Cape Town: General First Impressions

After over a day of travel, we have finally made it to South Africa. My first impressions of Cape Town are very different than what I anticipated. It’s the little things you notice at first. For example, while everyone from our flight from Senegal was collecting his or her luggage, it was almost silent in baggage claim. It struck me that people were speaking with fellow passengers instead of immediately calling someone on their cell phone.

Once we left the airport we took the road (N2) to our hotel. Almost immediately we were greeted by shanty homes. Shanty houses are small huts with no electricity or running water that form communities called “black townships.” These townships are where the poorest of the poor live in Cape Town and linger from when apartheid gripped the nation. I knew this side of Cape Town existed, however, I expected such slums to be hidden away from view as opposed to the first thing I saw when I arrived. The government has been tearing down shanty homes and building modest houses in their place, but that project has slowed as the funding has been diverted to pay to build a new stadium for the Soccer World Cup, which South Africa will be hosting this summer. The government justifies the diversion of these funds by stating that the World Cup will bring enough revenue, attention, and future tourism to the nation and the money will recouped very quickly. I can only hope they are correct, because until then, the residents of the townships must wait.

Another thing I did not expect is how European Cape Town is. When I think “Africa” I don’t picture I metropolitan beachside city with a KFC on one corner and a BMW dealership on the next. The high volume of luxury European vehicles here has also surprised. Since out arrival, we have learned that South Africa is a popular European vacation spot and it is common for retired German’s to move here, so it makes a little more sense now.

The people here are wonderful and incredibly friendly. The staff at the hotel is very accommodating and go out of their way to introduce themselves. You can have a conversation with almost anyone from a taxi driver to a vender on the street. Our most common question is “Where are you from?” because many people have been moving from other parts of Africa to South Africa.

Before I close out this post, I need to comment on the astounding beauty of this city. Cape Town is gorgeous and extremely clean. Many of us hiked Table Mountain and the Cape of Good Hope over the last two days and the views and scenery are breathtaking. Cape Town is a city nestled between the mountains and the ocean and wherever you go, you can always see both. No one on the course has been able to get used to the beauty.