Scott and I spoke often about what type of travelers we are.  We know we like to spend time in each place.  We are not inclined to be on the run.  We want to settle in.  Learn how the locals do it.  Visit their grocery stores.   Cook meals with what we can gather. Use their public transportation.  Wander.  And, watch.  Laugh and feed our boys information about each particular country.  We are more in the category of observers.  It is just our style.  We reconciled we might not have the highest counts of spots seen, but potentially we could have a greater understanding of where we had been.

We decided to spend our time in one location.  Cape Town.  Day trips were made.  We went on safari! Lincoln and Scott managed to zipline through the most dramatic canyon ever seen, dragging our friends from the US along for their first zip line.  We kayaked out to Simon’s Beach to view the penguins on their beach. They were playful and in their own home.  It is always amazing to view animals in their native spot on this planet.  We visited the prison on Robben Island where Nelson Mandala was held captive.  We learned things we only touched upon when in school.  We saw.

Tate and I went “shopping” for local crafts and stumbled across a woman’s collective which was created during the beginning of the Aids crisis.  Women were unable to work outside of the home when caring for their sick family members.  They were allowed to create beaded animals at home, and are paid upon delivery to the shop (Monkeybiz). Their works are incredible and now a select few of these creations adorns our home.  It was one of the highlights of our trip.  We learned how a collective group of artists can lift one another up and solve a serious social problem.

We were fortunate to have an Airbnb within the city core.  In the white section of town. Mind you, our Airbnb home had 2 locked security gates, walls of cinderblock surrounded the home so it was not able to be viewed from the street.  Our host instructed us that the security doors needed to be locked at all times, even when we were in the house.  There were 6 security cameras on the roof of the fully walled home.  No one could see inside.  Not to mention the razor barbed wire that looped in circles above the 8-foot high wall.   It was far more secure than a prison. The home was beyond lovely.  A sanctuary we were lucky enough to rent and inhabit with our friends who journeyed all the way around the world to spend 5 days with us. But, our house, in the white core of the town, near great restaurants, gated communities, and an almost entirely white German population screamed “privilege”.  And, we would not trade a single minute of any of it.

The astonishing beauty of South Africa was unparalleled by any other city we had been to.  It is awesome.  We were lucky enough to enjoy meeting two of our friends, who were nutty enough to travel half-way around the planet, to join our escapades.  It was a perfect opportunity to share our new experiences and stories with humans who were able to detect the changes our journey had made to our core personality traits.  We had been on the move so very long, we really did not even recognize the experiences that we were dragging around behind us.  The difficult pictures of humanity, the piles of trash, the lack of clean water, the lack of women’s rights, the….the…..the…..AND…….we managed to figure out we were absolutely exhausted.  Constant forward movement can do this to a person without them even knowing it.   The artisan food, craft brews, Uber, wifi, Etsy type shopping markets, pizza, English speaking…..it was a place I want to return to again and again.  It was a well-needed rest stop. Comforting, after months of travel through less developed worlds.  It was not easy to be motivated to leave our secure walls.

Each of us might want to believe apartheid is over.    At least, on paper.    But, one cannot deny that apartheid continues in South Africa. I have never seen such a clear example of how the divisions were made.  Where the black people were told to move to, and I am sorry to announce, there has been very little progress when it comes to integration of whites and blacks.  The “townships”, the tin neighborhoods where the blacks were moved, are still inhabited.  These are their homes.  I hope to never see anything like it again.   In my opinion, this segregation is a ticking time bomb.  There are two armies that may be ready to move at any point.   Race relations are not moving forward but appear to be frozen in time.  Race relations in the US has recently been exposed in a new light, again.  But, I can say, at least we are talking about it here. We do not have it “right” yet. We see it, and debate it, and acknowledge it.  It will be gone in our country when the youth of today is managing more of the powerful positions in this land.  I have to believe this.  They have been taught a different type of acceptance than generations before.  Let me believe this to be true.  I want it to be.   It must become reality here. Work has yet to be done, but I believe it is possible.

Of note: there was an amazing amount of theft and crime experienced by our voyagers in this port.   Debit cards were stolen out of the hands of surrounded voyagers.   Domestic violence was witnessed by Tate and me when wandering in a park. Of course, so many of us look like tourists, making us clear targets for crime.  But, this does not explain the violence we viewed on the streets.  It is a dangerous place.  No matter how you try to hide your belongings or status/privilege, you are giving clues about what you might have concealed in your bag. And, the color of your skin brings attention to you. You cannot hide your skin color.

The majestic mountains.  The sea.  The Penguins on the beach.  The food.  The place looks and feels like a brightly painted European land.   The dramatic weather changes from warm to wind and rain.  The information we gathered about racial relations, and the lack of true progress.   The first time my feet have ever touched Africa.  I can tell you they will be back there again to experience the colors and vibrancy.

We enjoyed the comfort and beauty of this established country.  I look forward to our return trip someday.   But, we acknowledge it was not “Africa”.   It is not the Africa we have all seen on the pages of National Geographic.  Ghana had much more African culture to it.  More music.  More vibrant fabrics.  Less development. Less money.  It has been far less touched by the western world. Thank you, Cape Town.  I have learned, seen, and enjoyed what you managed to offer me when I was rested enough to venture out side of the walls of our home.   Thank you to our dear friends who came to our side of the planet to spend 7 days with us.  We will repay the kindness.  It was so much richer because of you.