In the picture is a cold front heading in from the sea. One can see a front while it is still far out and watch it slowly move in toward land and eventually engulf the city in thick mist.
Since I can only really speak English properly I can’t discern accents in other languages. But English language accents vary considerably. Some are easier to understand such as American or Australian. The Scots and Jamaicans are difficult to understand. My ear can’t easily tell the difference between a Canadian and an American or an Australian and a New Zealander.
In South Africa our accents are largely to do with home language. You can hear someone who speaks Afrikaans or Xhosa at home when they speak English. But apart from that it’s not easy to tell which region someone is from based on accent.
I get to travel a bit every year and forget that not every one uses the same words we do here.
Our English is peppered with words from other local languages. A flying insect is a gogo (pronounced with a gutteral g); a walking insect is a nunu and a centipede is a shongalolo. Eina means ouch.
But we also use terms that don’t make sense to others. Just now actually means not now. So if someone is meeting you just now. Find out exactly when or you could end up waiting a while.
Local boys have a hand shake that would make free masons envious. It’s a combo of twists and turns. I can’t remember them but certainly interesting to watch. The greeting process can become quite protracted and flamboyant.
One other thing. If you happen to be standing on the side of the road. And you happen to point up. A local taxi will break the land speed record and in a blur of shrieking tyres and cars almost crashing, swing open their doors, while moving, to give you a lift. That is how we summon a mini bus taxi here. And as said in previous posts, our local taxis are “one more busses”. Always room for one more.
Travelling with children? Here are some ideas to keep kids amused in Cape Town.
Starting at The Waterfront you can take a boat trip to go whale, seal and dolphin spotting. If you out of luck you can always head to the Two Oceans Aquarium which has 88 species on display including predators.
A day drive out to Cape Point along False Bay will give kids a chance to see penguins on Boulders beach and the baboons along the way. Coming back along the Atlantic Coast, take in The World of Birds in Hout Bay.
At Canal Walk is the MTN Science Centre which has over 300 interactive displays. That should keep them busy for a while. If they are still bouncing, then next door is Ratanga Junction which has scary rides for the braver children. (Check when they are open)
A visit to The Company Gardens gives children a chance to feed the squirrels and to visit the Natural History Museum close by. It showcases fossils and skeletons and gives the story of evolution. There is also the Holocaust Museum in the vicinity allows much older children to understand how racism can be a destructive force.
The Spur chain of steakhouses have supervised play areas at most of their branches. Kids can play computer games or jump on a bouncing castle. Birthday kids get a special sparkler with their meal and the staff come to the table to sing to the birthday child.
I spy with my little eye, a soccer player from Uruguay. Maybe Paraguay or maybe Italy?
As a regular at our local Virgin Active gym, by now I know the other other regular faces. But lately there are new regulars. Could they be players from Spain or France working out?
I don’t blame visitors for wanting to visit our local gym. We really do have it all. Tennis, volley ball and squash courts. Full size and leisure pool. Childcare, internet stations, cafe and juice bar. Indoor and outdoor classes. Pilates, various forms of yoga and dance classes. The usual cardio and toning classes as well as a spinning studio. A powerplate studio. Showers, steam and sauna rooms. Weights and toning machines. A machine to check your weight, blood pressure and body fat. And then a plethora of trainers and a biokineticist. Have a look at the timetables – here. Scroll down to find – Point.
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
The co-ordinates for Cape Town are 33.9 Latitude and 18.43 Longitude. South Africa is + 2 hours GMT. We don’t have time zones or daylight saving.
The sunrise and sunset times here vary by about two hours from winter to summer. Sunset in summer is around 20.00 pm and in winter it’s around 18.00 pm.
Buenos Aries and Sydney are two large cities that are about the same latitude as us. Stockholm and Budapest are two cities that are at a similar longitude as us. Since we are in the southern hemisphere we are heading toward the middle of winter. But our winters are mild relative to some parts of the world. We have a Mediterranean climate and a cold day here is about 10’C.
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
Three weeks ago I was wondering if we would ever get rain. Today I am wondering if it will ever stop raining.
Winters here in Cape Town start late and can be seriously damp. We live in the Cape of Storms and every year we have a couple of hectic gales that lash and bash our city. In the picture is an old building and I recall a few years back coming up the road to find the roof in the middle of the road.
Luckily we never get the very worst of it as Green Point is somewhat sheltered by the mountain. When it blows on the foreshore trucks are felled and ladies skirts blow up around their ears. The foreshore is a 2 km strip of reclaimed land. The original city stopped at the castle but between 1930 and 1940 they created the harbour and area where the convention centre now stands.
