stare off, pondering the big questions in the world. Never quite feeling ready to go back to street level.

CAMPS BAY

For my last sunset in South Africa, I wanted to savor it. So I beelined across town and over to Camps Bay. Dropped off at a beach cafe to get a smoothie and then take in golden hour in its full wonder.

Like many coastal cities, there are a range of beaches. Some better than others, each with its own purpose, identity. Camps Bay feels like a perpetual vacation. The waterfront is lively, lined with palm trees and beach cafes that skew clubby as day fades into night. Victoria Road gives PCH, but a nicer, more walkable beach town kind of version. Packed in like Santa Monica, but more pristine like Malibu.

And of course there’s the mountains, oh the mountains. The 12 Apostles, though I still can’t seem to count more than 10 from any angle. Its absurdly picturesque, a postcard come alive, with warm sunlight dancing across the sides of the mountain and lighting up the contemporary houses nestled in it.

And then finally, the promised sunset. A little hazy on this day but a soft golden that fills the sky and transforms the ocean into a sparkling metallic pool reflecting the glow. The silhouettes of palm trees looking like a desktop background come to life.

Making it so hard to say goodbye.

Cape Town, even in the winter is breathtaking, rich in culture and in natural beauty. I cannot wait to come see even more of it next time.