Antarctica to Zimbabwe – Day 58 – Silver Wind, Saldanha Bay can be found here.
Our departure Chronicle, for those interested:
Amazing to think that we covered 4,676 nautical miles during this leg alone.
Now, onto the day at hand – up at 7 am this morning to finish the last of the packing. We’d vaguely hoped that we were using up toiletries and other sundries faster than we were acquiring new items, but that’s not the case. Two of our bags are around 5 pounds overweight. (The others, thankfully, still have room – but we’re glad we’re not flying anywhere today.)
But soon we’re triple-checking the safe and drawers, and then rolling out our remaining bags shortly before the 8 am deadline. We say one last farewell to our exceptional butler, Vishal, and our fantastic suite attendant, Swapnil and then we’re off to breakfast.
It’s busy in the Restaurant, but not jammed. Our server is run off his feet, and we reassure him that we’re not in any hurry. Our cohort doesn’t depart for another hour and a half.
My wife and each order our final eggs benedict:
While the kids have their last round of waffles:
We talk about some of the highlights from the trip, and list off the animals that we’re hoping to see next week when we’re in Sabi Sands. It’s fortunate that we have some major adventures planned, otherwise we might have tried to stay on the ship – like that time it was raining in Iceland so we continued to Greenland instead.
Breakfast eventually wraps up and we head to Dolce Vita for the last few minutes before we depart. We see some new friends on their way out, and wish them well. It’s hard to believe all that’s happened in the past 40 days. It’s really been incredible.
I run into Jamie in the hallway at one point, and he congratulates us on some fantastic parenting. It’s easy, though, when our kids are so amazing. He points out that it takes more than great kids, and he’s right – but really it’s a back-and-forth – a conversation. We’ve been fortunate that everyone wants to travel, and that we’re all willing to put in the work needed to make this happen.
The clock ticks over to 9:30 am and it’s time to go. Final hugs all around, and we’re down the extremely bouncy gangplank to the port terminal where our bags are waiting. My wife wisely flags down a porter almost immediately, who piles the suitcases atop a baggage cart. It’s not far to where our bus is waiting, but I’m glad we’re not lugging the 350+ pounds of luggage ourselves.
Bags go onto the bus, porter gets tipped, and we hop aboard. It should only be a 10 to 15 minute drive to our hotel – Capital 15 on Orange. We’d initially expected to be closer to the waterfront – and had booked our post-Silversea hotel accordingly – but the Capital also looks nice so we’ll take what we get.
We head off through Cape Town, passing some street art on the way:
Our bus moves in the shadow of Table Mountain, and our guide recounts the tale of Devil’s Peak:
Jan van Hunks was a retired sea captain who enjoyed smoking his pipe, but whose wife did not like the smell of pipe tobacco. So instead he would smoke on the slopes of the mountain now known as Devil’s Peak.
One day a strange-looking fellow approached Van Hunks for a light. The captain obliged, and was in turn challenged to a smoking competition. They puffed away, blowing smoke rings with great vigour. In time, the smoke covered the whole of the mountain like a tablecloth, which it still does today whenever the famous Southeaster is blowing.
The stranger eventually conceded defeat and stumbled off the montain, coughing and spluttering. As he left, Van Hunks caught sight of the man’s red, barbed tail and realized he’d been smoking with the devil.
(Thanks to our guide and to Siyabona Africa, both of which were referenced while recreating this story.)
We soon arrive at the Capital. We’re directed to head up to the Reception floor where we check in and visit the Silversea’s desk. Our rooms won’t be ready until 2 pm, but they’re happy to store our luggage until then. Silversea has also arranged a shuttle down to the waterfront for those interested – with departures from the Capital every hour on the hour, and return shuttles leaving on the half hour.
We elect to go visit the nearby Iziko South African Museum instead.
They have some tremendous displays, including ones on rock art:
Hands-on experiences for the kids:
And in-depth exhibits regarding the local fauna:
The kids have a particular fondness for wild cats that resemble house cats:
It’s well worth the very modest price of admission – less than US$15 for all four of us in total, including a show in the adjoining planetarium:
We see the 11:30 am show, “Beyond the sun”. The graphics are underwhelming and the motion vaguely unsettling after being on the ship for that long, but it is a good combination of entertaining and informative. The kids like it, which is what matters most.
Afterward we see a size comparison chart of the various objects in the Milky Way galaxy, and the kids’ minds are blown at how large some of these stars get – UY Scuti, for instance, is roughly 5 billion times the size of our own sun.
Then we do a bit of ‘dark sky’ viewing in which we see the various constellations emerge in the sky above Cape Town. They run into some technical issues in terms of rotating and refreshing the screen but it doesn’t really distract from the overall show.
Lunchtime! We briefly consider heading to a nearby pizza place, but then decide we’re going to be lazy and eat at the hotel.
It works out, though, as the food is quite good.
My wife, son and daughter each get a hamburger:
And I have a chicken burger with blue cheese sauce and popcorn powder:
All very tasty.
Lunch wraps and our rooms are ready, so we head upstairs to get everyone sorted. It’s a nice space, and very comfortable.
We then head back to the botanical gardens near the museum for a bit of wandering. Though as we plan our trip, we do notice an unusual cultural landmark:
Hmm. Guess we’ll just have to see what that’s all about.
Off to the gardens, and we have a lovely walk.
We even come across some Egyptian geese:
And some food-seeking squirrels:
But mostly it’s just a beautiful place to wander:
We are aware that we’re in downtown Cape Town, and that this area – like many major cities – has issues with crime. So we’re careful to keep everyone together and generally keep our heads up to ensure there aren’t any surprises. But the gardens are also well patrolled by police, and we don’t feel at all unsafe during our visit.
Except perhaps from the wildlife.
And eventually we find the ‘cultural landmark’ we were seeking:
From blondie seals to blondie squirrrels – it’s been quite the trip
Back to the hotel, and then off to the pool. The Capital has a ‘grotto’ as part of its spa, but it’s a significant upcharge – and only available to those 12 and older – so we head to their outdoor pool instead:
None of the umbrellas are out when we first arrive but the staff set one up for us on request. It’s a very comfortable spot, though there is a fair bit of street noise from nearby traffic.
The water is cool, but refreshing in the heat – it’s 32 Celsius or 90 Farenheit outside right now.
We swim for a bit and lounge on the loungers, and then head back inside to get ready for dinner. We’re eating at the hotel again because some days you just need to be lazy and boring so you’re rested in time for the next adventure.
My wife and I start with a ‘pink elder’, one of the Capital’s signature cocktails:
My son and wife each had the butter chicken:
I had the Madagascar chicken:
And the kids had espresso creme brulee for dessert:
Then it’s off to bed. It’s been another busy day, and we’ll be changing hotels again in the morning so we want to get a good night’s sleep.
Continue reading Antarctica to Zimbabwe – Day 60 – Cape Town.