(Piri Piri) Peri Peri Chicken, (Braai) BBQ with a side of Worms

To the Mountain Top and Oceans

Wine AND chocolate? Absolutely.

Post polar opposites of Johannesburg and Port Alfred, Cape Town felt a bit more like destination traveling. Ah, the exciting exploration of a new lively, metro city. There was a vibrancy to Cape Town as much of the city wraps between the ocean and mountains creating gorgeous elevation to the winding highways. 

Villa Viva Cape Town Hostel welcomed us with their resident cat which somehow always reassures me; Very similar to the resident bodega cat quality rating concept in NYC: Bodega Cat = Solid Bacon Egg n’ Cheese (No arguments). As a huge positive aspect, the hostel is involved greatly within clean water initiatives which we definitely love to see as we try to travel consciously. 

To be honest, one of the most difficult things to gauge when traveling to metro cities is the level of safety of walking, especially as a tourist. For me, it is also something that I think could easily be considered one of the most offensive things, so approaching the topic feels uncomfortable. I think we always assume that ‘petty theft’ is possible-it is what it is-we live in NYC. So when we hear ‘you should be fine’, there is always a pause after to read nonverbal cues on how that should be interpreted. It was a ‘you should be fine’ like you might get your phone stolen kind of area, so off we went for dinner! 

(Piri Pirir) Peri Peri Chicken, (Braai) BBQ with side of Worms

So for the whole trip, I was trying to get introduced to some of the country’s cultural foods which turns out to be a bit more difficult as most just have Braai (or Barbeque) at home…until Cape Town. YES! So some of my favorite things are experiencing cultural foods (Yes, I am aware that I am a little risky in that way, but c’est la vie.) 

There were two notable dinners here: First was the Piri Piri Chicken. The restaurant had this kind of vibe where there was dancing, a DJ, and people dressed to drink cocktails like it was a Friday night, but then there was me, at this table devouring this chicken. Now it wasn’t like I had sauce everywhere or anything-I was careful to eat mindfully, but truthfully I don’t think I said a word to David for like 15 minutes until I came back up for air. 9/10. 

Second, was Mama Africa which some might consider a bit more touristy, but listen, I needed to at least try some more African foods. My favorite thing is analyzing the menu for the most different thing to try. That day was Spicy Bilulu (Mopane Worm). David’s face as he looked at the bowl on our table and tried the tiniest bite-priceless. 

To the Mountain Top and Oceans

To keep in mind, this was April 2024, so the weather was right in between spring and summer-not quite enough to be able to enjoy the ocean, but we still did walk a bit along Camps Bay. 

Also, on the ocean, Boulder Bay Penguin Colony which easily we stayed there for 2+ hours watching the penguins. The walk takes you through their conservatory boardwalk through some trees then out to the water elevated above the penguin’s space. Oh, to just watch penguins could have easily spent another 2+ hours. Do not skip the Penguin Colony! It is worth the Uber ride over to the other side of the city. 

Lastly, was Table Mountain. We almost thought we weren’t going to be allowed up due to weather as it is 3,563 feet high, but alas we were going! There is a 360 degree rotating cable car that takes you up that at some point just melts into the clouds, but once you arrive…you were in a cloud- you could feel it. The wind and somewhat suspended rain almost made you feel like you might fall off the mountain if it even tipped slightly, but also you had no concept of what you would fall to. What no one prepares you for is the silence. There is just nothing-just wind and suspended rain-maybe a few whispers of other tourists passing you by. It is VERY surreal, but I actually would recommend it on a cloudy day just for that experience. 

Wine AND chocolate? Absolutely. 

Africa continues to be underestimated in size where it houses some of the most fertile land for grapes and wine, so this was particularly something I was excited about especially on a somewhat rainy day. Stellar wine, chocolate pairings, and drives between vineyards were lovely. Our favorite was Groot Constantia for, of course, the chocolate pairings, but also just for the calm vibes. 100% ensure to try to Shiraz and dark Morello cherry chocolate.

O Port Alfred. The Kowie River winds through this oceanfront town on the Eastern Cape of Africa and when you stand still by the river you can feel what my friend Allo calls ‘The Kowie Breeze.’ It was beautiful to be by the sea and I love seeing Allo, a great friend and mentor, with his new wife Kris so happy and at ease in their new hometown. So much newness and the refreshing waves of the ocean bringing a calm within me that resembles the second layer of the ocean just below the waves. So much to learn about love on this trip as I felt so grateful to share South Africa with Pidge for the first time – one of the most special countries I have been to many times supporting my friends Allo and Liza with their non-profits.

Pidge and I had just spent a few days in Johannesburg and while it was eventful to meet up with old and new friends there, it felt restrictive and tense. We were told not to walk anywhere alone and it felt very fenced off, more so even than as I remember it being when I had visited in the past. The intensity of the security guards everywhere made it ironically feel less safe as there was tension in the air. We did enjoy meeting up with my friend and mentor Liza Lightfoot and seeing some of the work in Alexander township of her non-profit Kidlinks.

Flying from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth, we could see only blue as we landed near the ocean, and we were met by my friend and mentor Allo after we landed! He drove us to Port Alfred and checked us into an Airbnb with a beautiful view of the river. We did need to remove a picture off the wall and place it outside as there was an ant trail to and from it, and it turns out a large ant rave behind it. We thought it could have been interpreted that we really didn’t like that piece of art as our host messaged later asking why this particular piece of art was outside 🙂 A great point of reflection about love; the art in the frame, although framed, is sometimes less important to focus on than the art being actively created around it and the ant rave behind it. Tu sabes?

It was a joy to be with Allo and Kris. Pidge and I were able to go with Allo to his organization Global Leading Lights Initiatives new GLLI headquarters, meet the team, and go visit a few of the neighborhood centers that they support. Then we had dinner at Nick’s restaurant (just learned that it is not called Nick’s restaurant actually Graze by the River – which was a special restaurant because it was where Allo and Kris had their wedding reception just a few weeks ago. Nick, the owner, made a show out of bringing out each piece of the menu and presenting it in dramatic form. The food was as delicious and as fresh as the presentation.

We really loved having this time all together, enjoyed some slow meals, nice walks, and time by the water. Our time together culminated in a safari trip to Addo Elephant National Park. On the way there with Allo driving, we must have drove by about 1.2 million lemon trees and when you have that many lemons it is tempting to make some lemonade. By this I mean that we finally arrived and we did a safari together and when Kait saw her first elephant (who was in must), she cried – one tear. It was magic. Seeing so many elephants, zebra, kudu’s, and even ostriches in the wild was well…wild. It was such a joy to be there all together and enjoy the experience of being in nature.

Before heading to the airport, Pidge and I had time to do one more safari together and we ended up getting surrounded by a whole herd of elephants and at some point we felt like we were looking at ourselves out there…