Well, not exactly a safari, not yet. Today we’re touring around the Cape Town area to see typical tourist sites; Bo-Kaap, the pastel painted neighborhood, the Botanical Gardens, Nelson Mandela’s last prison, and penguins. Penguins? Yep, right here in scorching hot South Africa lives the African (go figure) penguin. Love that cold Atlantic water!

 

 

 

Bo-Kaap. This neighborhood was formerly known as the Malay Quarter, the Muslim area in Cape Town. In the 1760’s a man named Jan De Waal purchased land near the foot of Signal Hill Mountain. He then built a series of small homes called, “huurhuisjes” or “rental houses” that he leased to his slaves. At that time, the area was under colonial rule and it was forbidden to paint slave homes any color but white. After gaining their independence in 1834, houses were painted in bold, pastel colors as a form of expression against slavery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today the area remains brightly painted and has many signs and murals supporting a free Palestine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is a world-renowned natural reserve and botanical garden located on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1913, Kirstenbosch gardens is one of the first botanical gardens to focus on indigenous plants. Guess we’re getting old now that we’re touring gardens.