My first two weeks in Cape Town have been unbelievable. First, we took a tour of the townships, seeing some of the roughest, most impoverished slums on the outskirts of the city. Highlights included meeting a traditional healer, sampling fresh homemade beer out of a communal tin bucket, seeing a local woman cook sheep heads on an outdoor fire, and getting our hands dirty over a lunch of Braai (afrikaans for barbeque) meat and paap.
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| The traditional healer in his "office" |
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| Sheep heads- apparently you eat the skin. Sadly, they weren't ready for us to sample. |
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| home-brewed beer |
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| Langa homes |
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| latrines in Langa |
Later, we visited the Bo-Kaap, the vibrantly colored muslim district of Cape town perched on the side of table mountain with gorgeous views of the water, ending our tour in one of the homes with a delicious meal cooked by our local hostess, Habiba.
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| lunch at Habiba's |
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| the Bo-Kaap |
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| about to go inside the mosque |
Aside from these highlights, we also went to the Ubuntu festival in honor of Nelson Mandela's 92nd birthday, visited the District 6 museum, and explored UCT's gorgeous campus and the surrounding community nestled at the foot of the breathtaking Table Mountain. So far, I see why so many come to visit Cape Town and never want to leave.
