South Africa part 6

General feeling

I have never been keen to travel to Africa. I don't know why. But the feeling to go back to "my roots" didn't occur to me. 

www.saintecrois.org

Now that I am back, from the civilised area of the old continent, I am thrilled to discover more. This might have to do with astro cartography: one night I checked out our astro cartography and the area we visited had something with all of us. Wether it was negative or positive, I don't know quite sure, but certainly there was something that unified us all. 

To those that still seem to be unsure wether South Africa is a valid destination, I assure it is secure. At least in those two regions I visited: Eastern and Western Cape. 

First of all, families with children can feel themselves comfortable. Early dining fits to most families schedule. Restaurants, even in Cape Town close at 10pm and children are allowed to go with parents. 

In a smaller town you may feel surprised by the closing time of the restaurant 

that could be even at 9 pm. 

Most hotels offer a baby pool and restaurants once again, a special menu for children. 

Smoking is forbidden even in terras areas in most restaurants. Smokers need to exit the restaurant area if they wanna smoke. Throwing a cigarette out of the car window may cost 3 years in prison. 

If you are a smoker, buy a small jar from a supermarket and if you don't want to eat it, throw it away and use the jar as a car ashtray. 

In the summer the weather can be windy and dry and in just few week in the area we visited has got 104 bush fires. Some of them are set like the one you see down below near the Elephant Sanctuary at Knysna, but he other one was not. The South African fire department is so efficient that when bushfire occurs, in no time they fly over with helicopters. If the weather conditions allow them to. 

You may follow the fire brigades at Twitter to see wether there is a danger. 

Although it is nearly impossible to smoke anywhere inside in South Africa, The International departure terminal at the Cape Town's airport offers a smokers lounge with a bar. 

Each park we visited are family and wheelchair friendly; no stairs to climb up. With few exceptions: Cape of Good Hope. It is not possible to go to see the light house without climbing several steps. 

And in the cave near Oudtshoorn. No wheelchair path. 

Most parks are also educational since they help us with public awareness. There is still a lot of illegal hunting in South Africa. People buy small wild pets, teach them human friendly and once they are in the wilderness, they have no sense of fear of the humans that hunt them. I think it is coward and brutal behaviour. 

In every park the tour guides were kind and gave us huge amount of information. 

In this particular, I'm petting a cheetah baby. These animals can't be left free in the nature because they are used to humans and therefor an easy catch to hunters. 

As I am from Finland and we are famous of eating candies, specially salted liquorice; I didn't find anything to satisfy my need. Make sure you bring something from home. Candy eating is not what South Africans do. Shops have some sweets to carry on for the emergency bite, but candy stores are hard to find. These people eat fruit. It is nearly impossible to see obese people in South Africa. The aborigine population has some weight problems, but I assume (and I say assume, meaning that I don't know) that it might caused by their "irregular diet"; eating left overs and grasping something from here and there ain't good for the health. 

If you don't want to carry shampoo and balsam or shower soap among other things, you can find all the brands here. But the confections are family size. One bottle of shampoo wash the whole tourist group for two weeks. 

Fruit and juices are fresh and they really taste good. Our hotel offered good fresh fruit, but we wanted passion fruit or mango to add to our breakfast so we bought it.  As the climate is mite and similar to mediterranean it is possible to eat everything that is grown in the mediterranean area. 

And some exotic fruits too. 

My mango pineapple smoothie at Camps Bay

I didn't find areas in Cape town with high fashion shops. Some small boutiques sell brand clothes, shoes and leather goods. But areas as we Europeans are used to, like in Paris, Rome and New York with Channel, Armani or Ralph Lauren were no where to find. 

People in South Africa dress sportive elegant. That means golf or tennis like clothes. 

Sportive shoes and straight trousers. Wearing a skirt in a windy day may give that Marilyn Monroe effect: 

gds.it

There were no special occasion to attend any fancy party, but as I met this south African girl in my plane towards to Cape Town and we are friends at Instagram I saw photos of her in some party and they dressed really well. 

One night in a restaurant we saw a small girl, perhaps 2 years old, all dressed up with Burberry's. 

So elegance is there too, but you can't notice any "hoite coiture" in a street picture, like you would in Milan, in Berlin or in London. 

South Africans are also really nice. They treat tourist with great respect and we all have something to learn about them. Also people coming from elsewhere seem to adapt this attitude. I never got the feeling that I am fooled. One price fits all; tourist or local. 

As we all struggle with economic crisis, and companies fire people in order to download responsibility to few only, South Africa has adapted the "Asian" system. Every restaurant, hotel or shop has many employees. This makes the service efficient and fast. I understand that that with our actual trade union regulations we cannot afford this kind of system. But it is good to keep in mind. Giving job to many even with lower income and serve as many as possible secures income to many families and leave customers satisfied. 

Just to give you an idea. If I go to have a diner in some restaurants, even in Milan, I must choose a time the restaurant offers. Like either 7.30 pm or 9 pm.

This means that they want to have as many eaters as possible with a limited amount of personal. 

This don't apply in South Africa. These people are so efficient that you are out of the restaurant, before you even sit down. Several times we required slow dining. And I don't mean this negatively. It means that we asked the possibility to choose when the main course was to be brought in order to enjoy our meal, as mediterranean population would do.   

Eating to us is a social event. And we want to sit  around the table to chat and enjoy the taste of the food. Don't be shy by requiring it, if you are not in a hurry.

And in South Africa the food is excellent. There is no hurry to throw it to the throat at one bite. 

Generally 5 of us payed 1000 rand for a lunch and 1400 for diner, that included either cocktails or wine. That would make in those days currency € 65 for lunch and €100 for diner: dividing it to 5. Our tour leader said that the prices have risen since his last visit the year earlier. 

Don't forget to tip the waiters. Salaries are low and that little extra may be a relief. 

What comes to hotels and residences, our daily balance was €40 daily per person, including breakfast in most cases. 

ZAR 100

If you have left overs, it is all right to ask a doggy bag. You may eat it later or in case it is untouched, give it to one of those guys that assist Parking the cars in the streets. But then again, this issue is like a knife with two blades; giving food to others we assure their unbalanced diet. But also might help them out. I don't know what is the best solution. Money perhaps? 

We saw several charts against drinking and driving and we never saw anyone drunk. Although there is a lot of wine in circulation, the limit to purchase any alcohol is +18. And people seem to use it with moderation. 

In some parks people seem to sleep on a grass. But I don't know wether they were just homeless, or people that are used to do so. 

In Finland we also lay on a grass even in a central area and in a public park and in a warm summer day. 

So it didn't seem disturbing to me. 

If I would add a sport to this country it would be indeed cricket. It is an elegant sport with no aggressive outburst. 

South Africa is a safe country to visit. 

Interested in astro cartography? Mail a request to astrologa.orsetta@gmail.com

Want to join me to my next trip on January 2018? 
Mail me a request. 

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